ADRIAN I., pope from 772 to 795, was the son of Theodore, a Roman nobleman. Soon after his accession Adrian found it neces sary to invoke the aid of Charlemagne against Desiderius, king of the Lombards. In his contest with the Greek empire and the Lombard princes of Benevento, Adrian remained faithful to the Frankish alliance, and the friendly relations between pope and emperor were not disturbed by the difference which arose between them on the question of veneration of images, to which Charle magne and the Gallican Church were strongly opposed, while Adrian approved the decree of the council of Nicaea (787), con firming the practice and excommunicating the iconoclasts. The dispute remained unsettled at Adrian's death. Adrian restored the ancient aqueducts of Rome, and governed his little state with a firm and skilful hand.