Original: The failure of the East to send aid resulted in the popes themselves feeding the city with grain from papal estates , negotiating treaties , paying protection money to Lombard warlords , and , failing that , hiring soldiers to defend the city .
Simplified: Thus the popes , out of necessity , found themselves feeding the city with grain from papal estates , negotiating treaties , paying protection money to Lombard warlords , and , failing that , hiring soldiers to defend the city .