Long before this event the necessity of dividing the unwieldy mass of the empire had been felt, and since the time of Diocletian a division had been made for the purpose of facilitating the administration. Constantinople, founded by Constantine A.D. 328, had become the capital of the eastern part of the empire; but it was not until after the death of the elder Theodosius (A.D. 395) that the division into the Eastern and Western empires became permanent : the two parts however were intended to form one whole. The line of demarcation between the two empires was the Danube, from a little above Pesth down to where it receives the Drave, then the small river Drinus (Drino), and a line drawn past the town of Scutari towards the great Syrtis, near the coast of Cyrensicit. All the countries east of this line Odoacer, who as before stated deposed Romulus Auguatulue A.D. 476, fixed his residence at Ravenna, and professed to govern Italy in the name of Zeno. emperor of the East. In A.D 490, Odoacer after being repeatedly defeated by Thee:Aerie, chief of the Ostrogothe, shut him self up in Ravenna, in which he was besieged for more than two years, during which all the rest of Italy submitted to Theodoric. At lest Wester surrendered through famine, in February, 499. Theodorie made his entrance into Ravenna, and was received by the archbishop at the bead of his clergy. At first he treated Odoacer with kindness, but he afterwards canoed him to be put to death.
Theodoric obtained the investiture of the kingdom of Italy from the emperor Anastasins, fixed his residence at Ravenna, and founded the gothic dynasty in Italy, which lasted till 552, when Totila was defeated and slain at the battle of Tagina, in Umbria, by the imperial forces of Justinian commanded by Names. During the wars of Justinian against Totila for the recovery of Italy, Rome was frequently besieged and occupied successively by Belisarius, Totila, and Names. Names soon after defeated Tele, (ono of the Gothic, generals who had been elected king at Pavia) near Nucera in Campania; and from this time Rome and Italy were governed by Exarcha, who resided at Ravenna. Under the wise administration of Names, Rome recovered from the long calamities that It had suffered during the Gothic war. It escaped the devastating incursion of a large party of Franks and Alamanni, who overran Italy to Its southern extremity, brit were defeated with great slaughter by Narves en the banks of the Volturnus, after which :Nance returned in triumph to Rome with an Immense booty. Name after being deposed from his government at the insti gation of the Ronan], came at their invitation to reside in the city, and died quietly at Rome in 568, being then above 90 years of age.
The Ezerchs, having fixed their residence at Ravenna, made a con siderable change In the adminintratien of Italy. The annual consul ship, which had been perpetuated from the time of the ancient republic, fell Into disuse after the year 541. During the Oothlc war, Haallitui was the last consul appointed. But the distribution and the names of the provinces had remained the same as under Constantine, and they were administered by conenlares and prmsides. Longinus however abolished these magistrates, and instead of them sent an officer called Dux to each town or district, who was changed every year. Rome was not in this respect more privileged than the rest; it had its duke, or patrician, as he is sometimes called, who was sent from Ravenna. Hence the name of Duchy of Rome. Rome however retained its internal municipal administration and laws, and the clergy and bishop of Rome began to exercise a greater influence in temporal matters than they had done under the Gothic kings. [PAPAL STATES.)
The Loagobards occupied a great part of Italy, but they never took Rome, although they threatened and besieged it several times during the two centuries that their power lasted. This remarkable fact may be partly explained by the circumstance of Rome being doubly pro tected by the presence of her bishop, who was highly venerated in all the west, and by the temporal jurisdiction exercised over it by the Greek emperor. The Longobards never formed a compact kingdom ; they did not possess all Italy, as the Goths had ; the eastern emperors retained a considerable part of the country, and their power, though distant, was still considered formidable.
A rupture between Luitprand and the Romans, brought on by the demand of the former for the surrender of a fugitive, and the devasta tion by the Longobards of part of the Roman duchy, induced Pope Gregory to send for support to Charles Martel, about the year 740, with presents and the keys of the sepulchre of St. Peter, and with an offer of transferring the allegiance of the duchy of Rome from the emperor to him, provided Charles would protect Rome against the Longobards. This was the beginning of the connection of the popes with the kings of France. On the death of Gregory, his successor, Zacharias, adopted a different oourso of policy, and, instead of applying for assistance from beyond the Alps, sent an embassy to King Luit prand, to beg of him to let the duchy of Rome have peace. Subse quently, Pope Zacharias had an interview with Luitprand 'at Orta, when the king received him with great honours, released all the prisoners made in the preceding war, and restored several towns and domains belonging to the duchy of Rome which he had occupied, but he gave them in writing as a donation to St. Peter. Pope Stephen succeeded Zacharias (753); after some useless remonstrances with Astolphue, the Longobard king, who demanded the submission of the duchy of Rome, the Pope then went to France, where he crowned Pepin, the son of Charles Martel, king; and at the same time pleaded his cause so well with Pepin against the Longobarde that Pepin entered Italy with a large army. Astolphus shut himself up in Pavia. After a short siege a treaty was concluded, by which Adolphus promised to leave Rome in peace, and to restore the towns of the duchy which he had seized. Astolphus however broke his promise, and in the year 755 he besieged Rome and devastated its territory. Pepin, at the request of the Pope, again crossed the Alps. Astolphus retired to Pavia, and soon after concluded a new treaty, by which he engaged to pay a large sum of money, and not only to restore all that belonged to the duchy of Rome, but also Ravenna and the Exarchate to the see of St. Peter. The act of donation of the Exarchate, the Pentapolis, and the town of Commeehio was made by Pepin. [PAPAL STATES.] In the following year, 757, Aetolphus died, and Desiderius, duke of Istria, was proclaimed king of the Longobards. Desiderius refused to observe the stipulations of Astolphus, and retained several towns of the Exarchate. A fresh quarrel broke out between Deside riva and Pope Adrian I., who had applied for assistance to Charle magne. Charlemagne passed the Alps and besieged Desiderius in Pavia. Desiderius surrendered iu 774, and the kingdom of Italy passed under the dominion of the Franks.