Charlemagne
Charlemagne
(ca. 742 - 28 January 814)
Charlemagne (Latin: Carolus Magnus, meaning Charles the Great) was King of the Franks from 768, and also Emperor of the Romans from 800, until his death in 814. As King of the Franks he expanded his kingdom into an empire that spanned much of Western and Central Europe, and included Italy, where he was crowned Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III. Charlemagne is Charles I in the regnal lists of Germany, the Holy Roman Empire and France.
The West Germanic Franks (Germanic tribes living north and east of the Lower Rhine River) had been Christianized by the 6th century. Francia, or the Frankish Empire, was the most powerful of the kingdoms that came after the Western Roman Empire, and was ruled by the Merovingians, a Salian Frankish dynasty originating north of the limes in the area above the Rhine. After the Battle of Tertry in 687, the Merovingians lost power and their chief officer, the mayor of the palace, was in charge of nearly all governmental matters. In 687, Pippin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, achieved a victory at Tertry and was the sole governor of the Frankish kingdom, ending disputes with the various kings and their mayors. Pippin was succeeded by his illegitimate son Charles, later known as Charles Martel (the Hammer), who governed the Franks after 737 without a king on the throne. Charles was succeeded by his sons Carloman and Pepin the Short, the father of Charlemagne. Carloman and Pepin placed Childeric III on the throne in 743, who was the last Merovingian king, in order to prevent separatism in the periphery of the realm. Carloman resigned in 746 and became a monk instead, and Pepin took the question of kingship to Pope Zachary, who decreed it would be better for Pepin to be named king, so as not to confuse the hierarchy. In 750, Pepin was elected by an assembly of Franks, anointed by the archbishop, and given the office of king. Childeric III was ordered to a monastery by the Pope, who declared him to be a “false king”. And so the Merovingian dynasty was replaced by the Carolingian dynasty, named so after Pepin's father, Charles Martel, with the Frankish kingdom spreading to include an area that encompassed most of Western Europe.
The actual date of Charlemagne's birth isn't known, but guesses based upon a number of sources make 2 April 742 the most likely date. He was probably born in Herstal, Wallonia, a town close to Liége in modern-day Belgium, where his father was born, and which is close to the region where both the Merovingian and Caroligian families originated. Although Jupille is listed as his likely place of birth in most history books, this is probably due to the fact that he went to live there when he was around seven. Charlemagne was named Karl (Carolus) after his grandfather, Charles Martel, and became Charlemagne after the Norman conquest of Britain, and Charles le Magne, Charles the Great by subsequent French historians, a title that was translated into the many languages in Europe.
Pepin, who'd ruled over the Franks for over 15 years, died of dropsy on September 24, 768, at the close of the Aquitainian War, which he'd been engaged in with William, Duke of Aquitania, for nine years. In a general assembly, the Franks made both his sons, Charles and Carloman, kings on October 9th 768, with the condition that they divide the kingdom between them equally. Charles took the part that had belonged to Pepin (the outer parts of the kingdom: Neustria, western Aquitaine and the northern parts of Austrasia), and Carloman took the part that had belonged to their uncle Carloman I (the inner parts: southern Austrasia, Septimania, eastern Aquitaine, Burgundy, Provence and Swabia). Charles' first action was the Aquitainian War, which his father had begun but not brought to a finish, and so in 769 there was an uprising of the Aquitainians and Gascons in the territory split between Charles and Carloman. The two brothers met, but Carloman refused to take part in the war and returned to Burgundy. Charles led an army to Bordeaux and set up fort at Fronsac, forcing Hunald, who'd led the Aquitainians as far north as Angouleme, to flee to the court of Duke Lupus II of Gascony. Lupus turned Hunald over in exchange for peace, whereupon Hunald was put into a monastery and Aquitaine was fully ruled by the Franks. Charles and Carloman's relationship was a difficult one, their mother Bertrada often helping to keep the peace. In 770, Charles signed a treaty with Duke Tassilo Ill of Bavaria, marrying the Lombard princess Desiderata, the daughter of King Desiderius, in order to surround Carloman with his own allies. However, less than a year after marrying her, Charles renounced Desiderata and remarried, this time Hildegard, a 13-year-old girl from Swabia. Desiderata went back to her father's court at Pavia, and the Lombard king was ready to side with Carloman in order to defeat Charles. Carloman died on 5 December 771, before conflict could ensue, and his widow, Gerberga, fled to Desiderius' court along with her sons, seeking protection.
In 773, after settling matters in Aquitania, Charlemagne was entreated by Hadrian, the Bishop of Rome, to wage war on the Lombards. Charlemagne's father had done so at the request of Pope Stephen II, but under great difficulty and under the opposition of leading Franks, quickly concluding the war against the Lombard king Astolf in 754. Charlemagne and his uncle Bernard crossed the Alps in 773, chasing the Lombards back to Pavia and besieging them. Meanwhile Adelchis, the son of Desiderius was raising an army at Verona and Charlemagne temporarily left the siege, chasing him to the Adriatic littoral, from where he fled to Constantinople to seek help from Constantine V, who was at war with Bulgaria. The siege didn't end until the spring of 774, when Charlemagne visited the pope in Rome and was granted the title patrician, after which he went back to Pavia, where the Lombards were about to surrender, which they did in early summer. Desiderius was sent to the abbey of Corbie, and his son Adelchis died in Constantinople as a patrician. Charlemagne was crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy, and forced the magnates of Lombardy to pay him homage at Pavia. After that, he left Italy with a garrison in Pavia, and with several Frankish counts in place that same year. Italy remained unstable, however, and in 776, Duke Hrodgaud of Friuli and Duke Hildeprand of Spoleto rebelled. Charlemagne returned from Saxony and killed the duke of Friuli in battle, after which the duke of Spoleto signed a treaty. Arechis, their co-conspirator, wasn't subdued, however, and in 778, Charlemagne focused on Benevento, where Arechis was reigning independently. Charlemagne besieged Salerno and Arechis submitted to vassalage. This only lasted until his death in 792, when his son Grimoald III again proclaimed independence. Grimoald was attacked by Charlemagne's armies many times, but Charlemagne never went back to the Mezzogiorno, and Grimoald was never forced to submit to Frankish suzerainty which would have allowed him some domestic autonomy while the Franks controlled foreign affairs.
The years 780-782 marked a time of peace for Charlemagne, and he began to give his sons positions in the past tradition of kings and mayors of the realm, and even though he kept the real power in these regions, he intended his sons to inherit the realms in the future. His son Carloman was made king of Italy and was crowned by the Pope with the Iron Crown, and was also renamed “Pippin” in the ceremony. His younger brother Louis was made king of Aquitaine. Nevertheless, he didn't tolerate insubordination from his sons, and sent his eldest (and probably illegitimate) son, Pippin the Hunchback, to a monastery in Prüm in 792, for joining a rebellion against him. Charlemagne's sons fought many wars on his behalf. Most notably against the Bretons and the Saxons, and in 805 and 806 with the Slavs. Charlemagne devastated the valley of the Elbe and forced a tribute on the Slavs, ancestors of the modern-day Czechs. Pippin also fought the Slavs and held the Avar and Beneventan borders. Louis was in charge of the Spanish March, a buffer zone beyond the province of Septimania, and fought the duke of Benevento in Italy at least once. He also besieged and conquered Barcelona in 797.
The Frankish power structure south of the Loire proved shaky, despite the war led by Pepin in Aquitaine being brought to a good resolution for the Franks. Aquitaine submitted to the Caroligians after the defeat and death of Waifer of Aquitaine in 768, but a new rebellion, led by Hunald II, broke out a year later. Hunald sought refuge with an ally, Lupus II of Gascony, but later pledged loyalty to Charlemagne, stabilizing the peace in the Basque region. Charlemagne appointed Seguin I of Gascony as count of Bordeaux in 778, and other counts of Frankish background in Toulouse and the County of Fézensac, undermining Hunald's power.
Using the County of Toulouse as a power base, Charlemagne asserted power on the Pyrenees from 781 to 806 by establishing the Spanish March and attacking the Hispanic Muslims, capturing Barcelona in 801. Representatives of the Muslim rulers of Zaragoza, Girona, Barcelona and Huesca went to the Diet of Paderborn because their masters had been driven back to the Iberian peninsula by Abd ar-Hahman I, the emir of Córdoba. These rulers asked Charlemagne's support in return for their homage. Charlemagne agreed to go to Spain, sensing an opportunity to expand his own rule. In 778 he led an army across the Western Pyrenees, and the Austrasians, Lombards and Burgundians marched over the Eastern Pyrenees. They met at Zaragoza and Charlemagne was paid homage by the Muslim rulers, but wasn't able to take the city; instead the Muslims had the upper hand and forced him to retreat. Not trusting the Basques, Charlemagne decided to turn back and left Iberia, but as he passed through the Pass of Roncesvalles, the Basques attacked his rearguard and baggage train, completely destroying it, which caused the Battle of Roncevaux Pass and many casualties.
In Italy, Pippin was often occupied with the Saracens, who controlled the Mediterranean at the time. Charlemagne conquered the Balearic Islands in 799, and also Corsica and Sardinia (date unknown). The Saracen pirates often attacked the islands, but the counts of Genoa and Tuscany were able to utilize fleets of ships to keep them under control until Charlemagne's death. In Spain, the fights with the Moors went on, with Louis in charge of the Spanish border. Louis' armies captured Gerona in 785, and Frankish rule was extended into the Catalan littoral, which lasted until the Treaty of Corbeil in 1258. The extension of the Frankish border continued until 795, and Gerona, Cardona, Ausona and Urgel were formed into the new Spanish March within the duchy of Septimania. In 797, Zeid, the governor of Barcelona, rebelled against Córdoba and failed. Upon this, he gave Barcelona to the Franks, where it stayed until 799 when the Umayyad authority recaptured it. The city capitulated to Louis of Aquitaine in 801, after being besieged for a year. After that, the Franks captured Tarragona in 809 and Tortosa two years later, bringing them to the mouth of the Ebro and giving them access to Valencia, which made the Emir al-Hakam I acknowledge their conquests in 812.
Charlemagne's reign was marked by near-constant battles, the Saxon Wars making up a total of thirty years and eighteen battles before he conquered Saxonia (made up of the regions Westphalia, Eastphalia, Engria and Nordalbingia) and converted the Saxons to Christianity. In 773, he conquered the Engrians and cut down an Irminsul pillar (a pillar playing a great role in Germanic pagan rituals) near Paderborn. He left briefly, interrupted by his expedition to Italy, then came back two years later, to march through Westphalia and conquer the fort of Sigiburg. After that he crossed Engria and then went to Eastphalia, defeating the Saxons both times and converting their leader, Hessi, to Christianity. He left encampments at Sigiburg and Eresburg, both vital Saxon bastions, and then Saxony, with the exception of Nordalbingia, was under his control, but the resistance from the Saxons didn't end there. Another campaign took him to Italy, where he subjugated the dukes of Friuli and Spoleto, then he returned to Saxony in 776. He defeated the Saxons again, who had destroyed his fortress at Eresburg, but their leader, Widukind, escaped to Denmark. Charlemagne built an encampment at Karlstadt, and in 777 called a national diet at Paderborn to include Saxony into the Frankish kingdom.
In 779, he invaded Saxony again to conquer Eastphalia, Engria and Westphalia a second time, dividing the land into districts in 780. After that, Saxony was peaceful until 782, when Charlemagne returned to institute a code of law that was uncompromising in religious issues, putting refusal to convert to Christianity under the death penalty. In autumn of that year, Widukind returned to lead a new revolt, and Charlemagne, in response, ordered the execution of 4,500 Saxon prisoners at the Massacre of Verden. This was the beginning of new revolts and wars that spanned three years, however, during it the Frisians were conquered and a large part of their fleet burned. The fighting only ended when Widukind converted to Christianity and was baptized. There was peace after that until 792, when the Westphalians revolted again, joined by the Eastphalians and Nordalbingians in 793, but the revolt was subdued in 794. The Engrians revolted two years later, but this was quickly put to an end by Charlemagne, Christian Saxons and the Slavs. The last revolt occurred in 804 by the Nordalbingians, but they were again conquered and converted to Christianity.
In 788, Charlemagne, claiming Tassilo was an unfit ruler, submitted Bavaria and had Tassilo confined to the monastery in Jumièges. In 794, at the synod of Frankfurt, Bavaria was divided into Frankish counties. Also in 788, a pagan horde from Asia, the Huns, invaded Friuli and Bavaria. Charlemagne marched down the Danube in 790, invading their territory and ravaging it. These campaigns would have continued, but in 792, the Saxons revolted again. Until 794, Charlemagne was preoccupied with the Slavs fighting the Saxons, and the Ring of the Avars, their main fortress, was conquered twice. The spoils were sent to Aachen, Charlemagne's capital, and divided among his followers. The Avars surrendered and went to Aachen, subjecting themselves to Charlemagne and converting to Christianity. Charlemagne accepted their surrender and sent one baptized chief, Abraham, back to Avaria to keep the people in line. Abraham succeeded until 800, when the Bulgarians, under Khan Krum, demolished the Avar state.
Charlemagne took an Austrasian-Saxony army across the Elbe into Obotrite territory in 789, causing the Slavs and their leader, Witzin, to surrender. Charlemagne accepted the submission of the Wiltzes under Dragovit in exchange for hostages and permission to send missionaries into the region. Charlemagne's army moved to the Baltic, turned and marched to the Rhine, encountering no resistance, with the Slavs becoming allies. In 795 the Saxons revolted and the Abotrites and Wiltzes sided with Charlemagne against them. Witzin was killed in battle and Thrasuco, his successor, conquered the Nordalbingians, handing their leaders over to Charlemagne. The Abotrites remained allies until Charlemagne's death, and later fought against the Danes.
In 799, Pope Leo III, who had been abused by the Romans, was able to flee to Charlemagne at Paderborn, asking for his intervention. Charlemagne went to Rome in November 800, and held a council there on 1 December. On 23 December, Pope Leo swore an oath of innocence, and crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Romans on Christmas Day at Saint Peter's Basilica, thereby reviving the Western Roman Empire and nullifying the claim of Empress Irene of Constantinople to the throne. Charlemagne's claim to the imperial title wasn't considered an usurpation by the Franks nor the Italians, however it was in Byzantinum, where Irene and her successor, Nicephorus I, protested; however neither had any success in enforcing their protests. However, the Byzantines still had several territories in Italy: Venice, Reggio in Calabria, Brindisi in Apulia, and Naples. These regions didn't fall to the Franks until 804, when the Venetians swore allegiance to Pippin, Charlemagne's son. Nicephorus destroyed the coast with a fleet of ships, and war began between the Byzantines and the Franks, lasting until 810. Then the pro-Byzantine party in Venice handed the city back to the Byzantine Emperor, who made peace with Charlemagne. Charlemagne received the Istrian peninsula in 812, and the emperor Michael I Rhangaes recognized his status as Emperor.
After conquering Nordalbingia, the Franks were brought into contact with Scandinavia, with the pagan Danes inhabiting the Jutland peninsula, who had heard about Charlemagne's fearful reputation from Widukind and his allies. In 808, Godfred, the king of the Danes, built the Danevirke, a vast defense, across the isthmus of Schleswig, a 30-kilometer log earthen-work rampart. This defense gave protection to the Danish land, allowing Godfred to conduct piracy raids into Frisia and Flanders, and to subdue the Wiltzes and fight the Abotrites. Godfred invaded Frisia but was murdered, either by a Frankish assassin or one of his own men. He was succeeded by his nephew, Hemming, who, in 811, concluded the Treaty of Heilingen with Charlemagne, establishing the southern border of Denmark at the Eider River and confirming peace between Hemming and Charlemagne.
Charlemagne undertook many reforms: financial, governmental, military, cultural and ecclesiastical, playing the primary role in the “Carolingian Renaissance”. Monetary reforms included abolishing the system based on the gold sou, which had the effect of economically harmonizing the vast array of currencies that had been in place at the beginning of Charlemagne's reign, which made trade and commerce simpler. The new standard was based upon a pound of silver, a unit of both money and weight, which was worth 20 sous or 240 deniers. During this time, the livre and sou were only counting units, with the denier the only coin in use. He also instituted principles for accounting, laying down rules for the way income and expenses were to be recorded. Lending out money for interest was prohibited, then reinforced in 814, when Charlemagne instituted a prohibition on Jews engaging in money-lending. He also instituted direct control of prices and levies on goods and commodities, applying the system to most of the European continent. Charlemagne also reformed education, promoting liberal arts at court, ordering that his children and their children be educated, and even studying himself under the tutelage of Paul the Deacon, who taught him in grammar, Alcuin, with whom he studied rhetoric, logic and astronomy, and Einhard, who tutored him in arithmetic. However, despite his attempts to learn at a late age, Charlemagne himself was never able to write, and his ability to read is questionable. Nonetheless, writing itself was reformed during his reign, and the Roman half uncial script was combined with features from the insular scripts used in Irish and English monasteries, and the Carolingian miniscule was created under Charlemagne's patronage.
Charlemagne also implemented many political reforms, but he also kept many traditional practices as well, for example the division of his kingdom among his sons. Charlemagne himself had jurisdiction in judicial matters, led the army, made legislative changes, and put the Church and the impoverished under his protection. In 806, Charlemagne made provisions to divide the empire after his death. Charles the Younger was appointed Austrasia, Neustria, Saxony, Burgundy and Thuringia. Pippin was given Italy, Bavaria and Swabia, and Louis was given Aquitaine, the Spanish March and Provence. The imperial title, however, wasn't mentioned, and it's assumed that Charlemagne regarded the title as an achievement without hereditary significance.
Charlemagne called Louis, his only surviving legitimate son, to court in 813 and crowned him as co-emperor before sending him back to Aquitaine. Charlemagne then spent the autumn hunting and went back to Aachen on 1 November, becoming sick with pleurisy the following January. Since most of his plans for the future weren't realized yet, he fell into a depression and took to his bed, where he died on 28 January at the age of 72, a biblical age at a time when life expectancy averaged 40-50 years. He was buried on the same day in the Aachen Cathedral. In 1165, Frederick I reopened the tomb and placed Charlemagne into a sarcophagus beneath the floor of the cathedral, and Frederick II reburied him in 1215 in a casket made of gold and silver. He was succeeded by Louis, and the empire only lasted another generation, its division between Louis' own sons laying the foundation for the states of Germany and France as we know them today.
(ca. 742 - 28 January 814)
Charlemagne (Latin: Carolus Magnus, meaning Charles the Great) was King of the Franks from 768, and also Emperor of the Romans from 800, until his death in 814. As King of the Franks he expanded his kingdom into an empire that spanned much of Western and Central Europe, and included Italy, where he was crowned Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III. Charlemagne is Charles I in the regnal lists of Germany, the Holy Roman Empire and France.
The West Germanic Franks (Germanic tribes living north and east of the Lower Rhine River) had been Christianized by the 6th century. Francia, or the Frankish Empire, was the most powerful of the kingdoms that came after the Western Roman Empire, and was ruled by the Merovingians, a Salian Frankish dynasty originating north of the limes in the area above the Rhine. After the Battle of Tertry in 687, the Merovingians lost power and their chief officer, the mayor of the palace, was in charge of nearly all governmental matters. In 687, Pippin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, achieved a victory at Tertry and was the sole governor of the Frankish kingdom, ending disputes with the various kings and their mayors. Pippin was succeeded by his illegitimate son Charles, later known as Charles Martel (the Hammer), who governed the Franks after 737 without a king on the throne. Charles was succeeded by his sons Carloman and Pepin the Short, the father of Charlemagne. Carloman and Pepin placed Childeric III on the throne in 743, who was the last Merovingian king, in order to prevent separatism in the periphery of the realm. Carloman resigned in 746 and became a monk instead, and Pepin took the question of kingship to Pope Zachary, who decreed it would be better for Pepin to be named king, so as not to confuse the hierarchy. In 750, Pepin was elected by an assembly of Franks, anointed by the archbishop, and given the office of king. Childeric III was ordered to a monastery by the Pope, who declared him to be a “false king”. And so the Merovingian dynasty was replaced by the Carolingian dynasty, named so after Pepin's father, Charles Martel, with the Frankish kingdom spreading to include an area that encompassed most of Western Europe.
The actual date of Charlemagne's birth isn't known, but guesses based upon a number of sources make 2 April 742 the most likely date. He was probably born in Herstal, Wallonia, a town close to Liége in modern-day Belgium, where his father was born, and which is close to the region where both the Merovingian and Caroligian families originated. Although Jupille is listed as his likely place of birth in most history books, this is probably due to the fact that he went to live there when he was around seven. Charlemagne was named Karl (Carolus) after his grandfather, Charles Martel, and became Charlemagne after the Norman conquest of Britain, and Charles le Magne, Charles the Great by subsequent French historians, a title that was translated into the many languages in Europe.
Pepin, who'd ruled over the Franks for over 15 years, died of dropsy on September 24, 768, at the close of the Aquitainian War, which he'd been engaged in with William, Duke of Aquitania, for nine years. In a general assembly, the Franks made both his sons, Charles and Carloman, kings on October 9th 768, with the condition that they divide the kingdom between them equally. Charles took the part that had belonged to Pepin (the outer parts of the kingdom: Neustria, western Aquitaine and the northern parts of Austrasia), and Carloman took the part that had belonged to their uncle Carloman I (the inner parts: southern Austrasia, Septimania, eastern Aquitaine, Burgundy, Provence and Swabia). Charles' first action was the Aquitainian War, which his father had begun but not brought to a finish, and so in 769 there was an uprising of the Aquitainians and Gascons in the territory split between Charles and Carloman. The two brothers met, but Carloman refused to take part in the war and returned to Burgundy. Charles led an army to Bordeaux and set up fort at Fronsac, forcing Hunald, who'd led the Aquitainians as far north as Angouleme, to flee to the court of Duke Lupus II of Gascony. Lupus turned Hunald over in exchange for peace, whereupon Hunald was put into a monastery and Aquitaine was fully ruled by the Franks. Charles and Carloman's relationship was a difficult one, their mother Bertrada often helping to keep the peace. In 770, Charles signed a treaty with Duke Tassilo Ill of Bavaria, marrying the Lombard princess Desiderata, the daughter of King Desiderius, in order to surround Carloman with his own allies. However, less than a year after marrying her, Charles renounced Desiderata and remarried, this time Hildegard, a 13-year-old girl from Swabia. Desiderata went back to her father's court at Pavia, and the Lombard king was ready to side with Carloman in order to defeat Charles. Carloman died on 5 December 771, before conflict could ensue, and his widow, Gerberga, fled to Desiderius' court along with her sons, seeking protection.
In 773, after settling matters in Aquitania, Charlemagne was entreated by Hadrian, the Bishop of Rome, to wage war on the Lombards. Charlemagne's father had done so at the request of Pope Stephen II, but under great difficulty and under the opposition of leading Franks, quickly concluding the war against the Lombard king Astolf in 754. Charlemagne and his uncle Bernard crossed the Alps in 773, chasing the Lombards back to Pavia and besieging them. Meanwhile Adelchis, the son of Desiderius was raising an army at Verona and Charlemagne temporarily left the siege, chasing him to the Adriatic littoral, from where he fled to Constantinople to seek help from Constantine V, who was at war with Bulgaria. The siege didn't end until the spring of 774, when Charlemagne visited the pope in Rome and was granted the title patrician, after which he went back to Pavia, where the Lombards were about to surrender, which they did in early summer. Desiderius was sent to the abbey of Corbie, and his son Adelchis died in Constantinople as a patrician. Charlemagne was crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy, and forced the magnates of Lombardy to pay him homage at Pavia. After that, he left Italy with a garrison in Pavia, and with several Frankish counts in place that same year. Italy remained unstable, however, and in 776, Duke Hrodgaud of Friuli and Duke Hildeprand of Spoleto rebelled. Charlemagne returned from Saxony and killed the duke of Friuli in battle, after which the duke of Spoleto signed a treaty. Arechis, their co-conspirator, wasn't subdued, however, and in 778, Charlemagne focused on Benevento, where Arechis was reigning independently. Charlemagne besieged Salerno and Arechis submitted to vassalage. This only lasted until his death in 792, when his son Grimoald III again proclaimed independence. Grimoald was attacked by Charlemagne's armies many times, but Charlemagne never went back to the Mezzogiorno, and Grimoald was never forced to submit to Frankish suzerainty which would have allowed him some domestic autonomy while the Franks controlled foreign affairs.
The years 780-782 marked a time of peace for Charlemagne, and he began to give his sons positions in the past tradition of kings and mayors of the realm, and even though he kept the real power in these regions, he intended his sons to inherit the realms in the future. His son Carloman was made king of Italy and was crowned by the Pope with the Iron Crown, and was also renamed “Pippin” in the ceremony. His younger brother Louis was made king of Aquitaine. Nevertheless, he didn't tolerate insubordination from his sons, and sent his eldest (and probably illegitimate) son, Pippin the Hunchback, to a monastery in Prüm in 792, for joining a rebellion against him. Charlemagne's sons fought many wars on his behalf. Most notably against the Bretons and the Saxons, and in 805 and 806 with the Slavs. Charlemagne devastated the valley of the Elbe and forced a tribute on the Slavs, ancestors of the modern-day Czechs. Pippin also fought the Slavs and held the Avar and Beneventan borders. Louis was in charge of the Spanish March, a buffer zone beyond the province of Septimania, and fought the duke of Benevento in Italy at least once. He also besieged and conquered Barcelona in 797.
The Frankish power structure south of the Loire proved shaky, despite the war led by Pepin in Aquitaine being brought to a good resolution for the Franks. Aquitaine submitted to the Caroligians after the defeat and death of Waifer of Aquitaine in 768, but a new rebellion, led by Hunald II, broke out a year later. Hunald sought refuge with an ally, Lupus II of Gascony, but later pledged loyalty to Charlemagne, stabilizing the peace in the Basque region. Charlemagne appointed Seguin I of Gascony as count of Bordeaux in 778, and other counts of Frankish background in Toulouse and the County of Fézensac, undermining Hunald's power.
Using the County of Toulouse as a power base, Charlemagne asserted power on the Pyrenees from 781 to 806 by establishing the Spanish March and attacking the Hispanic Muslims, capturing Barcelona in 801. Representatives of the Muslim rulers of Zaragoza, Girona, Barcelona and Huesca went to the Diet of Paderborn because their masters had been driven back to the Iberian peninsula by Abd ar-Hahman I, the emir of Córdoba. These rulers asked Charlemagne's support in return for their homage. Charlemagne agreed to go to Spain, sensing an opportunity to expand his own rule. In 778 he led an army across the Western Pyrenees, and the Austrasians, Lombards and Burgundians marched over the Eastern Pyrenees. They met at Zaragoza and Charlemagne was paid homage by the Muslim rulers, but wasn't able to take the city; instead the Muslims had the upper hand and forced him to retreat. Not trusting the Basques, Charlemagne decided to turn back and left Iberia, but as he passed through the Pass of Roncesvalles, the Basques attacked his rearguard and baggage train, completely destroying it, which caused the Battle of Roncevaux Pass and many casualties.
In Italy, Pippin was often occupied with the Saracens, who controlled the Mediterranean at the time. Charlemagne conquered the Balearic Islands in 799, and also Corsica and Sardinia (date unknown). The Saracen pirates often attacked the islands, but the counts of Genoa and Tuscany were able to utilize fleets of ships to keep them under control until Charlemagne's death. In Spain, the fights with the Moors went on, with Louis in charge of the Spanish border. Louis' armies captured Gerona in 785, and Frankish rule was extended into the Catalan littoral, which lasted until the Treaty of Corbeil in 1258. The extension of the Frankish border continued until 795, and Gerona, Cardona, Ausona and Urgel were formed into the new Spanish March within the duchy of Septimania. In 797, Zeid, the governor of Barcelona, rebelled against Córdoba and failed. Upon this, he gave Barcelona to the Franks, where it stayed until 799 when the Umayyad authority recaptured it. The city capitulated to Louis of Aquitaine in 801, after being besieged for a year. After that, the Franks captured Tarragona in 809 and Tortosa two years later, bringing them to the mouth of the Ebro and giving them access to Valencia, which made the Emir al-Hakam I acknowledge their conquests in 812.
Charlemagne's reign was marked by near-constant battles, the Saxon Wars making up a total of thirty years and eighteen battles before he conquered Saxonia (made up of the regions Westphalia, Eastphalia, Engria and Nordalbingia) and converted the Saxons to Christianity. In 773, he conquered the Engrians and cut down an Irminsul pillar (a pillar playing a great role in Germanic pagan rituals) near Paderborn. He left briefly, interrupted by his expedition to Italy, then came back two years later, to march through Westphalia and conquer the fort of Sigiburg. After that he crossed Engria and then went to Eastphalia, defeating the Saxons both times and converting their leader, Hessi, to Christianity. He left encampments at Sigiburg and Eresburg, both vital Saxon bastions, and then Saxony, with the exception of Nordalbingia, was under his control, but the resistance from the Saxons didn't end there. Another campaign took him to Italy, where he subjugated the dukes of Friuli and Spoleto, then he returned to Saxony in 776. He defeated the Saxons again, who had destroyed his fortress at Eresburg, but their leader, Widukind, escaped to Denmark. Charlemagne built an encampment at Karlstadt, and in 777 called a national diet at Paderborn to include Saxony into the Frankish kingdom.
In 779, he invaded Saxony again to conquer Eastphalia, Engria and Westphalia a second time, dividing the land into districts in 780. After that, Saxony was peaceful until 782, when Charlemagne returned to institute a code of law that was uncompromising in religious issues, putting refusal to convert to Christianity under the death penalty. In autumn of that year, Widukind returned to lead a new revolt, and Charlemagne, in response, ordered the execution of 4,500 Saxon prisoners at the Massacre of Verden. This was the beginning of new revolts and wars that spanned three years, however, during it the Frisians were conquered and a large part of their fleet burned. The fighting only ended when Widukind converted to Christianity and was baptized. There was peace after that until 792, when the Westphalians revolted again, joined by the Eastphalians and Nordalbingians in 793, but the revolt was subdued in 794. The Engrians revolted two years later, but this was quickly put to an end by Charlemagne, Christian Saxons and the Slavs. The last revolt occurred in 804 by the Nordalbingians, but they were again conquered and converted to Christianity.
In 788, Charlemagne, claiming Tassilo was an unfit ruler, submitted Bavaria and had Tassilo confined to the monastery in Jumièges. In 794, at the synod of Frankfurt, Bavaria was divided into Frankish counties. Also in 788, a pagan horde from Asia, the Huns, invaded Friuli and Bavaria. Charlemagne marched down the Danube in 790, invading their territory and ravaging it. These campaigns would have continued, but in 792, the Saxons revolted again. Until 794, Charlemagne was preoccupied with the Slavs fighting the Saxons, and the Ring of the Avars, their main fortress, was conquered twice. The spoils were sent to Aachen, Charlemagne's capital, and divided among his followers. The Avars surrendered and went to Aachen, subjecting themselves to Charlemagne and converting to Christianity. Charlemagne accepted their surrender and sent one baptized chief, Abraham, back to Avaria to keep the people in line. Abraham succeeded until 800, when the Bulgarians, under Khan Krum, demolished the Avar state.
Charlemagne took an Austrasian-Saxony army across the Elbe into Obotrite territory in 789, causing the Slavs and their leader, Witzin, to surrender. Charlemagne accepted the submission of the Wiltzes under Dragovit in exchange for hostages and permission to send missionaries into the region. Charlemagne's army moved to the Baltic, turned and marched to the Rhine, encountering no resistance, with the Slavs becoming allies. In 795 the Saxons revolted and the Abotrites and Wiltzes sided with Charlemagne against them. Witzin was killed in battle and Thrasuco, his successor, conquered the Nordalbingians, handing their leaders over to Charlemagne. The Abotrites remained allies until Charlemagne's death, and later fought against the Danes.
In 799, Pope Leo III, who had been abused by the Romans, was able to flee to Charlemagne at Paderborn, asking for his intervention. Charlemagne went to Rome in November 800, and held a council there on 1 December. On 23 December, Pope Leo swore an oath of innocence, and crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Romans on Christmas Day at Saint Peter's Basilica, thereby reviving the Western Roman Empire and nullifying the claim of Empress Irene of Constantinople to the throne. Charlemagne's claim to the imperial title wasn't considered an usurpation by the Franks nor the Italians, however it was in Byzantinum, where Irene and her successor, Nicephorus I, protested; however neither had any success in enforcing their protests. However, the Byzantines still had several territories in Italy: Venice, Reggio in Calabria, Brindisi in Apulia, and Naples. These regions didn't fall to the Franks until 804, when the Venetians swore allegiance to Pippin, Charlemagne's son. Nicephorus destroyed the coast with a fleet of ships, and war began between the Byzantines and the Franks, lasting until 810. Then the pro-Byzantine party in Venice handed the city back to the Byzantine Emperor, who made peace with Charlemagne. Charlemagne received the Istrian peninsula in 812, and the emperor Michael I Rhangaes recognized his status as Emperor.
After conquering Nordalbingia, the Franks were brought into contact with Scandinavia, with the pagan Danes inhabiting the Jutland peninsula, who had heard about Charlemagne's fearful reputation from Widukind and his allies. In 808, Godfred, the king of the Danes, built the Danevirke, a vast defense, across the isthmus of Schleswig, a 30-kilometer log earthen-work rampart. This defense gave protection to the Danish land, allowing Godfred to conduct piracy raids into Frisia and Flanders, and to subdue the Wiltzes and fight the Abotrites. Godfred invaded Frisia but was murdered, either by a Frankish assassin or one of his own men. He was succeeded by his nephew, Hemming, who, in 811, concluded the Treaty of Heilingen with Charlemagne, establishing the southern border of Denmark at the Eider River and confirming peace between Hemming and Charlemagne.
Charlemagne undertook many reforms: financial, governmental, military, cultural and ecclesiastical, playing the primary role in the “Carolingian Renaissance”. Monetary reforms included abolishing the system based on the gold sou, which had the effect of economically harmonizing the vast array of currencies that had been in place at the beginning of Charlemagne's reign, which made trade and commerce simpler. The new standard was based upon a pound of silver, a unit of both money and weight, which was worth 20 sous or 240 deniers. During this time, the livre and sou were only counting units, with the denier the only coin in use. He also instituted principles for accounting, laying down rules for the way income and expenses were to be recorded. Lending out money for interest was prohibited, then reinforced in 814, when Charlemagne instituted a prohibition on Jews engaging in money-lending. He also instituted direct control of prices and levies on goods and commodities, applying the system to most of the European continent. Charlemagne also reformed education, promoting liberal arts at court, ordering that his children and their children be educated, and even studying himself under the tutelage of Paul the Deacon, who taught him in grammar, Alcuin, with whom he studied rhetoric, logic and astronomy, and Einhard, who tutored him in arithmetic. However, despite his attempts to learn at a late age, Charlemagne himself was never able to write, and his ability to read is questionable. Nonetheless, writing itself was reformed during his reign, and the Roman half uncial script was combined with features from the insular scripts used in Irish and English monasteries, and the Carolingian miniscule was created under Charlemagne's patronage.
Charlemagne also implemented many political reforms, but he also kept many traditional practices as well, for example the division of his kingdom among his sons. Charlemagne himself had jurisdiction in judicial matters, led the army, made legislative changes, and put the Church and the impoverished under his protection. In 806, Charlemagne made provisions to divide the empire after his death. Charles the Younger was appointed Austrasia, Neustria, Saxony, Burgundy and Thuringia. Pippin was given Italy, Bavaria and Swabia, and Louis was given Aquitaine, the Spanish March and Provence. The imperial title, however, wasn't mentioned, and it's assumed that Charlemagne regarded the title as an achievement without hereditary significance.
Charlemagne called Louis, his only surviving legitimate son, to court in 813 and crowned him as co-emperor before sending him back to Aquitaine. Charlemagne then spent the autumn hunting and went back to Aachen on 1 November, becoming sick with pleurisy the following January. Since most of his plans for the future weren't realized yet, he fell into a depression and took to his bed, where he died on 28 January at the age of 72, a biblical age at a time when life expectancy averaged 40-50 years. He was buried on the same day in the Aachen Cathedral. In 1165, Frederick I reopened the tomb and placed Charlemagne into a sarcophagus beneath the floor of the cathedral, and Frederick II reburied him in 1215 in a casket made of gold and silver. He was succeeded by Louis, and the empire only lasted another generation, its division between Louis' own sons laying the foundation for the states of Germany and France as we know them today.