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After Rome's western fall, the Ostrogoths ruled Italy under Theodoric the Great. They preserved Roman administration but were eventually crushed by Byzantium in the Gothic Wars. The Lombards then invaded in 568 and divided Italy into rival duchies and kingdoms.
Lombard rule weakened Byzantine power in Italy and helped create the Papal States. Charlemagne conquered the Lombard kingdom in 774. Italy remained politically fragmented for centuries.