The duchies of Austria presented themselves as the defenders of the warrior and conqueror spirit of the
Lombards. Here survived longer than in other places the old
pagan cults and among the converts to Christianity, many were adherents of
Arianism or adherents to the
Schism of the Three Chapters. The Dukes of
Austria pressed repeatedly on the king to take initiative, coming in several times to hatch conspiracies to overthrow the legitimate sovereign. This was the case in 662 of
Grimoald (
duke of Benevento, but a son of a
Duke of Friuli), who managed to usurp the throne of
Godepert and
Perctarit despite the opposition of the Neustrians dukes of
Asti and
Turin; of
Alahis,
Duke of Trent, who in 688-689 was able to seize the throne of
Pavia before being defeated by
Cunipert; of
Ansfrid of Friuli, who, having usurped the
Duchy of Friuli, in turn attempted to seize the throne of Cunipert (who defeated and killed him in 698); of
Rotarit,
Duke of Bergamo, who after the death of Cunipert objected unsuccessfully to
Raginpert first and then
Aripert II (700-702). In the 8th century, however, the widespread conversion of the Lombards to
Catholicism smoothed the opposition between
Austria and
Neustria, thanks to a revived expansion at the expense of the
Byzantine Empire with the Catholic and Neustrian
Liutprand (king from 712). After the fall of the Lombard kingdom in 774, the Langobardia Maior fell entirely under the dominion of the
Franks. Its political-administrative structure was not disrupted. However, Frankish and Lombard
counts replaced the dukes of Austria. ==See also==