Board Thread:Timeline Discussions/@comment-4923787-20130202175501/@comment-4923787-20130530232741

If some major European conflict arose though, couldn't the HRE gain control of the south?

I know it's getting old, but I find it odd that a state claiming to be the surviving Roman Empire wouldn't attempt to reunite the Empire, even at least by influence.

It is alleged that the main reason that the Franks aided the Papacy mainly because the Lombards married into one of their main enemies. If they hadn't, could the Lombards have held out, if the above statement is true?

What if Pepin of Italy hadn't died of disease, and lived a couple decades more? Will he be accepted as successors or will civil war plague the Empire? If civil war breaks out, could Pepin retain control of Italy? Could Italy than become the HRE? I know that Benevento and Spoleto acknowledged Charlemagne as Emperor formally, if the previous events are possible, could the duchies acknowledge Pepin and successors as Emperor, with occasional rebellions upsetting the balance of power?