Lombards

In 568 AD, the Lombards invaded northern Italy, and conquered it from the Romans who had been ruling there. They tried to conquer all of Italy, but the Romans fought them off. Still the Lombards settled in northern Italy, and stayed there, ruled by their duces (leaders), the source of our word Duke. The Lombards ruled northern Italy for about two hundred years, until they were conquered by the Frankish king Charlemagne in 774 AD.

The Lombards were relatively new to Roman culture, and their leaders were not as educated as most Roman leaders were. Few Lombards could read or write, and they had no interest or respect for old Roman customs, or old Roman buildings. As a result, much of what remained from antiquity in northern Italy was destroyed during the Lombard period.

Medieval northern Italy