O EmpireCarolingian it began with the rise to power of the Carolingian Dynasty in 751, when Pepino the Breve was crowned king of the Franks, a Germanic people who settled in Gaul. The Carolingian Dynasty existed until the end of the tenth century, but the Carolingian Empire split into three kingdoms after the death of King Louis the Pious in 843.
The main Carolingian king was Charlemagne, son of Pepin the Brief, ruling from 768 to 814. Charlemagne promoted administrative reforms, extended the king's power, established vassalage and suzerainty pacts, and generated cultural development in his kingdom. He also expanded the boundaries of his domain through war.
Accessalso: Main events of the Low Middle Ages
What was the Carolingian Empire?
The Carolingian Empire was the continuation of the Kingdom of the Franks, but under the power of the DynastyCarolingian, therefore, was a continuity of the Germanic kingdom formed in Gaul, in the final stage of the
Western Roman Empire. The Franks were the only Germanic people who managed to establish a long-lasting kingdom.The Carolingian Empire it is also an attempt to recreate the Western Roman Empire, according to the understanding of historians. This is because one of the Carolingian emperors - Charlemagne - sought the support of the Church of Rome to recognize its power, in addition to expanding the borders of its empire through wars.
The Carolingian Empire began with the cucumber's coronation, o Short as king of the Franks in 751, and extended to the reign of Louis V the Indolent at the end of the tenth century. However, territorially, the empire fragmented after the reign of Louis the Pious, who died in 843. Thus, the domain was divided into three parts that, in the future, gave rise to the kingdom of france and to Holy Roman Empire.
Emergence of the Carolingian Dynasty
Over time, the power of the Franks, which focused on the figure of the king, migrated to figures of great importance in the administration of the kingdom: the butlersofKing, that accumulated important functions, such as the control of tax collection.
As they had much contact with the nobles, their power and influence began to surpass that of the kings themselves. This weakening was noticeable in recent years of DynastyMerovingian, making their kings known as lazy. This transition of power was consolidated with the wars fought between the Franks and the Muslims in the eighth century.
One of the most influential butlers in the history of the Kingdom of the Franks was Carloshammer, mainly because he led the Frankish troops that fought against the Muslim expansion in the Battle of Poitiers, in 732. The Muslim defeat ended the expansion of Muslims across Europe, and Carlos Martel, the palace steward, gained even more influence.
Charles Martel's son, Pepin the Brief, enlisted the support of the pope and the Frankish nobles to become king. So the Merovingians were stripped of power, and Cucumber, the Brief became king of the Franks in 751. His coronation started the Carolingian Dynasty, responsible for expanding the borders of the Franks and trying to recreate the Western Roman Empire.
Some historians understand that the Carolingian Dynasty already began with Carlos Martel in the role of butler, but most consider only the coronation of Pepino the Breve as the milestone that opened. This is because Charles Martel, despite being the de facto ruler of the Franks, was never crowned king, remaining as a steward for life.
The last Merovingian king was Kilderic III, and his deposition, in 751, was the result of the alliance of Pepin the Brief with Pope Zechariah.
Know more: Dynasties of the Roman Empire - Emperors and Characteristics
reign of Charlemagne
Altogether, the Carolingian Empire had four emperors before the territorial fragmentation: Pepino the Brief; Carloman I; Charlemagne; and Louis the Pious. Among them, the best known was Carlosgreat, who ruled from 768 to 814, and from 800 to 814, by order of the Catholic Church, he did so with the title of Emperor of the West.
The reign of Charlemagne was considered extremely Successful, firstly, because he performed the territorial expansion of the Kingdom of the Franks. Furthermore, he extended his power over the nobles by establishing the vassalage and suzerainty relations; tried to accomplish legal and monetary reforms; expanded the kingdom's bureaucracy; and strengthened the Franks' alliance with the Catholic Church.
Charlemagne was crowned King of the Franks in 768, along with his brother Carloman I, after his father, Pepin the Brief, died. Each of them administered a portion of the kingdom, but the death of Carloman I in 771 made his brother the only king. In this position, Charlemagne made war a way to consolidate his power and expand his territory.
territorial expansion
The Frankish emperor carried out several military campaigns throughout his reign, which only had two years of peace (790 and 807). The military campaigns carried out by Charlemagne always had the church support, this being a result of his father's alliance with the ecclesiastical authorities of Rome. Furthermore, during these campaigns, Charlemagne ordered the forced conversion to christianity of those he conquered.
During his reign, Charlemagne managed to defeat the king of the Lombards and annex their lands. This war was the result of the Lombard attacks, one of the Germanic peoples who settled in the lands of the Empire Roman, to the lands of the Catholic Church, and as the Church and the Franks had an alliance, Charlemagne came to the rescue of the pope. Also, he fought against the Saxons, you Britons and against the avaricious, conquering regions such as Saxony, Brittany, Moravia and Carinthia.
He too fought against Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula and he conquered some cities there, like Barcelona, Huesca and Gerona, but he dared not go any further. The campaign in the Iberian Peninsula still yielded a great defeat for the Frankish troops, who were attacked and defeated by Basque forces.
The territory conquered by Charlemagne made his kingdom the largest in Europe in terms of territorial possessions. His role in defending the Church strengthened his alliance with Rome, which in 800 caused Pope Leo III to name him Emperor of the West. This was an attempt to transform Charlemagne into a figure of power similar to that of the Roman emperors; it was also an attempt to weaken the religious authority of the Church of Constantinople in Western Europe.
kingdom administration
At that time, the power of kings was still very fragile before their nobles, and, therefore, Charles Magno promoted a series of actions that ensured the loyalty of the nobles and the stability and unity of the Kingdom. He carried out the publication of laws that were valid for the whole kingdom and insisted that his orders be sent in writing. These measures issued by him became known as capitulars.
Charlemagne also divided his kingdom into several counties, administered locally by the counts, nobles appointed by him. It was the function of these counts to enforce the laws issued by the emperor, collect taxes, carry out public works, summon armies when necessary, and so on.
However, the emperor did not trust his counts, and so he appointed people to the role of missidominici, which means "sentofMr”. The people in this role monitored the work of the counts and the state of affairs in the counties of the kingdom. Charlemagne also ordered his envoys to monitor the work of the marquises, responsible for protecting the Carolingian borders.
The counts were also the result of a creation of Charlemagne that remained, for centuries, in Western Europe: the suzerainty and vassalage relations. The land granted to the Count was the return of an agreement in which he provided his allegiance to the emperor and, when necessary, heeded royal calls.
Charlemagne spent a considerable part of his life installed in a palace built, by his order, in Aachen, current Germany. He also encouraged the development of culture and knowledge in his Court, filling it with learned men and poets, for example. Finally, Charlemagne encouraged his children and the Carolingian nobility were literate.
Charlemagne tried to promote monetary unification by establishing a currency called denier, but this monetary reform failed, and determined norms about the work of the cultivation of the land. His measures in his reign contributed to the consolidation of vassalage and bondage of the peasants and gave strength to formation of feudalism.
Accessalso: The establishment of the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages
Decline
The administration of the kingdom was shaken when Charlemagne died in 814, and it was passed on to his son, Luís, the pious, who reigned from 814 to 843. Luís did not have the same management skills as his father, which contributed to the weakeningof royal power.
Furthermore, the kingdom began to be attacked by different peoples. To the east, the Hungarians; to the north, the Normans; and to the south, the Saracens attacked the Frankish coast. After Luís died in 843, his three children signed the TreatedinVerdun, which divided the Carolingian Empire into three different kingdoms, from which France and the Germanic Holy Roman Empire emerged in the following centuries. The Carolingian Dynasty only ceased to exist when the Capetos or Capetingians came to power in France in the tenth century.
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