Historedia
EuropeEvent

French Invasion of the Papal States

When
1798
Where
Rome
Episodes
3

In early 1798, French forces under General Louis-Alexandre Berthier invaded the Papal States, occupied Rome, and established the Roman Republic. This action resulted in the imprisonment and exile of Pope Pius VI, effectively removing the papacy from temporal power.

Episodes

  1. 11 February 1798 · RomeFrench Occupation of Rome

    French troops under Berthier invaded the Papal States and occupied Rome on 11 February 1798.

  2. 15 February 1798 · RomeProclamation of the Roman Republic

    Berthier proclaimed the Roman Republic on 15 February 1798, replacing papal rule with a French-aligned government.

  3. 15–20 February 1798 · RomeImprisonment and Exile of Pius VI

    Pope Pius VI was taken prisoner during the proclamation and exiled to France in February 1798.

Background and detail

Background. The Papal States had been part of the First Coalition against France. Following the Treaty of Tolentino in 1797, tensions remained high. The killing of French military attaché Léonard Duphot in December 1797 provided a pretext for further French intervention in the region.

Invasion and Occupation. French troops under General Berthier invaded the Papal States in early 1798. On 11 February, they occupied the city of Rome. This military action marked the end of the Pope's temporal authority and the beginning of French control over the region.

Establishment of the Roman Republic. On 15 February 1798, Berthier proclaimed the Roman Republic, a sister republic of France. Simultaneously, Pope Pius VI was taken prisoner. He was escorted out of Rome on 20 February and exiled to France, where he eventually died.

People involved

Sources

  1. Roman Republic (1798–1799) Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-30
  2. Louis-Alexandre Berthier Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-24

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.