A Lombard duchy centered on Benevento in southern Italy, founded by Duke Zotto shortly after the Lombard invasion; it became the southernmost and most durable Lombard power, controlling much of the Mezzogiorno.
Outlived the Lombard Kingdom of the north (conquered by Charlemagne in 774), continuing as a quasi-independent principality; it fragmented into Benevento, Salerno, and Capua, and the rump city of Benevento eventually passed to the Papacy.
Standard English-language survey of Lombard Italy, covering Benevento's rise as an autonomous southern duchy.