Duchy of Tuscia

Origins

After the Lombards occupied most of Tuscany in the 570s, the region was organised under dukes, with Lucca as the chief seat. Smaller duchies existed at Chiusi and elsewhere, but Lucca, on the route to Rome later called the Via Francigena, emerged as the dominant centre.

Rule and society

Little is known of the early dukes. Documents from Lucca, unusually rich for the 8th century, show a society of Lombard landowners, churches and notaries, and Duke Walpert appears in the early 8th century. The Lombard nobleman Desiderius held authority in Tuscia before becoming king in 756. Lucca minted gold coins and was the main town of Lombard Tuscany.

Decline and legacy

After Charlemagne's conquest of 774, Tuscia passed to Frankish counts and dukes based at Lucca. By the 9th century these governors were styled margraves, and the region became the March of Tuscany.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.