The Lombards arrived in Italy in 568, quickly overrunning the Roman province that had recently been reconquered at immense cost. In 584 the remaining Roman territories were organised into the semi-independent Exarchate of Ravenna, which fought the Lombards for decades over control of the border regions. In 640 the Lombards made one last attempt to salvage a victory. After several skirmishes at the beginning of the year, the Lombard and Roman armies finally met on the east bank of the River Ticino, not far from the Lombard's capital of Pavia.