44 
L O M B 
relief, privately withdrew. Luitprand, informed of his re¬ 
treat, attacked the town witlt more violence than ever ; 
and, having carried it by ftorm, gave it to be plundered 
by his foldiers, who found in it an immenfe booty, as it 
had been fora long time the leaf of the Roman emperors, 
of the Gothic kings, and the exarchs. The king dripped 
it of mod of its valuable monuments of antiquity, and 
caufed, among the red, an equedrian datue of an emperor, 
■of wonderful workmanthip, to be conveyed to Pavia, 
where it is to be feen to this day. The reduction of Ra¬ 
venna was followed by the furrender of feveral cities of 
the exarchate, which Luitprand reduced to a dukedom ; 
appointing Hildebrand his grandfon to govern it with the 
title of duke; and giving him, as he was yet an infant, 
Peredeus duke of Vicenza for his guardian. 
The conqued of Ravenna and the greater part of the 
exarchate did not a little alarm Gregory II. bidrop of Rome. 
He was then at variance with the emperor, whofe edift 
againd the wordlipping of images he had oppofed with all 
his might, and by that means provoked Leo to fuch a 
degree, that he had threatened to drive him from the fee, 
and fend him into exile. However, the pope, no lefs jea¬ 
lous of the power of the Lombards than all his predecef- 
fors had been, refolved, by fome means or other, to put a 
flop to their conqueds. The only prince in Italy to whom 
he could have recourfe was Urfus duke of Venice, the 
Venetians making already no incondderable figure. To 
him accordingly he wrote a very prefiing letter; conjur¬ 
ing him to adid his worthy fon the exarch, and, for the 
love of the holy faith, to attempt with him the recovery 
-of the exarchate, which the wicked nation of the Lom¬ 
bards had unjudly taken poffeffion of. Urfus and the 
Venetians, moved with the pope’s letter, and at the fame 
time greatly alarmed at the growth of fo powerful a 
neighbour, promifed to affid the exarch with the whole 
drength of their republic; and accordingly fitted out a 
confiderable deet, pretending it was dedgned for the fer- 
vice of the emperor againd the Saracens. At the fame 
time the exarch, who had taken refuge in Venice, aban¬ 
doning that place, as it w'ere in defpair of bringing the 
duke over to his party, raifed, in the places dill fubject 
to the emperor, what forces he was able; and, having got 
together a confiderable body, he marched with them to¬ 
wards Imola, giving out that he defigned to befiege that 
city; but turning on a fudden towards Ravenna, as had 
been agreed on between him and the Venetians, he laid 
iiege to it by land, while they inveded it almoft at the 
fame kiftant by fea. Peredeus defended the town for fome 
time with great courage and refolution; obliging all thofe 
who were able to bear arms to repair to the walls. But 
the Venetians having, in fpite of all oppofition, forced 
open one of the gates on the fide of the fea, the city was 
taken, and Peredeus (lain, while he was attempting, at the 
head of a choice body, to drive the enemy from the pods 
.they had feized, As for Hildebrand, he fell into the hands 
of the Venetians; who, having thus recovered Ravenna 
to the emperor, returned home, leaving the exarch in pof- 
fefiion of the city. Luitprand was then at Pavia; but the 
.town was taken before he could allemble his troops to re¬ 
lieve it. 
And now Gregory bifliop of Rome, to whom tire reco¬ 
very of Ravenna was chiefly owing, perfuading himfelf, 
that the emperor would, out of gratitude, give ear to his 
remondrances and admonitions, began to folicit him with 
more prefiing letters than ever to revoke his edidd againd 
the worlhip of images; but Leo, well appriled that the 
bilhop, in all the meafures he had taken, had been more 
influenced by a regard to his own intered than to that of 
the empire, indead of hearkening to his remondrances, was 
dill more provoked againd him for thus obttinately op- 
poling the execution of his ediff. Being, therefore, re¬ 
folved at all events to have it obferved in Rome itfelf, 
and, on the other hand, not doubting but the pope would 
oppofe it to the lad with all his might; in order to remove 
s.U obltacles, he lent three officers to Rome, with private 
A R D S. 
orders, either to kill the pope, or to take him prifoner 
and convey him to Condantinople. At the fame time, 
he wrote to Mauritius duke of Rome, fecretly enjoining 
him to alii ft his three officers in their undertaking; but, 
no favourable opportunity offering to put their delign in 
execution, the emperor, in the year 725, recalled Sclio- 
ladicus, and fent Paul, a patrician, into Italy, to govern 
in his room, with private inftruftions to encourage the 
above-mentioned officers with the promife of great rewards, 
and to affure them of his proteftion. 
But in the mean time the plot was difeovered ; and two 
of the confpirators were apprehended by the citizens of 
Rome, and put to death; the third having efcaped into a 
monadery, where he took the monadic habit, and ended 
his days. Hereupon the exarch, in compliance with the 
emperor’s orders, refolved to proceed no longer by fecret 
plots, but by open force. Accordingly, he drew together 
a confiderable body of troops, and let out at the head of 
them on his march to Rome, with a defign to feize on the 
pope, and fend him, as he had engaged to do, in chains 
to Condantinople. But, on this occafion, Luitprand, 
though highly provoked againd Gregory for having liirred 
up the Venetians againd him, yet refolved to allid him 
and the citizens of Rome againd the exarch, in order to 
keep the balance even between them, and, by affifting 
fometimes the one and fometimes the other, to weaken 
both. Purfuant to this refolution, he ordered the Lom¬ 
bards of Tufcany, and thofe of the dukedom of Spoleto, 
to join the pope and the inhabitants of Rome; who, be¬ 
ing by this reinforcement far fuperior in drength and 
number to the exarch, obliged him to return to Ravenna, 
and give over all thoughts of any further attempt on the 
perlon of the pope. 
In the mean time, Leo, perfiding in his former refolu¬ 
tion of fupprefling throughout his dominions the worlhip 
of images, fent frefii orders to the exarch Paul, ftriiffly 
enjoining him to caufe his edift to be put in execution 
in all the cities of Italy under his empire, efpecially in 
Rome. At the fame time, he wrote to the pope, promif- 
ing him his favour and protection if he complied with 
the edict; and declaring him, if he continued to oppofe 
it, a rebel, and no longer veded with the papal dignity. 
But Gregory was fo far from yielding to the emperor’s 
threats or promifes, that, on the contrary, he folemnly 
excommunicated the exarch for attempting to put the 
imperial edict in execution; and at the fame time wrote 
circular letters to the Venetians, to king Luitprand, to the 
Lombard dukes, and to all the chief cities of the empire, 
exhorting them to continue dedfad in the catholic faith, 
and to oppofe with all their might fuch a detedable inno¬ 
vation. Thefe letters jnade fuch an impreflion on the 
minds of the people in Italy, that, though of different in- 
terefts, and often at war with one another, they all united ; 
proteding they would defend the catholic faith, and the 
life of the pope, in fo glorious a caufe, at the expenfe of 
their own ; nay, the citizens of Rome, and the inha¬ 
bitants of Pentapolis, now the Marche of Ancona, not 
contenting themlelves with fuch a protedation, openly 
revolted from the emperor; and, pulling down his datues, 
they elected, by their own authority, magidrates to govern, 
them during the interregnum. 
However, the exarch Raul, having gained a confiderable 
party in Ravenna, began, purfuant to the repeated orders 
of the emperor, to remove the images, as fo many idols, 
out of the churches. Hereupon the adve.rfe party, fup- 
ported and encouraged by the pope, flew to arms; and, 
falling upon the iconoclajls, or image-breakers, as they dyled 
them, commenced a civil war within the walls of Ravenna. 
Great numbers were killed on both Tides; but, thofe who 
were for the worlhip of images prevailing in the end, a 
dreadful daughter was made of the oppolite party; and, 
among the red, the exarch himfelf was murdered. How¬ 
ever, the city of Ravenna continued faithful to the em¬ 
peror; but mod of the cities of Romagna belonging to 
the exarchate, and all thefe of Pentapolis, abhorring the 
emperor 
