Cambridge Ancient Hi.. - Index of

536 19. italy, a.d. 425,605
Ostrogothic achievement a century earlier, however, the Lombard conquests
lacked coherence. Theoderic, while he relied in large measure on the
acquiescence of his Ostrogothic followers, had been a strong ruler capable
of welding the disparate elements in his kingdom into a united whole.
Alboin, it seems, never enjoyed such unchallenged leadership. Just as the
Lombard conquests divided Italy into Byzantine and non-Byzantine
regions, so the lack of Lombard unity contributed to the territorial dismemberment
of the peninsula.
The inherent disunity of the Lombards was apparent already, according
to Paul the Deacon, in the army that Alboin led into Italy. 52 In order to consolidate
his conquests, therefore, Alboin set up his nephew Gisulf as duke
(dux) of Friuli at Cividale in 569. Gisulf was charged with the defence of
the Julian Alps, in which task he was to use various leading Lombard
kinship groups (farae), presumably in an effort to forge some sort of unity
out of the diverse Lombard group by establishing ties of dependence with
Alboin’s family. 53 Any such unity, however, was an illusion, and in 572, internal
Lombard dissension – encouraged, it seems, by the Byzantines – led to
Alboin’s assassination at Verona. His successor, Cleph, lasted only two
years, after which there was an interregnum of ten years, during which
Lombard power in northern Italy was split between dukes in the major
cities. 54
The emergence of Lombard duchies in central and southern Italy may
also point to disunity among Alboin’s followers. By 570 a certain Zotto had
established himself as duke of Benevento: little is known about him, and
it is not clear whether his Lombard war-band campaigned in the south with
or without Alboin’s blessing. 55 Another Lombard duchy developed at
Spoleto during the interregnum. It first appears in our sources when the
duke, Faroald, led his army against Ravenna’s harbour suburb, Classe,
prompting the suspicion that Faroald originally may have commanded
Lombard federates serving with the Byzantines. 56 Certainly, Gregory I
mentions several Lombards serving in the Byzantine army, highlighting
their lack of ethnic solidarity. 57
United or not, the Lombards proved a fatal blow to Byzantine dreams
of a united Italy under imperial rule. Time after time, Byzantine armies
failed to contain the Lombard advance, and by the end of the century, the
territorial encroachment of Lombard power was seriously threatening the
integrity of those remaining Byzantine possessions in Italy. The new duchy
at Spoleto controlled the ancient Via Flaminia, the easiest crossing-point of
52 Paul. Diac. Hist. Lang. ii.26: ‘In fact it is certain that Alboin led with him to Italy a multitude made
up of different peoples led either by their own or other kings.’ 53 Paul. Diac. Hist. Lang. ii.9.
54 Paul. Diac. Hist. Lang. ii.27–32. Cf. Gasparri (1978) 12–17, 48 (for a duke Alboin at Milan during
the interregnum). 55 Gasparri (1978) 86. 56 Paul. Diac. Hist. Lang. iii.13; cf. Gasparri (1978) 73.
57 Brown, Gentlemen and Officers 70–5.
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