n.
born , Rome
died April 26, 757, Rome
Pope (752757).
He freed the papacy from Byzantium and allied it with the Franks against the Lombards, who were threatening Rome. In Gaul he anointed Pippin III , Charlemagne , and Carloman as kings of the Romans, and in return Pippin led his army against the Lombardic king Aistulf (754, 756). The victorious Franks granted the pope territory in Ravenna, Rome, Venetia, and Istria, thus establishing the Papal States under Stephen's rule. (See Donation of Pippin )