Pope Adrian I

Adrian or Hadrian I, Pope 772-795, was the son of Theodore, a Roman nobleman.

In 773 Adrian appealed to Charlemagne for help against the Lombards; in response (and for his own reasons) Charlemagne besieged Pavia? and ended the rule of Desiderius, keeping the Kingdom of the Lombards for himself and extending Frankish control to the northern part of the Italian peninsula.

Adrian was not a puppet of the Carolingians, however. When the Second Council of Nicaea forwarded their proclamation on Iconoclasm and the restoration of images in the Byzantine Empire, Adrian accepted the pronouncement despite Frankish opposition.

preceded by Pope Stephen IV, (767-772)

succeeded by Pope Leo III, (795-816)