Who were the Lombards?

The Lombards or Longobards were a Germanic people who ruled large parts of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774.

In the 1st century AD, they formed part of the Suebi, in northwestern Germany. By the end of the 5th century, they had moved into the area roughly coinciding with modern Austria north of the Danube river, where they subdued the Heruls and later fought frequent wars with the Gepids.

After the long Gothic War (535–554) between the Byzantine Empire and the Ostrogothic Kingdom in Italy, the Lombards invaded northern Italy. Their invasion of Italy was almost unopposed. By late 569 they had conquered all north of Italy and the principal cities north of the Po River except Pavia, which fell in 572. At the same time, they occupied areas in central Italy and southern Italy. They established a Lombard Kingdom in north and central Italy named Regnum Italicum ("Kingdom of Italy"), which reached its zenith under the 8th-century ruler Liutprand. In 774, the Kingdom was conquered by the Frankish King Charlemagne. However, Lombard nobles continued to rule southern parts of the Italian peninsula well into the 11th century when they were conquered by the Normans and added to the County of Sicily. Their legacy is also apparent in the regional name Lombardy (in the north of Italy).