duchy · Italy
Duchy of Rome
Origins
After the Lombard invasion, the territory around Rome remained in Byzantine hands, cut off from Ravenna by Lombard Spoleto. A duke (dux) commanded its garrison under the exarch of Ravenna. From the pontificate of Gregory the Great (590–604), who organised Rome's food supply and defence, the popes became the area's real leaders.
Rule and society
The duke led the local militia while the pope administered the vast Church estates, fed the city and negotiated with the Lombards. A local military aristocracy grew powerful. Disputes with Constantinople over doctrine and taxation, especially Iconoclasm under Leo III, loosened ties to the empire. King Liutprand's gift of Sutri to the pope in 728 was its first territorial grant.
Decline and legacy
When the Lombards took Ravenna in 751 and threatened Rome, Pope Stephen II crossed the Alps and gained the protection of Pepin the Short in 754. Pepin's donation of 756 created the Papal States, into which the duchy was absorbed.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Duchy of Rome was part of Exarchate of Ravenna590 CE – 751 CE
- Duchy of Rome was a province of Byzantine Empire590 CE – 754 CE
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Duchy of Rome. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-rome
- MLA
- “Duchy of Rome.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-rome. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Duchy of Rome.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-rome.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Duchy of Rome’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-rome (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻