These maneuvers had been favorable to the Franks in general, but posed serious threats to Carloman's position. He had been left without allies: he attempted to use his brother's alliance with the Lombards to his own advantage in Rome, offering his support against the Lombards to Stephen III and entering into secret negotiations with the "Primicerius", Christopher, who has been isolated by the Franco-Lombard "rapprochement"; but after the murder of Christopher by Desiderius, Stephen III gave his support to the Lombards and Charlemagne. Carloman's position was rescued, however, by Charlemagne's sudden repudiation of his Lombard wife, Desiderius' daughter. Desiderius, outraged and humiliated, appears to have made an alliance with Carloman in opposition to Charlemagne and the Papacy, which took the opportunity to declare itself against the Lombards.