Pepin the Short

Pepin the Short (c. 714-768), mayor of the Palace of Austrasia and king of the Franks (751-768), the son of the Frankish ruler Charles Martel, and the grandson of Pepin of Herstal. He was mayor of the Palace during the reign of Childeric III (reigned about 743-751), the last of the Merovingian dynasty. In 751, Pepin deposed Childeric and thus became the first king of the Carolingian dynasty. He was crowned by Pope Stephen II (III) in 754. When the pope was threatened by the Lombards of northern Italy, Pepin led an army that defeated them (754-755). He ceded territory to the pope that included Ravenna and other cities. This grant, called the Donation of Pepin, laid the foundation for the Papal States. Pepin enlarged his own kingdom by capturing Aquitaine, or Aquitania, in south-west France. He was succeeded by his sons Carloman and Charlemagne as joint kings.