if but for a short period. In 577 Liuvigild marched into Orespeda, a region in southeastern Spain, and after suppressing an immediate revolt "of the common people" added this province to his kingdom. Upon the conclusion of these campaigns, Liuvigild celebrated his victories by founding a city in Celtiberia, which he named Recopolis for his son Reccared. In 582 Liuvigild then went on to capture Mérida, which had been under the political control of its popular bishop Masona since the early 570s. Over the course of his reign, Liuvigild had conquered most of the peninsula. Hermenegild's Revolt In 579, Hermenegild had converted to orthodox Christianity, persuaded by his Frankish wife Ingunthis and Leander, bishop of Seville. After his father, who considered this conversion treason, insisted on appointing Arians as bishops, Baetica revolted under the leadership of Hermenegild, who was supported by the orthodox bishops. Also on Hermenegild's side was none other than Pope Gregory the Great. Throughout the period of Hermenigild's religiously motivated sedition, Liuvigild sought various forms of theological reconciliation, including the acknowledgement of Catholic baptism (not forcing Arians to undergo a cleansing re-baptism upon conversion), tolerating the Catholic veneration of relics and saints, and softening the distinction between Christ and the Father by declaring them equals as opposed to the traditional Arian position, which held Christ as subordinate. These unifying religious efforts came to naught since Arianism was losing its intellectual appeal to Roman Catholic orthodoxy. Hermenegild's revolt worried Liuvigild, as it raised concerns about his relations with the Merovingians; namely, since Ingund's brother, Childebert II—who had gained power following the death of his Merovingian father, Sigibert I—began taking an interest in the developments of his sister's realm. Attempting to counteract any possible Frankish support for the Hermengild's rebellion, Liuvigild pressed for a marriage between Reccared and Chilperic's daughter, Rigunth, which unfortunately proved diplomatically useless upon Chilperic's death. During this father-son feud, Hermengild presented himself as a victim as he tried to forge alliances in the name of Catholicism. Despite having Pope Gregory's tacit support, contemporary Catholic writers—including Isidore of Seville and Gregory of Tours—expressed little to no sympathy for Hermenegild's revolt against his father. When the Byzantines failed to send aid for the revolt, Liuvigild besieged and took Seville and in 584, banished his son to Valencia, where in 585, he was later murdered. Leander of Seville was also banished and later canonized as a saint. Hermenegild's