Charlemagne (c. 747 - c. 814)

Charlemagne was born in the late 740s near Liège in modern dayBelgium, the son of the Frankish king Pepin the Short. When Pepin diedin 768, his kingdom was divided between his two sons and for three yearsCharlemagne ruled with his younger brother Carloman. When Carloman diedsuddenly in 771, Charlemagne became sole ruler.

Charlemagne spent the early part of his reign on several militarycampaigns to expand his kingdom. He invaded Saxony in 772 and eventuallyachieved its total conquest and conversion to Christianity. He alsoextended his dominance to the south, conquering the kingdom of theLombards in northern Italy. In 778, he invaded northern Spain, thencontrolled by the Moors. Between 780 and 800, Charlemagne added Bohemiato his empire and subdued the Avars in the middle Danube basin to form abuffer state for the eastern border of his empire.

In 800 a rebellion against Pope Leo III began. Charlemagne went tohis aid in Rome and defeated the rebellion. As a token of thanks, Leocrowned Charlemagne on Christmas Day that year, declaring him emperor ofthe Romans. Although this did not give Charlemagne any new powers, itlegitimised his rule over his Italian territories and attempted torevive the imperial tradition of the western Roman emperor.

The immense territories which Charlemagne controlled became knownas the Carolingian empire. Charlemagne introduced administrative reformsthroughout the lands he controlled, establishing key representatives ineach region and holding a general assembly each year at his court atAachen. He standardised weights, measures and customs dues, which helpedimprove commerce and initiated important legal reforms. He alsoattempted to consolidate Christianity throughout his vast empire. Hepersuaded many eminent scholars to come to his court and established anew library of Christian and classical works.

Charlemagne died in 814. His successors lacked his vision and authority, and his empire did not long outlive him.