Arechis II of Benevento

Adelperga commissioned the major Lombard writer Paul the Deacon to produce his Historia Romana, a textbook of Roman history which was widely used during the rest of the Middle Ages.

Arechis arranged for the transfer of saints' relics to the newly commissioned church of Santa Sofia in Benevento.

Major southern monasteries, such as Montecassino and San Vincenzo al Volturno also received substantial donations from him.

Arechis' Beneventan state continued to skirmish with and try to seize territory from the neighbouring Byzantine duchy of Naples.

This crystallised in 787, when Charlemagne advanced into south Italy and besieged Capua, an important town in the principality of Benevento.

The King took the welfare of the people into account rather than the stubborn disposition of the Duke, accepted the proffered hostages, and released him from the obligation to appear before him in consideration of his handsome gift.

He retained the younger son only as hostage, and sent the elder back to his father, and returned to Rome, leaving commissioners with Aragis to exact the oath of allegiance, and administer it to the Beneventans.

He stayed in Rome several days in order to pay his devotions at the holy places, and then came back to Gaul [787].Superficially, Charlemagne seemed to have imposed himself on Benevento.

Traditionally Benevento had produced and used gold coinage, but in 787 the Beneventan mint began to strike silver coins too.

Both the new silver and the traditional gold coins, as well as Beneventan legal documents, all started to include Charlemagne's name and title alongside those of Arechis.

Grimoald later tried to throw off Frankish suzerainty, but Charlemagne's sons, Pepin of Italy and Charles the Younger, forced him to submit in 792.