What if the Carantanians had managed to defeat the Lombards sometime around the 8th century, and occupy Northern Italy? Perhaps all the way to Mantua, to keep it more or less realistic...
How would the Carantanian state develop from there on in, in terms of:
-Language and culture?
-Foreign relations? Specifically with the Franks, remaining Lombards, Byzantines, Pannonian peoples, other Slavs, etc.
-Religion?
Where would be the Carantanian city center of power?
 
Carantanians were one of the chiefdoms whom creation depended from their proximity to one or the other entity : for a time it was Avars, and with the collapse of the coalition led by Samo, Carantania seems to plays no role worth of mention in regional history. Maybe if Avars were able to renforce their dominance over western Slavs, you could see raids in Italy whom Carantanians would participate. So, basically, what happened in the early VIIIth century would continue, maybe up to the Po instead of remaining limited to Venetic coast.But Lombards weren't really pushovers, and I'm not sure it would really go this way.

Maybe the key of having Carantians settling in Italy would be to have Bavarian dukes being too busy with Peppinids to really be allies for Carantanians, eventually ending these to call the Duke of Frioul for help, Carantians vassals of the Lombards and some being settled there and there in Frioul.
 
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