two dioceses formed an exception to the general rule. The strength of
the proof lies in this exception, which had a well-known cause for its
origin. Some of the documents[15] in the case, of the year 715, show
that the bishop of Siena claimed for his jurisdiction certain churches
which belonged to the diocese of Arezzo, basing his claim solely on
the ground that these churches were situated in the _territorium_ of
Siena. The bishop of Arezzo, on the other hand, claims them as part of
his diocese, on the ground that they had formed part of it ever since
the beginning of Lombard rule in Italy; and--which is the part of
importance to us--gives as the only reason for their having been
attached to the diocese of a neighboring _territorium_, the fact that
at that early date there was no bishop in the _territorium_ of Siena.
That a claim of such a character should have been based on the
argument of the natural coincidence of the boundaries of _territorium_
and diocese, is sufficient proof of the identity of these limits at
that age. In a bull of the year 752,[16] Pope Stephen II. decides to
adhere to the already existing diocesan divisions, and adjudges to the
bishop of Arezzo the churches "quae esse manifestum est sub
consecratione et regimine praefatae S. Aretinae Ecclesiae, territorium
vero est prefatae nominatae Civitatis Senensis."

We see then the perpetuation of the old Roman land divisions in the
new commonwealth through the medium of the _civitas_ and the diocese.
How long these divisions remained intact and what were the causes and
the extent of their final overthrow, forms part of the history of the
later development of the Italian communes. Here I will simply indicate
the fact, that among the reasons which led in most instances to a
departure from this system of land boundaries, are to be found some of
the most important causes for the development of freedom and
independent jurisdiction among the cities. It is to the destruction of