The emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, founded in 962 by the German king Otto I the Great, considered themselves the successors of the Carolingian Empire.
Story
Empire in 800-840
By 800, the ruler of the Frankish state, Charlemagne, created a powerful kingdom that included the territory of modern France, Germany, Italy, as well as a number of other modern European states. On December 25, 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charles with the imperial crown as Roman Emperor at a festive mass held in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. As a result, the restoration of the Western Roman Empire was announced, which was reflected in the official title that Charles bore from this time on: Emperor of the Roman Empire. Thus, the Frankish kingdom was transformed into an empire, which in historiography is called Carolingian by the name of the dynasty.
Louis I the Pious, son of Charles, who inherited the empire in 814, wishing to secure the inheritance rights of his sons, promulgated the Act of Order in the Empire in July 817 in Aachen ( Ordinatio imperii). In it, Louis's eldest son, Lothair I, was declared co-ruler of his father with the title of co-emperor and received control of a significant part of the Frankish kingdom: (Neustria, Austrasia, Saxony, Thuringia, Alemannia, Septimania, Provence and Italy). Other sons of Louis also received allotments: Pepin I - Aquitaine, Vasconia and the Spanish March, Louis II - Bavaria and Carinthia. However, on charters, Lothair's name appears next to his father's only from 825. Lothair was crowned with the imperial crown on April 5, 823 by Pope Paschal I in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
Louis II, crowned during his father’s lifetime as King of Italy and Emperor, received at his disposal the Kingdom of Italy itself, which included Northern Italy: Lombardy, Liguria, Tuscany, Friul, Romagna, Spoleto and the Papal States. In addition, after the death of Charles's younger brother in 863, Louis captured most of Provence. Throughout his reign he tried to subjugate Southern Italy, for which he had to fight the Arabs and Byzantium. As a result, by 871 he annexed most of it to his kingdom, but all his conquests turned out to be short-lived and already in 872 Southern Italy again gained independence from the king.
With the death of Louis II of Italy in 875, the Carolingian dynasty in Italy died out. Pope John VIII proclaimed the king of the West Frankish kingdom, Charles II the Bald, king of Italy and emperor, who immediately went to Italy. On the way, he defeated Carloman, the eldest son of Louis the German, sent to delay his advance into Italy, and on December 17 he entered Rome. On December 25, 875, Charles was anointed to the imperial throne. Some Italian nobles swore allegiance to him. Louis the German, who according to family accounts should have received the imperial title, devastated Lorraine. Having entrusted the administration of the Italian kingdom to Boson of Vienne, who received the post of duke, Charles, busy fighting with his nephews, returned to France.
During Charles's absence, Italy experienced a new invasion of the Arabs, who several times approached the walls of Rome itself. Pope John VIII persistently called Charles for help. In June 877, the emperor finally got ready to go on a campaign against the Arabs. In Tortona he met with the pope. By the end of summer, Charles entered Pavia, along with his father, who was hiding from his pursuers. Then, for several days, he waited for his counts to arrive, but they never showed up. But news came that the German king Carloman, Charles’s nephew, was standing nearby. Frightened by this news, Karl set off on his way back without doing anything for his dad. On the way he fell ill and died.
He was succeeded by Carloman, and after his death by Charles III the Fat, Carloman's younger brother, who was crowned imperial in 881.
After the death of Lothair II in 869, Lorraine was first divided in 870 between the kings of the West Frankish and East Frankish kingdoms, and in 879 it was completely annexed to the West Frankish kingdom.
Division of the State of Lothair II under the Treaty of Mercen
The Kingdom of Lorraine included the most famous parts of the Carolingian Empire. Here was the imperial city of Aachen, the ecclesiastical seats of Cologne and Trier, as well as the regions along the Rhine and Moselle famous for their vineyards. The kingdom also included the Saarland, Luxembourg, Wallonia, the Lower Rhine and the south of the Netherlands in the areas of Maastricht, Eindhoven, Breda. In 863, after the death of his younger brother Charles of Provence, Lothair inherited part of his lands - Lyon, Vienne, Grenoble, Uzès.
After Lothair's death in 869, Lorraine became the subject of contention between the West Frankish and East Frankish kingdoms.
West Frankish Kingdom and Aquitaine
According to the Treaty of Verdun in 843, the lands west of the Rhine - the former territory of Gaul - were given to Charles II the Bald. This kingdom was called West Frankish and formed the core of the future France. In addition, the Kingdom of Aquitaine was assigned to him, in which, after the death of Pepin I, the nobility recognized his son Pepin II as their ruler. Pepin refused to recognize Charles as his overlord and, with the support of Marquis Bernard of Septiman, began a fight against Charles. In 844, Pepin, having lost the support of Bernard of Septiman, who had been executed by Charles, called on the Norman Jarl Oscar for help, escorting him from the Garonne to Toulouse, giving him the opportunity to plunder it.
In 847, Earl Oscar received control of Bordeaux, which displeased the Aquitanians. As a result, in 848 the Aquitans did not support Pepin II, calling on Charles II for help. On June 6, Charles was crowned King of Aquitaine in Orleans. Pepin's brother Charles also laid claim to the Aquitaine crown, but was captured and tonsured a monk in 849. Pepin continued to fight against Charles II until 852, when he was captured by the Gascon ruler Sancho II Sanche, who handed the prisoner over to Charles. For this, Sanches received the title of Duke of Gascony from Charles, and Pepin was imprisoned in the monastery of Saint-Médard in Soissons.
Soon the Aquitaines rebelled again - this time against Charles the Bald, turning for help to his brother Louis the German, who sent his son Louis the Younger to Aquitaine to rule the kingdom. Pepin II was later able to escape. In 864, he rallied the Aquitans around him and drove Louis out. In response, in 855, Charles crowned his infant son Charles the Younger as king of Aquitaine, whose guardian was Rhamnulf I, Count of Poitiers, who received the title Duke of Aquitaine. Unlike previous kings, Charles the Child had no real power. Aquitaine was subject to the king of France. There was no office in the kingdom; all appointments were made by Charles the Bald. The real administration of the kingdom was in the hands of a council headed by Duke Ramnulf I. Charles the Child died childless in 866. Another son of Charles the Bald, Louis the Stutterer, became the new king. He also had no real power in the kingdom, which was actually ruled by Boson of Vienne, Duke of Provence, Charles' favorite.
During the reign of Charles the Bald, the pressure of the Normans increased. Only in the 860s, having built numerous fortifications on the path of the Norman raids, Charles managed to oust the Normans for some time. Also, Charles the Bald waged a long war with the Bretons.
In 869, King Lothair II of Lorraine died. On August 8, 870, Charles the Bald and Louis the German agreed in Mersen on the division of the state of Lothair II. As a result of the partition, the kingdom was destroyed, and the border between France and Germany passed along the Moselle basin.
After Louis's death in 876, Charles took advantage of this by seizing the areas he had ceded to his brother in 870. But the son of Louis the German, Louis III the Younger, opposed Charles, defeating Charles' army in a battle near Andernach (876). The subsequent death of Charles in 877 and the unrest that followed in France after the death of his heir Louis II the Zaika (879), allowed Louis the Younger in 880, under the Treaty of Ribemont, to annex Lorraine completely to his possessions.
After the death of Louis the Zaika, France was divided into 2 parts between his two eldest sons. Carloman received Aquitaine and Burgundy. The Burgundian nobility refused to recognize the legality of this decision. As a result, they chose Boson of Vienne as king. His kingdom, called Lower Burgundy, included most of Burgundy and Provence. After the death of his brother, sixteen-year-old Carloman was recognized as the sole king of the Western Franks, and Aquitaine finally became part of France.
Carloman died in a hunting accident in 884. His younger brother Charles was only 5 years old at that time, which is why Emperor Charles III the Fat was elected king of France, uniting all the possessions of the Carolingian Empire in his hands.
East Frankish Kingdom
According to the Treaty of Verdun in 843, Louis II of Germany received the land east of the Rhine and north of the Alps. It actually consisted of five large tribal duchies - Saxony, Bavaria, Franconia, Swabia and Thuringia, which were semi-independent principalities that were relatively homogeneous in their tribal composition. Louis fought quite successfully on the eastern border of the state, subduing the Obodrites and establishing suzerainty over Great Moravia, but his attempts to restore the unity of Charlemagne's empire were unsuccessful. The war with the West Frankish Kingdom for Lorraine ended with the signing of the Treaty of Mersin in 870, according to which the eastern part of Lorraine was transferred to the East Frankish Kingdom. At the end of the reign of Louis II, the king, following the ancient Carolingian tradition and yielding to the armed demands of his sons, divided the monarchy into three parts, transferring Bavaria to the eldest son Carloman, Saxony to the middle Louis III, and Swabia with Lorraine to the younger Charles III the Tolstoy.
By the agreement of Ribmont (880), a border was established between the kingdoms of the West and East Franks, which lasted until the 14th century. The threat of Norman invasions became more serious for the state: from the middle of the 9th century, Norwegian and Danish flotillas regularly ravaged the North German lands, encountering virtually no resistance from the central government. Despite the individual successes of Louis III and Charles III, in general, due to the economic weakness of the state and difficulties in mobilizing military forces, it was not possible to organize a decisive rebuff to the Vikings.
After the death of Carloman and Louis III, the only ruler of the kingdom was Charles III the Fat.
Temporary restoration of the unity of the empire
In 884, the unified Carolingian Empire was briefly restored by Charles III the Fat, son of Louis II of Germany. He inherited Italy in 879, was crowned with the imperial crown in 881, and in 884 became king of France. But the unification turned out to be short-lived. The emperor turned out to be a rather weak ruler and was unable to organize the reflection of the Viking invasion, which reached Paris in 886. Already at the end of 887, Charles was deposed, and the empire finally collapsed.
Representatives of other dynasties established themselves in the Italian and West Frankish kingdoms; in the East Frankish kingdom, the throne was seized by Arnulf of Carinthia, the illegitimate son of Carloman. In addition, the independent Kingdoms of Lower and Upper Burgundy were formed, as well as a number of other entities, the rulers of which were actually independent.
Heirs of the Carolingian Empire
Although the title of Emperor of the West continued to exist until 924 (it was borne by several Italian kings), the imperial throne actually lost its status. The most powerful of the fragments of the Carolingian Empire turned out to be the East Frankish Kingdom, to which in the 1st half of the 10th century the name of the Kingdom of Germany was assigned. In 962, King Otto I the Great of Germany, having defeated the Italian nobility, was anointed king and crowned with the imperial crown. This date is considered to be the date of the formation of the Holy Roman Empire. Although Otto the Great himself obviously did not intend to found a new empire and saw himself solely as the successor of Charlemagne, in fact the transfer of the imperial crown to the German kings meant the final separation of Germany (East Frankish kingdom) from West Frankish (France) and the formation of a new state entity based on German and Northern Italian territories, claiming to be the heir to the Western Roman Empire. The Holy Roman Emperors also managed to subjugate the kingdom of Arelat, formed in the 1st half of the 10th century with the merger of two fragments of the Carolingian Empire - Lower and Upper Burgundy.
The only territory of the former Carolingian Empire that the rulers of Germany could not subjugate was the West Frankish Kingdom, which later became known as France.
Rulers of the Carolingian Empire
Emperors of the West 800-887- - : Charles I Great (747-814), King of the Franks from 768, Emperor of the West from 800
- -
: Louis I Pious
(778-840), king of Aquitaine from 781 goals, emperor of the West from 814, son of the previous one
- - : Lothair I(795-855), King of Bavaria in 814-817, Emperor of the West from 817 (co-ruler with his father in 825-834, crowned in 823), King of Italy from 817, King of the Middle Kingdom from 843, son of the previous one
- -
: The Empire broke up into separate kingdoms, the title of Emperor of the West was retained by the kings of Italy, but they had real power only over their kingdom. The title of emperor during this period was borne by:
- - : Lothair I(795-855), King of Bavaria in 814-817, Emperor of the West from 817 (co-ruler with his father in 825-834, crowned in 823), King of Italy from 817, King of the Middle Kingdom from 843
- - : Louis II(825-875), king of Italy from 843, king of Provence from 863, emperor of the West from 850 (father's co-ruler until 855), son of the previous
- - : Charles II Bald (823-877), king of the West Frankish kingdom from 840, king of Alemannia in 831-833, king of Aquitaine in 839-843 and 848-854, king of Italy from 876, emperor of the West from 875, son of Louis the Pious
- - : Charles III Thick
- - ": Charles III Thick (839-888), king of the East Frankish kingdom in 876-887 (until 882, king of Alemannia and Raetia), king of the West Frankish kingdom in 884-887, king of Italy 879-887, king of Lorraine (Charles II) in 882-887, Emperor of the West in 881-887, grandson of Louis the Pious
- - : Guido Spoletsky(d. 894), Margrave of Camerino from 859, Duke of Spoleto from 882, King of Italy from 889, Emperor of the West from 891
- - : Lambert Spoletsky(c. 875/880 - 898), Duke of Spoleto from 894, King of Italy from 891, Emperor from 892, son of the previous one
- - : Arnulf of Carinthia(c. 850-899), Duke of Carinthia from 880, King of the East Frankish Kingdom from 887, King of Lorraine 887-895, King of Italy from 896, Emperor from 896, nephew of Charles III the Tolstoy
- - : Louis III Blind (c. 880-928), king of Lower Burgundy from 887, king of Italy 900-905, emperor 901-905, grandson (maternal) of Louis II
Modern states whose territories were part of the empire
| Completely part of the empire | Partially part of the empire |
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The Frankish Empire, which appeared at the very beginning of the ninth century, during its short existence was able to become a real opponent of the great one. It is very difficult to say whether its power was due to the talent of the monarch, or whether it was a matter of simple luck. And it doesn’t matter how many years the Frankish Empire lasted, the main thing is that it became one of the first European states that united many peoples.
Start
It all started in the distant sixth century. Scattered tribes of German barbarians (as the Romans called all peoples living outside their empire) tried to create semblances of states. The foundation of the Frankish state was laid by Clovis, the leader of one of the tribes who founded the Merovingian dynasty. competent policies towards other tribes allowed him to create a prototype of the kingdom. His work was continued a century later by another king, Dagobert, who introduced a royal council and an apparatus of officials who worked on the most important issues. But the unity of the Frankish state was formal - some of its richest parts constantly tried to secede, claiming the title of independent kingdoms. This was the reason that over time the Merovingians lost power over the state of the Franks and retreated from power, ceding it to the more enterprising Carolingians.
Charles
After a long struggle for power, Pepin the Short, the father of Charlemagne, received the throne. He named the new dynasty the Carolingians, in honor of his son. His reign was marked by a number of reforms; in addition, the new ruler relied on the Church, which helped him overthrow the last Merovingian. But it is too early to talk about how many years the Frankish Empire lasted - the Carolingians were just beginning to rule.
The first three years of his reign, Charlemagne ruled jointly with his brother Karlomir. He began with a variety of reforms: modernizing the army, changing the judicial system, increasing the role of the Church in the life of the state, and so on. Then military campaigns began, as a result of which the territory of Charles’s state almost doubled. Now the king’s possessions extended from Spain to Hungary, under his control was the territory of modern Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Austria and Germany, he owned certain parts of Italy - the formation of the Frankish Empire can be associated with the unification of all these lands under the rule of one monarch.
Empire
In 800 AD, Charlemagne was proclaimed emperor, and his domains became known as the Frankish Empire. All the efforts of the monarch were aimed at creating a theocratic, church state, which would become a continuation of the fallen Western Roman Empire.
But Karl was not only involved in the development of the army. The period of his reign went down in history as the Carolingian Renaissance - at this time, schools were opened on the territory of the then kingdom of the Franks, Latin was taught, and interest in the history and culture of various peoples increased. Later, Charles ordered the collection of folk songs and legends; at his own request, the first grammar was created for Answering the question “how many years did the Frankish Empire last,” we can safely say: all the time that Charlemagne was in power.
Decay
The huge empire was destroyed less than half a century after its creation. The division of the Frankish Empire occurred when the grandchildren of Charlemagne were unable to share power. After the death of the emperor, power passed to his only son (the father outlived the other two). The reign of Louis the Pious was long for those times: he remained in power for thirty years. He bequeathed his throne to his eldest son, but the other two were indignant, which is why the father made concessions to the heirs. In 843, the Treaty of Verdun was signed, according to which the empire was divided into France, Germany and Italy. How many years did the Frankish Empire last? Just 43 years, 43 amazing years for the whole world.
Before the collapse, it is debatable in historical science. Including because it eventually split into two parts. For the Western part, two dates for the end of the existence of the state are named, and for the Eastern part, four. Here we will look at periodization and how many years it existed
Three main periods
Before talking about how many years the Roman Empire lasted, let's give a brief description of it. As you know, one of the leading civilizations of bygone centuries was Ancient Rome. This is the greatest ancient state, which received its name from its capital Rome, which, in turn, bears the name of its founder - the legendary first king Romulus.
In its development it went through several different stages. Below is a periodization of the history of Rome, based on forms of government. Each of them is a reflection of the socio-political situation that existed in this state, starting from the reign of the seven kings and ending with the dominant empire.
This periodization looks like this:
- Royal period (mid-8th - early 5th century BC)
- Republican (end - 1st half of the 1st century BC) Divided into: Early Roman Republic, Late Roman Republic, which includes the Age of Great Conquests and Civil Wars.
- Imperial (until the end of the 5th century AD) It includes: the stage of the early empire, called the “Principate”, the Crisis period, the stage of the late empire, called the “Dominant”.
Before moving on to answering the question of how many years the Roman Empire existed, let’s consider its last, imperial period.
From Octavian - to the division and fall
As can be seen from the above periodization, the Roman Empire is one of the phases in the development of ancient Roman statehood that followed the republic. Its characteristic feature was autocratic rule. Autocracy is based on the unlimited control of power by one person alone or together with a group close to him. The second important characteristic is the huge territorial possessions located throughout Europe and throughout the Mediterranean.
It was a unique state in the entire history of mankind, which completely conquered the Mediterranean coast. Historians attribute the beginning of the existence of the Roman Empire to the reign of Octavian Augustus, who became its very first emperor. Subsequently, there was a division into the Western and Eastern Roman Empires, which alternately disintegrated, the first in the 5th century, and the second almost a thousand years later.
To find out how and how many years the Roman Empire existed, let's study the content of each of its periods.
Principate (1st century BC - 3rd century)
The Principate in Rome was a form of government that combined the features of a republic and a monarchy. But this was only the external side of the matter. In essence, power belonged to the military monarchy, which was only covered by republican institutions.
The time of the principate consists of the following stages:
- The formation of a principled system that took place during the reign of the Julio-Claudians, starting from 27 BC and ending in 68.
- The onset of a large-scale crisis of power in the year of 4 emperors (from the 68th to the 69th year).
- The heyday of the Principate, observed during the reign of the Flavian and Antonine dynasties. Lasted from 69 to 192.
- The creation of a military bureaucracy began during the reign of the Severan dynasty (1993 - 235).
- One of the largest crises of the 3rd century, which was both socio-economic and political in nature, lasted from 235 to 284.
Crisis of the 3rd century, Aurelian
By this time, the Roman Empire was experiencing a fierce struggle for power, civil strife and impoverishment of the masses. It was so shaken that large regions were separated from it, in which autonomous rule of local commanders was established. The Goths threatened Rome from the north.
This danger forced the Roman defenders, represented by generals who were of Illyrian origin, to rally. One after another, such prominent commanders and administrators as Claudius, Aurelian, Probus, Carus were elected at meetings of commanders. One of the leading roles in overcoming the crisis belonged to Lucius Domitius Aurelian (better known as Aurelian), the Roman emperor who reigned from 270-275.
He conquered the Palmyra kingdom and returned Gaul, which allowed the unity of the Roman state to be restored. Aurelian was called "Restorer of the Empire and the East." In order to finally strengthen the country, he carried out a monetary reform and introduced the veneration of the Invincible Sun, declared the supreme god.
The reign of this emperor prepared the basis for the era of dominance that followed, which was characterized by unlimited imperial power. Aurelian was the first of the rulers of Rome who officially began to put a diadem on his head, to be called “Lord”, as well as “God”. He died as a result of a conspiracy.
How many years did the Roman Empire last before the arrival of Aurelian? Let's do a simple calculation. As mentioned above, it began with the era of the Principate in 27 BC. Aurelian was elected emperor in 270. Consequently, the existence of the empire at this point was 297 years.
Dominat (III - V century)
Dominance is a political system closer to a monarchy. Within this period, the following stages are distinguished:
- Construction of the dominant system during the reign of the emperors Diocletian and Constantine I, which included a number of reforms - socio-economic, administrative, military. Occurred from 284 to 337.
- The existence of a stable system, the manifestation of a tendency to divide the empire into two parts (from 337 to 295).
- The final division into the Eastern and Western Empires, which lasted from 295 to 476.
Adhering to the described version of periodization, we can now answer the question of how many years the Roman Empire existed. For the West it is about five hundred years (from 27 BC to 476), and for the East it is about 1480 years (from 27 BC to 1453 G.)