biography
| biography:
| Pope (752–7). After clashing with the Lombard King Aistulf, he sought help from Pepin the Short, King of the Franks. According to their agreement (754), in exchange for being anointed king by the pope, Pepin would fight Aistulf and the Ravenna exarchate giving their territories to the papacy. The church's claim on them was supported by the ‘donation of Constantine’, later to be proved a fake. Pepin defeated Aistulf (756), and the annexation of the new territories led to the formation of the Papal States. |
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