asking Charles Martel to intervene and drive out the Lombards. Charles however, did not respond to the request. A law issued by Liutprand in 723 (No. 33) prohibits a man from marrying the widow of his cousin on either mother's or father's side, and specifically states that the "Pope in the city of Rome" [papa urbis romae] had sent him a letter exhorting him to issue this legislation, indicating a degree of cordial communication between them. Imperial weakness in Italy encouraged further Lombard incursions, and in 725, they captured the fortress of Narni. Then in 727, with the Exarchate of Ravenna in chaos over the Byzantine Emperor’s iconoclast decrees (see below), the Lombards captured and destroyed Classis and overran the Pentapolis. Although Classis was retaken in 728, fighting continued between Byzantine forces and the Lombards until 729, when Gregory brokered a deal between Liutprand and the Byzantine exarch, Eutychius, bringing about a temporary ceasing of hostilities that held until Gregory’s death. Gregory and Liutprand met in 729 at the ancient city of Sutri. Here, the two reached an agreement, known as the Donation of Sutri, whereby Sutri and some hill towns in Latium (see Vetralla) were given to the papacy. They were the first extension of papal territory beyond the confines of the Duchy of Rome, and in effect marked the beginning of the Papal States. Conflict with Emperor Leo III Tensions between Gregory and the imperial court began around 722 when emperor Leo III attempted to raise taxes on the papal patrimonies in Italy, draining the Papacy’s monetary reserves. Leo required this revenue to pay for the ongoing Arab war, while Gregory needed it to provide local foodstuffs for the city of Rome, thereby relieving Rome on its reliance upon the long-distance supply of grain. The result of which was, through refusing to pay the additional taxes, Gregory encouraged the Roman populace to drive the imperial governor of Rome from the city, and Leo was unable to impose his will upon Rome, as Lombard pressure kept the exarch of Ravenna from fielding an army to bring the pope to heel. However, in 725, possibly at the emperor’s request, Marinus, who had been sent from Constantinople to govern the Duchy of Rome, encouraged a conspiracy to murder the pope. Involving a duke named Basil, the Chartoularios Jordanes, and a subdeacon named Laurion, the departure of Marinus paused the plot, only