He is considered one of the most talented politicians, whose empire gave impetus to the beginnings of statehood among many peoples of Europe. Who is Karl, later called the Great, and what did he do?
This ruler influenced the approval of the papal state, repelled the holy Arab war, developed education and culture, conquered new lands, carried out reforms … The king of the Franks, then the king of the Lombards, the duke of Bavaria, and in the end the emperor of the West is all about him. Karl swung to recreate the Roman Empire, and he succeeded.
Origin
Karl is the son of the Franks King Pepin Short and Bertrad of Laon. Although it is interesting that his father sat on the throne as a result of a coup, and not just inherited him as a successor to the monarch, although blue blood also flowed in his veins, since he was a duke.
Karl belonged to the Pipinid family, but in his honor he was renamed the Carolingian dynasty.
Regarding the place and year of birth, historians cannot come to a common denominator, because in some sources the year 742 is mentioned, in others - the 742nd, and in some - the 747th. In which city this happened, is also one hundred percent unknown (perhaps in Aachen, Kierzi or Ingelheim). But there is no doubt about the date of death: Karl died in 814 and is buried in Aachen.
Relationship with Carloman
But since the throne of the Franks was taken by Pepin, so that in the future no one could challenge the legitimacy of the power of his heirs, he ordered that his two sons (Karl and his younger brother Karloman) be anointed to the throne by Pope Stephen II in 754. Pipin did not transfer the right to the throne to one of his sons, but divided the territories of domination between them, which they should have inherited after his death.
As a result, in 1968, Karl received Aquitaine, most of Neustria and Australia, as well as Thuringia, and his co-successor Karloman ruled over Burgundy, Provence, Gothia and Alemannia. And although, as they say, they had nothing to share, but between the brothers there was always hostility. For example, Karl had well-founded fears that his brother wanted to conspire with Desiderius, king of the Lombards.
That is why Karl entered into a marriage with his daughter Desiderata and received the favor of influential people from the environment of his father-in-law. This almost led to a war between the brothers, but Karloman fell ill and died in 771, and his wife was forced to flee with the children. Carl annexed his possessions to his own, so power over much of Europe was centralized.
Wars
But Karl did not stop there. Soon all of Europe should have known who Charlemagne was. He was harassed by the constant skirmishes of Franks and Saxons both on religious (the latter adhered to paganism) and on territorial soil, so in 772 he decided to start a war against them, invading Saxony.
But even before that, he had sent back to Desiderata, since he had no use for a good relationship with her father. This angrily angered the king of the Lombards, and he wanted to anoint the throne of Karloman Pipin's young son. Karl immediately launched an offensive. The troops of the Lombards and Franks met in the Alps, but thanks to a skillful military maneuver, the latter won with little effort. The desiderate hid in its capital Pavia. But after the siege, the city surrendered, Karl forced the former father-in-law to get a monk's haircut, and he himself usurped the throne of Langobardia. At the same time, the king of the Franks secured peaceful relations with the papal state, promising him new lands.
When the Italian problems were resolved, he resumed the war with the Saxons, in which he ultimately won, although it took him 32 years to do this. As a result, the Saxons were forcibly converted to Christianity, and their territories sided with the possessions of Charles.
Also in 787, the Duke of Bavaria, Tassilon the Third, was hidden in a monastery and transferred his authority to Charles. Then came the turn of the Slutonic tribes of the Lutichs, and then the Avars, too, to know firsthand who Karl was. The victory was again on the side of the Franks.
Although there were defeats, for example, in 777 in the battle with the Basques. In memory of this battle, the Song of Roland was written.
At Christmas 800, Carl received the title of Emperor of the West.
During his lifetime, he divided the possessions between his three sons, but only Louis the First survived his father.
Peace Achievements
But the king not only fought. Who is Karl as a cultural figure? He marked the beginning of a revival, later called Carolingian. The emperor established the system of universal education (although this only applied to men), created the Palace Academy of Arts, headed by the poet Alquin, and contributed to the distribution of manuscript books. Under his rule, medieval Latin was formed as the language of science, the Romanesque style in architecture, roads, castles and defenses were built.
