Pepin the Short, like his predecessors, Charles Martel, Pepin of Heristal, and Pepin of Landen, achieved great results for the Frankish kingdom. For some years he carried on war with Aquitania and eventually added that country to his dominions. When the Saxons hesitated about paying the tribute which his father had exacted from them, he drew his sword and compelled them to keep their agreement. When he realized that his death was fast approaching, he divided his kingdom between his sons, Charles[15] and Carloman. Charles, the elder, inherited Aquitania, Austrasia,[16] Thuringia, Bavaria, Mainz, and Worms; Carloman inherited Burgundy, Alsace, Provence, and Alemannia. Neustria[17] was divided equally between them. Pepin died in 768. Chapter III Charlemagne and Desiderius Charlemagne was born at Aix-la-Chapelle in 742 and was twenty-six years of age when he became sovereign. His brother Carloman died in the third year of his reign, which left Charlemagne ruler of the whole kingdom. It may be stated in advance that he enjoyed but one year of peace during his forty-six years of power. “Hammer and anvil” was the paramount method of action in the political world of those days. There was never any possibility of living at peace with one’s neighbor. It was either oppress him or be oppressed by him. There was no middle course. Let us now follow the campaign of Charlemagne against Desiderius, King of the Lombards.[18] To make its significance and progress as clear as possible we must first of all consider the relations of Charlemagne and his brother Carloman, who, as already stated, died in the third year of his reign. The consent of the grandees of the Frankish kingdom was necessary to the validation of Pepin’s division of the kingdom between the two sons. The restriction, however, was made by Pepin that while Charlemagne and Carloman were invested with their new dignities, the Frankish kingdom should remain a united kingdom, its administration only being divided between them. Pepin’s wishes were respected, and measures were taken to maintain the unity of the kingdom. But the two brothers had hardly assumed the task of sovereignty when an event occurred which put to the test their good faith and their readiness to carry out the obligations laid down by Pepin.