(754) Promise made by the Frankish king Pippin III to win for Pope Stephen II Byzantine imperial lands in Italy conquered by the Lombards.
The Donation was made in the context of the papal struggle with the Lombards, the collapse of Byzantine support for the papacy, and Pippin's elevation to the royal throne with papal support. In 756 it was written in a document that became the basis of papal rule over central Italy, which lasted until the 19th century. Pippin won territory from the Lombard king in two military campaigns (754, 756) and gave it to the papacy. The Donation was later confirmed and enlarged by Charlemagne (774).