View source for Cleph

{{Short description|King of the Lombards from 572 to 574}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2009}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Cleph
| title        = [[King of the Lombards]]
| reign        = 572–574
| predecessor  = [[Alboin]]
| successor    = [[Authari]] (after 10 years of [[Rule of the Dukes|regency]])
| death_date   = 574
| issue        = [[Authari]]<br />two daughters
}}
'''Cleph'''<ref>Possibly cognate with [[Old Norse]] ''[[Leif]]r'', meaning "heir" or "descendant".</ref> (also spelled ''Clef'', ''Clepho'', or ''Kleph'') was king of the [[Lombards]] from 572 to 574.

== Biography ==
He succeeded [[Alboin]], though he was not related to him by blood. Cleph was regarded as a violent and fearsome figure by the Romans and Byzantines, who were still attempting to maintain their hold on the [[Italian Peninsula]]. During his brief reign, he completed the Lombard conquest of [[Tuscany]] and brought their dominion to the gates of [[Ravenna]], thereby extending Lombard control over nearly all of Northern Italy.

Cleph was assassinated after eighteen months in power by a young guard—a slave whom he had mistreated. His death marked the beginning of a ten-year [[interregnum]], known as the [[Rule of the Dukes]], during which authority was held by the territorial dukes. His son, [[Authari]], ascended the throne in 585.<ref>{{cite web |title=German Tribes org Lombard Kings |url=http://www.germantribes.org/tribes/Lombards/Lombard%20Rulers/kingsline.htm |website=GermanTribes.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100718043340/http://www.germantribes.org/tribes/Lombards/Lombard%20Rulers/kingsline.htm |archive-date=2010-07-18 |access-date=2010-07-18}}</ref>

He was buried in the [[Santi Gervasio e Protasio, Pavia|Church of Santi Gervasio e Protasio]] in [[Pavia]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Majocchi |first1=Piero |title=Le sepolture regie nell'alto medioevo (secoli VI-X) |journal=Reti Medievali Rivista |date=2010 |volume=9 |pages=12–14 |url=http://www.serena.unina.it/index.php/rm/article/view/urn%3Anbn%3Ait%3Aunina-3087/5316 |access-date=20 August 2023 |issn=1593-2214}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}
{{S-start}}
{{S-reg}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Alboin]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[King of the Lombards]]|years=572–574}}
{{S-vac|reason=[[Rule of the Dukes]]|next=[[Authari]]}}
{{End}}

{{Antique Kings of Italy}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:574 deaths]]
[[Category:6th-century Lombard monarchs]]
[[Category:Lombard warriors]]
[[Category:6th-century murdered monarchs]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]

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{{Italy-noble-stub}}