Ratchis was the Duke of Friuli

Duke of Friuli

The dukes and margraves of Friuli were the rulers of the Duchy and March of Friuli in the Middle Ages.The dates given below, when contentious, are discussed in the articles of the respective dukes.-Lombard dukes:* 568–c.584 Grasulf I...

 (739-744) and King of the Lombards

Lombards

The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...

 (744-749). His father was Duke Pemmo

Pemmo of Friuli

Pemmo was the Duke of Friuli for twenty six years, from about 705 to his death. He was the son of Billo of Belluno.Pemmo came to the duchy at a time when a recent civil war had ravaged the land. Pemmo raised all the children of the many nobles killed in the war in his own household next to his own...

. His Roman

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 wife was Tassia. He ruled in peace until he besieged, for reasons unknown, Perugia

Perugia

Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....

. Pope Zachary

Pope Zachary

Pope Saint Zachary was Pope of the Catholic Church from 741 to 752. A Greek from Calabria, he was the last pope of the Byzantine Papacy...

 convinced him to lift the siege and he abdicated and entered, with his family, the abbey of Montecassino. After the death of Aistulf

Aistulf

Aistulf was the Duke of Friuli from 744, King of Lombards from 749, and Duke of Spoleto from 751. His father was the Duke Pemmo.After his brother Ratchis became king, Aistulf succeeded him in Friuli. He succeeded him later as king when Ratchis abdicated to a monastery...

 in 756, he tried once again to reign over the Lombards, but he was defeated by Desiderius

Desiderius

Desiderius was the last king of the Lombard Kingdom of northern Italy...

and retired to a cloister.