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Stephen II was a pope who served as the head of the Catholic Church in the 8th century. He is historically significant because he established the Papal States through his alliance with the Frankish king Pepin the Short, which gave the papacy temporal political power in addition to its spiritual authority.
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Pope Stephen II (Latin: Stephanus II; 714 – 26 April 757) was the bishop of Rome from 752 until his death in 757. Stephen II marks the historical delineation between the Byzantine Papacy and the Frankish Papacy. During Stephen's pontificate, Rome was facing invasion by the Lombards when Stephen II went to Paris to seek assistance from Pepin the Short. Pepin defeated the Lombards and made a gift of land to the pope, eventually leading to the establishment of the Papal States.
Early life