Charlemagne

**Charlemagne** ( ; , French: Charlemagnes, , , ) (c. 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was the King of the Franks and the first Holy Roman Emperor. He was crowned as emperor on Christmas Day in 800. He was the older son of King Pepin III of the Carolingian dynasty. When Pepin died, Charlemagne and his brother Carloman ruled together. When Carloman died in 771 Charlemagne became the only ruler of the Franks.

## Life

The Franksm one of the Germanic peoples who had moved from over the Rhine River into the Roman Empire as it was falling apart, were by 700 the rulers of Gaul and much of Germania east of the Rhine. They also protected the papacy and the Roman Catholic faith. When their king, Pepin the Short, died, his sons, Charlemagne and Carloman were chosen to share the kingdom. They divided it into two parts: one half for Charlemagne, and the other for Carloman. Carloman died on December 4, 771, leaving Charlemagne as the leader of the whole Frankish kingdom.

Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and King of the Lombards from 774. He was crowned Imperator Augustus (Emperor) in Rome on Christmas Day by Pope Leo III in 800. That started the Holy Roman Empire, which they hoped would be a kind of second Western Roman Empire; the Byzantines in Constantinople were still the Eastern Roman Empire. With many wars, Charlemagne spread his empire across much of Western Europe.

Charlemagne fought in many wars over the course of his reign. He is known for using his sword, _Joyeuse_, in each of the thirty years of war and the 18 battles in he fought. He also finally managed to conquer Saxony, which Roman Emperor Augustus had not been managed 800 years earlier. He converted the Saxons to Catholicism. He also had many schools built so that his people could learn. However, he also killed thousands of those who failed to convert.

## Death

Charlemagne's politics and plans failed, which led to his low self-esteem. His last years were spent in bed in deep depression. He died in 814, leaving his kingdom to his only son, Louis the Pious. The descendants of Charlemagne are called Carolingians. His family line died out in Germany in 911 and in France in 987.

## Battles and campaigns

- During the Saxon Wars, also called the Saxon War or the Saxon Uprising, campaigns and insurrections lasted from 772 to 805 after Charlemagne first entered Saxony with the intent of conquest.

## Related pages

- Charlemagne Prize

## Infobox (royalty)

- **name**: Charlemagne
- **title**: Holy Roman Emperor, Imperator Romanorum
- **image**:
- **caption**: A denarius of Charlemagne dated  with the inscription KAROLVS IMP AVG
(_Karolus Imperator Augustus_)
- **succession2**: Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of the Carolingian Empire
- **reign2**: 25 December 800 – 28 January 814
- **coronation2**: 25 December 800
Old St. Peter's Basilica, Rome
- **successor2**: Louis the Pious
- **birth place**: Francia
- **death place**: Aachen, Francia
- **house**: Carolingian dynasty, Carolingian
- **house-type**: Dynasty
- **father**: Pepin the Short
- **mother**: Bertrada of Laon
- **signature type**: Signum manus
- **religion**: Chalcedonian Christianity
- **succession1**: King of the Lombards
- **reign1**: June 774 – 28 January 814
- **predecessor1**: Desiderius
- **successor1**: Bernard of Italy, Bernard
- **regent1**: Pepin of Italy (781–810)
- **reg-type1**: Co-ruler
- **succession**: King of the Franks
- **reign**: 9 October 768 –
28 January 814
- **coronation**: 9 October 768
Noyon
- **regent**: Carloman I (768–771)
Charles the Younger, Charles (800–811)
- **reg-type**: Co-ruler
- **predecessor**: Pepin the Short
- **successor**: Louis the Pious
- **place of burial**: Aachen Cathedral
- **signature**: Karldergrossesignatur.svg