✝ Biography
Pope Adrian I (Latin: Hadrianus I; 700 – 25 December 795) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 772 until his death on 25 December 795. Descended from a family of the military aristocracy of Rome known as domini de via Lata, he was the son of Theodore, who died when Hadrian was still very young; he was welcomed by his paternal uncle Theodotus (or Theodatus) consul, dux et primicerius Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae. Adrian and his predecessors had to contend with periodic attempts by the Lombards to expand their holdings in Italy at the expense of the papacy. Not recei