King of Italy

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King of Italy (rex Italiae in Latin and re d'Italia in Italian) is a title adopted by many rulers of the Italian peninsula after the fall of the Roman Empire. Until 1870, however, no "King of Italy" ruled the whole peninsula, though some pretended to such authority.

After the deposition of Western Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus in 476, Heruli leader Odoacer was appointed dux Italiae (Duke of Italy) by the reigning Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno. Later, he titled himself rex Italiae, though he always presented himself as an officer of the eastern government. In 483, Ostrogothic leader Theodoric the Great defeated Odoacer, and set up a new dynasty of kings of Italy. Ostrogothic rule ended with the death of Teias (552), when Italy was reconquered by the Byzantine Empire.

This state of affairs did not last long. In 568, the Lombards enterred the peninsula under Alboin, who ventured to recreate a barbarian kingdom in opposition to the Byzantines. For the next two centuries, the Lombards and Greeks fought for dominance in the peninsula, with the Lombards establishing their authority over the whole of the region (especially Lombardy) except the duchies of Venetia, Rome, and Naples and the tips of the "heel" and "toe."

In 774, the Lombards were defeated by the Franks under Charlemagne and their king, Desiderius, deposed. Charlemagne took up the Lombard title, rex Langobardorum, meaning "king of the Lombards," which was used interchangeably with rex Italiae. The old kingdom of Italy survived within the Frankish Empire as a separate entity until 962, when the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I himself took the title. All subsequent emperors used the title and most were crowned at some time in the ancient Lombard capital of Pavia before their imperial coronation in Rome.

In 1805, Napoleon Bonaparte endeavoured to attach the Lombard heritage to France again and was crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy in Pavia. The next year, the Emperor Francis II abdicated his Italian royal title. From the deposition of Napoleon (1814) until the Italian Unification (1861), there was no Italian monarch claiming the overarching title. The Risorgimento successfully established a dynasty, the House of Savoy, over the whole peninsula, uniting the kingdoms of Sardinia and the Two Sicilies. The monarchy was superseded by a republic in 1946.

1 Ostrogothic kingdom
2 Lombard kingdom
3 Frankish kingdom
4 Kingdom within the Holy Roman Empire
5 Napoleonic kingdom
6 Unified kingdom
7 See also

[edit] Ostrogothic kingdom

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[edit] Lombard kingdom

Alboin (568 – 572)
Cleph (572 – 574)

Rule of the Dukes (ten year interregnum)

Authari (584 – 590)
Agilulf (591 – c.616)
Adaloald (c.616 – c.626)
Arioald (c.626 – 636)
Rothari (636 – 652)
Rodoald (652 – 653)
Aripert I (653 – 661)
Perctarit and Godepert (661 – 662)
Grimoald (662 – 671)
Perctarit (671 – 688), restored from exile
Alahis (688 – 689), rebel
Cunincpert (688 – 700)
Liutpert (700 – 701)
Raginpert (701)
Aripert II (701 – 712)
Ansprand (712)
Liutprand (712 – 744)
Hildeprand (744)
Ratchis (744 – 749)
Aistulf (749 – 756)
Desiderius (756 – 774)

[edit] Frankish kingdom

Between 888 and 933, there were usually several claimants to the throne of Italy, and on occasion even several living crowned emperors. In 955, the kingdom of Italy was subjected to Otto I.