Wealthy families of the Roman nobility followed Constantine's example. Their memory frequently survived, after the families themselves became extinct, in the names of the properties they once presented to the Roman See. During his reign, Pope Sylvester became the owner of properties in Italy, Sicily, Antiochia, Asia Minor, in the area of Hippo in North Africa, Armenia, and Mesopotamia. The donation of large estates ceased about 600 AD. The Byzantine emperors preferred the patriarchate of Constantinople, and were less liberal in their gifts. The wars with the Lombards likewise had an unfavourable effect, and few families were still in a position to bequeath large estates.