 The settlement area of the ancient Histri tribes had been conquered by the Roman Empire until 178 BC and was incorporated into the northeastern "Venetia et Histria" region of the "Italia" province under Emperor Augustus.Upon the Decline of the Roman Empire and the Migration Period, the Lombards under King Alboin from 568 onwards conquered "Venetia", where they established the Duchy of Friuli, part of their Kingdom of Italy.The Istrian peninsula remained under Byzantine (Eastern Roman) influence, while South Slavic tribes (Croatians and Slovenes) settled in the east and north.