Paul I

Pope Paul I (700–767) was the Bishop of Rome from 757 until his death, succeeding his brother Pope Stephen II. His pontificate was shaped by the complex political relationships between the papacy, the Lombard kings, and the Frankish monarchy that were defining the emerging temporal power of the popes. Paul continued his brother's close alliance with the Frankish King Pepin the Short, who had established the Papal States by defeating the Lombards and granting their conquered territories to the papacy (the 'Donation of Pepin'). When the Lombard King Desiderius renewed threats against papal territory, Paul repeatedly appealed to Pepin for military support. Paul was also a vigorous defender of the veneration of icons during the Byzantine iconoclast controversy. He gave refuge to Greek monks fleeing persecution by the iconoclast Emperor Constantine V and converted his family home in Rome into a monastery dedicated to the preservation of sacred images and relics.