The Title and the Territory To understand the first king, one must first define the entity. This act was a direct challenge to the authority of the Byzantine Emperor in Constantinople, effectively merging the Gothic, Lombard, and Roman traditions of Italian rule under a new Frankish-Germanic dynasty.
Otto I: The First Formal Use of the "King of Italy" Title
The first king of this newly unified nation was Victor Emmanuel II of the House of Savoy, who had already been the King of Sardinia. The First Explicit "King of Italy" While Charlemagne is the most famous figure associated with the conquest of Italy, the specific title "King of Italy" was first formally used by his son, Otto I.
Before this, the peninsula was a collection of city-states, kingdoms, and papal states. His assumption of the Italian throne marked the end of the fragmentation and the realization of the dream of a unified Italian monarchy, a position held until the abolition of the monarchy in 1946.
Otto I's Formal Assumption of the Italian Throne
After a series of conflicts with the rebellious Italian nobility and the Byzantine remnants in southern Italy, Otto I was crowned King of Italy in 961 AD. The answer is not a single name, but rather a distinction between the title "King of the Lombards" and the later, more definitive title "King of Italy.
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