Stephen II (or III)

Stephen II (or III)

pope
born , Rome
died April 26, 757, Rome

      pope from 752 to 757. He severed ties with the Byzantine Empire and thus became the first temporal sovereign of the newly founded Papal States.

      He was a deacon when chosen on March 26, 752, as the second successor to Pope St. Zacharias (Zacharias, Saint) (the first successor, Stephen II, had died on the previous day without being consecrated). The central act of his pontificate was to free the papacy from Byzantium and to ally it with the Franks against the Lombards, who, under the Lombardic king Aistulf, were threatening Rome and attempting to conquer all of Italy.

      Following unsuccessful negotiations with Aistulf at Pavia in the fall of 753, Stephen became the first pope to make the trip across the Alps to Gaul. There he met (Jan. 6, 754) the Frankish king Pippin III the Short (Pippin III), who promised to restore to the church the lands taken by the Lombards. In July 754 at the abbey of Saint-Denis, France, Stephen anointed Pippin and his sons Charlemagne and Carloman, consecrating them kings of the Romans. Pippin then invaded Italy with his Frankish nobles, besieging Aistulf at Pavia; Stephen returned to Rome the following October. After Pippin's army returned to Gaul, however, Aistulf resumed his war on Italy. By January 756 the Lombards had surrounded Rome, which they planned to make their capital.

      After Stephen sent another appeal, Pippin, Charlemagne, and Carloman returned to Italy in 756, subduing the Lombards and conferring on Stephen territory in the exarchate of Ravenna, the duchy of Rome, and the districts of Venetia and Istria, thereby founding the Papal States under Stephen's rule. Secured also was papal independence from the imperial regime at Constantinople, making the Frankish ruler protector of the papacy. Thus the pope became a sovereign prince.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Stephen Van Rensselaer III. — Stephen Van Rensselaer (gemalt von Gilbert Stuart) Stephen Van Rensselaer III. (* 1. November 1764 in New York City; † 26. Januar 1839 in New York City) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker, General, Großgrundb …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Stephen Van Rensselaer III — (November 1 1764 ndash; January 26 1839) was Lieutenant Governor of New York as well as a statesman, soldier, and land owner, the heir to one of the greatest estates in the New York region at the time. He was the father of Henry Bell Van… …   Wikipedia

  • Stephen Van Rensselaer — (1764 1839) Stephen Van Rensselaer III. (* 1. November 1764 in New York City, USA; † 26. Januar 1839 ebd.) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker, General, Großgrundbesitzer und Philanthrop …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Stephen Minarik — Stephen J. Minarik III (born January 2, 1960 in Rochester, New York) is a New York State political figure who served as the chairman of the Monroe County, New York and New York State Republican Committees. Minarik is the son of Stephen J., Jr.… …   Wikipedia

  • Stephen Murphy III — Stephen Joseph Murphy III (born in St. Louis, Missouri, September 23, 1962) is a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and a former United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan from …   Wikipedia

  • Stephen Van Rensselaer — III est un militaire américain né le 1er novembre 1764 à New York et mort le 26 janvier 1839. Il combattit avec le grade de major général durant la guerre de 1812. Il fut lieutenant gouverneur de l État de New York. Article complet sur la… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Stephen — /stee veuhn/, n. 1. Saint, died A.D. c35, first Christian martyr. 2. Saint, c975 1038, first king of Hungary 997 1038. 3. (Stephen of Blois) 1097? 1154, king of England 1135 54. 4. Sir Leslie, 1832 1904, English critic, biographer, and… …   Universalium

  • Stephen V (or VI) — ▪ pope born , Rome died Sept. 14, 891, Rome       pope from 885 to 891 whose pontificate witnessed the disintegration of the Carolingian Empire and intermittent struggles for the Italian crown.       Of noble birth, he was created cardinal by… …   Universalium

  • Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia — Stephen Uroš IV Dušan the Mighty Uroš IV Nemanjić Стефан Урош IV Душан Силни King of all Serbian and Maritime Lands Reign …   Wikipedia

  • Stephen IV of Hungary — Stephen IV (Hungarian: IV. István , Croatian: Stjepan V. , Slovak: Štefan IV. ), (c. 1133 ndash; 11 April 1165, Zimony), King of Hungary and Croatia (1163 1165). In his youth, he rebelled against his brother, King Géza II of Hungary and had to… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”