Arechis was duke when Charlemagne conquered the north Italian Lombard kingdom in 774. Although Arechis refused to submit when Charlemagne made himself king of the Lombards, Benevento was left largely unmolested. In the same year Arechis adopted the title of "prince of Benevento". He also issued a handful of laws. Both these acts were probably intended as a gesture of defiance against Charlemagne—until this time only the Lombard kings had enacted laws. Since Charlemagne now styled himself king of the Lombards, Arechis was effectively rejecting Charlemagne's right to this title.