He obtained it on two principal
conditions: (1) That he would not again make a hostile attack on Roman
territory, or wage war against the Pope or people of Rome; (2) that he
would henceforth recognize the sovereignty of the Franks, pay them
tribute, and cede forthwith to Pepin the towns and all the lands
belonging to the jurisdiction of the Roman Empire, which were at that
time occupied by the Lombards. By virtue of these conditions Ravenna,
Rimini, Pesaro, that is to say, the Romagna, the duchy of Urbino, and a
portion of the Marches of Ancona, were at once given up to Pepin, who,
regarding them as his own direct conquest, the fruit of victory,
disposed of them forthwith in favor of the popes, by that famous deed of
gift which comprehended pretty nearly what has since formed the Roman
States, and which founded the temporal independence of the papacy, the
guarantee of its independence in the exercise of the spiritual power.
At the head of the Franks as mayor of the palace from 741, and as king
from 752, Pepin had completed in France and extended in Italy the work
which his father, Charles Martel, had begun and carried on, from 714 to
741, in state and church.
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