caption reign predecessor succession successor death_date death_place religion type coronation image article_title name more
replica monument traditionally regarded as portrait of otto & nbsp ; of i -lrb- magdeburg , original c. & nbsp ; 1240 the -rrb- '' magdeburger reiter '' , equestrian 2 july 936 -- 7 may 973 henry the fowler king of germany otto ii 973 5 7 912 11 23 yes memleben , holy roman empire roman catholic monarch 7 august 936 alter markt -lrb- magdeburg-altstadt -rrb- . magdeburger reiter edit.jpg otto i , holy roman emperor
 otto the great 1st emperor of the holy roman empire
otto i , holy roman emperor

otto i -lrb- 23 november 912 -- 7 may 973 -rrb- , also known as otto the great , was german king from 936 and emperor of the holy roman empire from 962 until his death in 973 .
the oldest son of henry i the fowler and matilda , otto was `` the first of the germans to be called the emperor of italy '' .
otto inherited the duchy of saxony and the kingship of the germans upon his father 's death in 936 .
he continued his father 's work of unifying all german tribes into a single kingdom and greatly expanded the king 's powers at the expense of the aristocracy .
through strategic marriages and personal appointments , otto installed members of his family in the kingdom 's most important duchies .
this reduced the various dukes , who had previously been co-equals with the king , to royal subjects under his authority .
otto transformed the roman catholic church in germany to strengthen the royal office and subjected its clergy to his personal control .
after putting down a brief civil war among the rebellious duchies , otto defeated the magyars at the battle of lechfeld in 955 , thus ending the hungarian invasions of western europe .
the victory against the pagan magyars earned otto a reputation as a savior of christendom and secured his hold over the kingdom .
by 961 , otto had conquered the kingdom of italy and extended his realm 's borders to the north , east , and south .
the patronage of otto and his immediate successors facilitated a limited cultural renaissance of the arts and architecture .
following the example of charlemagne 's coronation as `` emperor of the romans '' in 800 , otto was crowned emperor in 962 by pope john xii in rome .
otto 's later years were marked by conflicts with the papacy and struggles to stabilize his rule over italy .
reigning from rome , otto sought to improve relations with the byzantine empire , which opposed his claim to emperorship and his realm 's further expansion to the south .
to resolve this conflict , the byzantine princess theophanu married his son , otto ii , in april 972 .
otto finally returned to germany in august 972 and died at memleben in 973 .
otto ii succeeded him as emperor .
