Charlemagne King 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 France Clovis became the leader of the Franks (at age 15) In just a few years he defeated the Visigoths and other Germanic tribes in Gaul He became the first Christian king of the Franks after he won a major victory and converted as a result Clovis 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 king He is best known for the battle at Tours (France) Muslims from Spain had invaded Frankish territory He 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 741 Carloman retired to religious life in 747 leaving Pepin at sole Mayor of the Palace In 751 A.D. Pepin, with the backing of the Pope, seizes the throne and declares himself king Pepin is the first of the Carolingian family line to become king

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

Muslim “Invasion” of Europe

Spread of Islam Muslims had conquered Arabia, the Middle East, North Africa, and almost all of Spain by the time Charles was king of the Franks The 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 Italy He 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

Charlemagne On 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 71 His kingdom was passed to his only son, Louis I Louis 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 Charlemagne Variations 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 Works of ancient Rome are preserved