Thread by @Arby_K

A Kingdom lie in shambles after decades of war.

Broken and divided, it faces an invader who will make it his home.

A long path to reunification awaits, but only for the Kingdom to break up and reunite again.

Story in the evening ...

Alboin was born around 530 to Audoin and Rodelinda. They were part of the Langobards, also knowns as Lombards, one of the many Germanic tribes that lived in the former regions of the Roman Empire in the West, after the Empire collapsed. 1/10

In 547, Audoin was elected King of the Lombards. The Lombards had control of Pannonia and were in alliance with the Roman Empire in the East. But they rarely got along with the Gepids, another Germanic tribe, who controlled the region to their east. 2/10

Audoin's reign coincided with the Roman attempt to retake the Italian peninsula from Ostrogothic rule. When Narses attacked Italy from the north in 552, the Lombards joined the Roman war effort as fœderati. The Lombards also allied with the Avars against the Gepids. 3/10

By the end of the decade, the Romans had retaken control of the peninsula. But it all started falling apart soon after the death of Emperor Justinian in 565. Around the same time, Alboin became the King of Lombards after his father's death. 4/10

In 567, Alboin took on the Gepids, allying with the Avars. Together, they demolished the Gepids, killing the Gepid King Cunimund. The Avars annexed the Gepid territory, which made them a stronger rival for Alboin than the Gepids. Alboin now allied with the remaining Gepids. 5/10

Alboin married Cunimund's daughter, Rosamundis, to confirm the alliance with the Gepids. But the Avar challenge was still a daunting one. Alboin, however, had a bigger target in sight. Constantinople's hold on the Italian peninsula was weakening. 6/10

In 568, Alboin and the Lombard host crossed the Alps into Italy. The next year, he captured Milan. A year later, Tuscany was overrun. Pavia took a while longer, after the siege took three years ending in 572. But by then, Alboin had control of northern Italy. 7/10

Alboin divided his realm into 36 duchies, including the Duchy of Friuli, ruled by his nephew, Gisulf. He made Verona his capital and was in the process of consolidating his rule, when he was unexpectedly killed, a murder in which Rosamundis may have played a role. 8/10

The Lombards managed to quickly elect Kleph as their new King, avoiding a civil war that could have happened after Alboin's sudden assassination. Though royal control was limited to north, Lombard Dukes had managed to gain control of Spoleto & Benevento in the south as well. 9/10

The Kingdom of Lombards in Italy lasted two centuries, ruling over a large part of the Italian peninsula. For most part though, the Duchies in the south ruled independently. In 774, the Kingdom in the north finally fell - to the Franks. 10/10