Alboin

Alboin ăl´boin [key], d. 572?, first Lombard king in Italy (569–572?). With theAvarshe defeated the Gepidae (seeGermans). He then led (568) an army across the Alps into Italy, took (569) Milan, and after a three-year siege conquered Pavia, which became his capital. He won most of N and central Italy from the Byzantines (seeLombards). According to a legend probably based on fact, he was murdered at the instigation of his wife,Rosamond.

See more Encyclopedia articles on:Italian History: Biographies