Duchy of Spoleto

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The Duchy of Spoleto (Latin: Ducatus Spolitanorum) was a duchy in central Italy that existed from the late 6th century until the early 13th century. Centered on the city of Spoleto, it controlled much of the mountainous interior of central Italy, including parts of modern Umbria, Abruzzo, Marche, and Lazio. The duchy emerged during the Lombard conquest of Italy in the 570s, under Duke Faroald I. Owing to its position astride the Via Flaminia, Spoleto became strategically important in the struggle between the Lombards and the Byzantine Empire. Although its dukes nominally recognized the authority of the Lombard kings, the duchy often acted independently and at times concluded alliances or truces on its own. After the Frankish conquest of the Lombard kingdom in 774, the Duchy of Spoleto passed under Carolingian suzerainty but retained a distinct political identity. During the 9th and 10th centuries its rulers played an active role in the politics of central Italy and Rome, and several dukes...

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