Byzantine expedition to Calabria (788/789)
788 or 789 military expedition
In late 788 or early 789, the Byzantine Empire invaded southern Italy in an effort to detach the kingdom of the Lombards from the Frankish domination and restore the exiled king Adelchis. The expeditionary army, supported by the Sicilian theme, was defeated in a major battle by a combined force of Lombards and Franks under Duke Grimoald III of Benevento.
The cause of the war was the breakdown in 788 of the proposed marriage between the Emperor Constantine VI, still under the regency of his mother, Irene, and Rotrude, the daughter of the Frankish king Charlemagne. Following the war, relations between the two empires were not re-established until 797.
Date
In the words of the Royal Frankish Annals, "there was war between the Greeks and the Lombards" in 788. Theophanes the Confessor places the conflict under the year 6281 of the Byzantine calendar, which began on 1 September 788 and ended 31 August 789. Scholars generally date the invasion to 788 in accordance with the Annals. According to Tibor Živković, the expedition probably took place no earlier than December 788, since the definitive rupture in Franco-Byzantine relations occurred in October 788 and Constantine VI's marriage to Maria of Amnia in November, and no later than the spring of 789. Warren Treadgold believes the expedition landed in Italy in November 788, timed "to come just after" Constantine's marriage. Judith Herrin places it in 789.
The public source identifies “Byzantine expedition to Calabria (788/789)” as 788 or 789 military expedition. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Byzantine, expedition and Calabria.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Byzantine expedition to Calabria (788/789)”, the useful work is to connect “788 or 789 military expedition” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q124255676. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Byzantine expedition to Calabria (788/789)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Byzantine expedition to Calabria (788/789) primary sources, Byzantine expedition to Calabria (788/789) archive and Byzantine research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Byzantine expedition to Calabria (788/789)”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Byzantine expedition to Calabria (788/789)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.