Charlemagne King of the Franks

CharlemagneKing of the Franks

Ancient Europe

At the end of the Roman Empire the Visigoths ruled most of Gaul!

Enter the Franks!The Franks began to expand their empire from Germany into FranceClovis became the leader of the Franks (at age 15) In just a few years he defeated the Visigoths and other Germanic tribes in GaulHe became the first Christian king of the Franks after he won a major victory and converted as a resultClovis died and his four son’s took over they didn’t do much and the Mayor of the Palace took control

The Road to Charlemagne

Charlemagne's grandfather, Charles Martel, was a Mayor of the Palace and held more power than the kingHe is best known for the battle at Tours (France)

Muslims from Spain had invaded Frankish territoryHe met the Muslims at Tours and defeated them

Remember the surprise retreat trick from the film? Yup, that was him.

He is credited with saving Christianity in Europe!

The Road to Charlemagne

When Martel died his sons, Carloman and Pepin (the Short), took over as joint Mayors of the Palace in 741Carloman retired to religious life in 747 leaving Pepin at sole Mayor of the PalaceIn 751 A.D. Pepin, with the backing of the Pope, seizes the throne and declares himself kingPepin is the first of the Carolingian family line to become king

Charles the GreatAccording to Frankish inheritance rights, Pepin’s sons Carloman and Charles become co-rulersCarloman died (poison???) and Charles becomes the sole ruler of the Carolingian Empire

Muslim “Invasion” of Europe

Spread of IslamMuslims had conquered Arabia, the Middle East, North Africa, and almost all of Spain by the time Charles was king of the FranksThe influence of Islam was quickly spreading into Europe!

(We will return to the impact of Islam and the Islam religion soon)

Charles tried to conquer Northern Spain from the Muslims but failed

Conquests of Charles the Great

Charles has already stopped the Lombards when they threatened the Pope and invaded ItalyHe now defeats the German Saxons their leader converts to Christianity (as well as other German Saxons)This gives Charles control over all of Gaul, Germany, central Europe, and parts of Italy His efforts to convert his conquered foes and spread Christianity leads to the full support of the church

CharlemagneOn Christmas day 800 A.D. the Pope crowned Charles the "Holy Roman Emperor" Charles became known as Charlemagne

Translated: Charles The Great

The Reign of Charlemagne

Charlemagne ruled as Holy Roman Emperor for 14 years until his death in 814 A.D.He died of a fever at age 71His kingdom was passed to his only son, Louis ILouis I was a weak ruler and his three son’s divided the empire, leading to the dissolvement of Charlemagne’s empire

The Legacy of Charlemagne

Offices are created or adapted by CharlemagneVariations of dukes, counts, marquises

Charlemagne reorganized the monetary system, devising the system of pounds, shillings and pence The monastic schools Charlemagne developed would preserve a tradition of learning Works of ancient Rome are preserved