Definition of papal states Papal states
Pa•pal States
We found 2 definitions of papal states from 2 different sources.
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What does papal states mean?
WordNet
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| papal states - the temporal dominions belonging to the pope (especially in central Italy) |
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Military DictionaryMilitary Dictionary and Gazetteer 💥
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papal states
A territory, or rather group of states in Central Italy, formerly united into one sovereignty, with the pope for its head. The Papal States were bounded on the north by the Po, on the south by Naples, on the east by the Gulf of Venice and Naples, and on the west by Modena, Tuscany, and the Tyrrhenian Sea. Detached portions, as Benevento and Pontecorvo, lay within the Neapolitan territory. About 720, Gregory III. having quarreled with the emperor Leo the Isaurian, declared the independence of Rome. In 726, Pepin le Bref compelled the Lombard king to hand over Ravenna, Rimini, Pesaro, Fano, Cesena, Urbino, Forli, Comacchio, and fifteen other towns to the pope, who now assumed the state of a temporal sovereign. Pepin’s example was followed by his son Charlemagne. In the 11th century the Normans greatly aided to increase the papal temporal authority, and in 1053 the duchy of Benevento was annexed. In 1278 the emperor Rodolf I. confirmed the popes in the acquisitions thus obtained, defined the boundaries of the Papal States, and absolved their inhabitants from their oath of allegiance to the empire. Sixtus IV. in the end of the 15th century annexed the Romagna to his dominions. By the victory of the French at Marignan (1515), the very existence of the papal power was threatened. In 1598 the possessions of the house of Este, viz.: Ferrara, Comacchio, and a part of the Romagna, were seized by Pope Clement VIII.; and the Papal States received their final additions in Urbino (1623), Ronciglione, and the duchy of Castro (1650). The Romagna was seized by Napoleon in 1797, and incorporated in the Cisalpine Republic; and in the following year Rome was taken by the French, and the Papal States erected into the Roman Republic. Pius VII., in 1800, obtained possession of his states, but they were almost immediately retaken by the French. In 1814, the pope returned to his dominions, and was formally reinstated by the treaty of Vienna. In 1830, the people of Ancona and Bologna rose in rebellion; they were put down by the aid of an Austrian army. The Bolognese again rebelled; and this revolt supplied Austria with a pretext for occupying the northern Legations, and the French at the same time garrisoned Ancona. Occasional risings took place from time to time up to 1846. In 1848, the people rose, and Pius IX. fled to Gaeta, whilst Rome was proclaimed a republic. He was restored and his subjects reduced to submission by the arms of France, Austria, Naples, and Spain. The Austrians held the Legations in subjection to the pope’s authority till 1859; the French occupied Rome in his behalf till 1870. In July, 1859, the four northern Legations (the Romagna) taking advantage of the withdrawal of the Austrian troops, threw off the papal authority, and proclaimed their annexation to Sardinia, which was formally acknowledged by Victor Emmanuel in March, 1860. The pope now raised a large body of troops, appointing Lamoricière, an eminent French general, to command them, for the purpose of resisting any further encroachments on his dominions; but the news of Garibaldi’s success in Sicily and Naples produced revolt in the Legation of Urbino and in the Marches, the people proclaiming Victor Emmanuel. The Sardinians accordingly marched into the Papal States, defeated Lamoricière, who retired into Ancona, where he was compelled to surrender with his whole army. The revolted provinces of Umbria, Urbino, and the Marches, and part of Frosinone were annexed to Sardinia. In September, 1870, the remaining states were occupied by the Italian troops, and the pope was removed from temporal power. On October 2, 1870, the people pronounced their annexation to the kingdom of Italy, with which the territory of the States of the Church was incorporated by decree of October 9, and Gen. Marmora appointed governor of the new provinces.
