TheDuchy of Benevento(after 774,Principality of Benevento) was the southernmostLombardduchy in theItalian Peninsulathat was centred onBenevento,a city inSouthern Italy.Lombard dukes ruled Benevento from 571 to 1077, when it was conquered by the Normans for four years before it was given to the Pope. Being cut off from the rest of the Lombard possessions by thepapalDuchy of Rome,Benevento was practically independent from the start. Only during the reigns ofGrimoald(r. 662–671) and the kings fromLiutprand(r. 712–744) on was the duchy closely tied to theKingdom of the Lombards.After the fall of the kingdom in 774, the duchy became the sole Lombard territory which continued to exist as arump state,maintaining itsde factoindependence for nearly 300 years, although it was divided after 849. Benevento dwindled in size in the early 11th century, and was completely captured by the NormanRobert Guiscardin 1053.
Duchy (Principality) of Benevento Ducatus (Principatus) Beneventi(Latin) | |||||||||||||
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| 577–1053 | |||||||||||||
 Calvarycross potentmotif was commonly minted oncoinsby various princes
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 The Principality of Benevento shown within Italy in 1000 | |||||||||||||
| Status | Vassal stateof theKingdom of the Lombards | ||||||||||||
| Capital | Benevento | ||||||||||||
| Common languages | |||||||||||||
| Religion | Chalcedonian Christianity(official),Arianism(former) | ||||||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||||
| Duke / Prince | |||||||||||||
• 571–591 | Zotto(first duke) | ||||||||||||
• 774–787 | Arechis II(last duke & first prince) | ||||||||||||
• 1059–1077 | Landulf VI(last prince) | ||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||
• Established | 577 | ||||||||||||
• Frankish conquest of the Kingdom of the Lombards | 774 | ||||||||||||
• Disestablished (Norman conquest of southern Italy) | 1053 | ||||||||||||
| Currency | Solidus, tremissis, denarius | ||||||||||||
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| Today part of | Italy | ||||||||||||
Paul the Deaconrefers to Benevento as the "Samnite Duchy" (Ducatum Samnitium) after the region ofSamnium.[1]
Foundation
editThe circumstances surrounding the creation of the duchy are disputed. According to some scholars, Lombards were present in southern Italy well before the complete conquest of thePo Valley:the duchy by these accounts would have been founded in 571.[2]The Lombards may have entered later, around 590. Whatever the case, the first duke wasZotto,a leader of a band of soldiers who descended the coast ofCampania.Though at first independent, Zotto was eventually made to submit to the royal authority of the north. His successor wasArechis,his nephew, and the principle of hereditary succession guided the Beneventan duchy to the end.
The Lombard duchies, part of the loosely-knit Lombard kingdom, were essentially independent, in spite of their common roots and language, and law and religion similar to that of the north, and in spite of the Beneventan dukes' custom of taking to wife women from the royal family. A swathe of territory that owed allegiance toRomeor toRavennaseparated the dukes of Benevento from the kings atPavia.Cultural autonomy followed naturally: a distinctive liturgical chant, theBeneventan chant,developed in the church of Benevento: it was not entirely superseded byGregorian chantuntil the 11th century. A uniqueBeneventan scriptwas also developed for writingLatin.The 8th-century writerPaul the Deaconarrived in Benevento in the retinue of a princess from Pavia, the duke's bride. Settled into the greatest of Beneventan monasteries,Monte Cassino,he wrote first a history of Rome and then a history of the Lombards, the main source for the history of the duchy to that time as well.
Expansion
editUnder Zotto's successors, the duchy was expanded against theByzantine Empire.Arechis, himself from the duchy ofFriuli,capturedCapuaandCrotone,and sacked ByzantineAmalfi,but was unable to captureNaples.After his reign, Byzantine holdings in southern Italy were reduced to Naples, Amalfi,Gaeta,Sorrento,Calabria,and the maritime cities ofApulia(Bari,Brindisi,Otranto,etc.). In 662, DukeGrimoald I(duke since 647), went north to aid the KingGodepertagainst his brother, the co-kingPerctarit,and instead killed the former, forced the latter into exile, and captured Pavia. As king of the Lombards, he tried to reinstateArianismover theCatholicismof the late kingAripert I.However, Arianism was disappearing even in the duchy, as was the distinction between the ethnic Lombard population and the Latin- and Greek-speaking one. In 663, the city itself was besieged by the Byzantines during the failed attempt ofConstans II,who had disembarked atTaranto,to recover southern Italy. DukeRomuald Idefended the city bravely, however, and the Emperor, also fearing the arrival of Romuald's father, King Grimoald, retired to Naples. However, Romuald intercepted part of the Roman army atForino,betweenAvellinoand Salerno, and destroyed it. A peace between the Duchy and the Eastern Empire was signed in 680.
In the following decades, Benevento conquered some territories from the Byzantines, but the main enemy of the duchy was now the northern Lombard kingdom itself. KingLiutprandintervened several times to impose a candidate of his own on the ducal throne. His successor,Ratchis,declared theduchies of Spoletoand Benevento foreign countries where it was forbidden to travel without royal permission.
Secundum Ticinum
edit
extent circa 851
In 758, kingDesideriusbriefly captured Spoleto and Benevento, but withCharlemagne's conquest of the Lombard kingdom in 774,Arechis IItried to claim the royal dignity and make Benevento asecundum Ticinum:a secondPavia(the old Lombard capital). Seeing that this was impractical and would draw Frankish attention to himself, he opted instead for the title ofprinceps(prince). In 787, he was forced by Charlemagne's siege of Salerno to submit to Frankish suzerainty. At this time, Benevento was acclaimed by a chronicler as aTicinum geminum—a "twin Pavia". Arechis expanded the Roman city, with new walled enclosures extending onto the level ground southwest of the old city, where Arechis razed old constructions for a new princely palace, whose open court is still traceable in thePiano di Corteof theacropolis.Like their Byzantine enemies, the dukes linked the palace compound with a national church,Saint Sophia.
In 788, the principality was invaded by Byzantine troops led by Desiderius's son,Adelchis,who had taken refuge atConstantinople.However, his attempts were thwarted by Arechis' son,Grimoald III,who had, however, partially submitted to the Franks. The Franks assisted in the repulsion of Adelchis, but, in turn, attacked Benevento's territories several times, obtaining small gains, notably the annexation ofChietito the duchy of Spoleto. In 814,Grimoald IVmade vague promises of tribute and submission toLouis the Pious,which were renewed by his successorSico.None of these pledges were followed up, and the decreased power and influence of the individualCarolingianmonarchs allowed the duchy to increase its autonomy.
The Beneventan dukes employedseal ringsto confirm documents, just like the Lombard kings, and the princes may have continued to use them into the ninth century. They indicate a continuation (or imitation) of Roman forms of administration, as well as widespread literacy (or "sub-literacy" ).[3]
Decline through division and conquest
edit
In the following century despite the continuing hostility of the Frankish sovereigns, Benevento reached its apex, imposing a tribute on Naples and capturing Amalfi under DukeSicard.When Sicard was assassinated in 839, a civil war broke out. Sicard's brother,Siconulf,was proclaimed prince in Salerno while the assassinRadelchistook the throne in Benevento. After 10 years of civil war,Emperor Louis IIended the conflict by decreeing that the duchy be split into two distinct principates: Benevento (withMoliseand Apulia north toTaranto) and thePrincipality of Salerno.As a part of the partition, Capua was made part of the Principality of Salerno.
The crisis was aggravated by the beginning ofMuslimravages, the first Saracens having been called in by Radelchis and subsequently Siconulf in their decade-long war. Often spurred by rival Christian rulers, the Saracens attacked Naples and Salerno unsuccessfully.[4]The Islamic colony in southernLaziowas eliminated only in 915, after theBattle of Garigliano.At the same time, however, the Byzantine Empire reconquered a great part of southern Italy, beginning atBari,which they retook from the Saracens in 876, and eventually elevating theirthemesunderstrategoiinto aCatapanate of Italy(999), further reducing the already declining Beneventan power.
In 899,Atenulf I of Capuaconquered Benevento and united the two duchies. He declared them inseparable and introduced the principle of co-rule, whereby sons would be associated with their fathers, a principle soon borrowed by Salerno. However, allLangobardia minorwas unified for the last time by DukePandulf Ironhead,who becameprince of Salernoin 978. He succeeded in making Benevento anarchdiocesein 969. Before his death (March 981), he had gained from EmperorOtto Ithe title of Duke of Spoleto also. However, he split it between his sons:Landulf IVreceived Benevento-Capua andPandulf II,Salerno. Soon, Benevento was stripped away again whenPandulf,the Ironhead's nephew, rebelled, demanding his part of the inheritance.
The first decades of the eleventh century saw Benevento dwindle to less than either of her sister duchies, Salerno, then prominent, or Capua. Around 1000, Benevento still comprised 34 separate counties. In 1022,Henry II, Holy Roman Emperorconquered both Capua and Benevento, but returned to Germany after the failed siege ofTroia.TheNormansarrived in the Mezzogiorno in these years, and Benevento then acknowledged to be in papal suzerainty, was only an off-and-on ally. The Beneventan duke still had enough prestige to lend his son,Atenulf,to the Norman-Lombard rebellion in Apulia as leader, but Atenulf abandoned the Normans and Benevento lost what was left of its influence.
The greatest of the Norman rulers of the south wasRobert Guiscard,who captured Benevento in 1053. Guiscard, in turn, gave Benevento to his nominal suzerain, Pope Leo IX. Pope Leo IX and his successors appointed a series of minor Lombards as dukes until Pope Gregory VII appointed Guiscard Prince of Benevento in 1078. Finally, in 1081, Guiscard returned the title to the papacy with little but the city remaining of the once-great principality which had determined the direction of South Italian affairs for generations. No dukes or princes were thereafter named.
In 1806,Napoleon,after conquering Benevento, named as prince the famousCharles Maurice de Talleyrand.Talleyrand held the title till 1815 and was quite capable in administering the duchy besides his other tasks. Benevento was conquered byJoachim Muratin February 1814 and at theCongress of Viennawas restored to the Pope.
Citations
edit- ^Hodgkin (1895),pp. 68 and 76.
- ^Hodgkin (1895),pp. 71 and n1 73.
- ^Everett (2003),p. 170.
- ^Krueger (1955),p. 47.
References
edit- Everett, N. (2003).Literacy in Lombard Italy, c.568-744.Cambridge.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Hodgkin, Thomas(1895).Italy and her Invaders.Clarendon Press.
- Krueger, Hilmar C. (1955).Setton, Kenneth Meyer;Baldwin, Marshall W. (eds.).The Italian Cities and the Arabs before 1095.University of Pennsylvania.
General References
edit- Cooper, Duff,Talleyrand(Frankfurt: 1982,ISBN3-458-32097-0).
- Gwatkin, H. M.(1926). J. P. Whitney; et al. (eds.).The Cambridge Medieval History: Volume III.Cambridge University Press.
- Norwich, John Julius(1970).The Normans in Sicily.Penguin Books.
- Oman, Charles(1914).The Dark Ages 476-918.London:Rivingtons.
External links
edit- Ducato (570 ca.-774) et Principato di Benevento (774-1077)(in Italian)
- I Longobardi del Sud(in Italian)