Editing Charlemagne (section)

==Reign as emperor==
===Coronation===
After [[Pope Leo III|Leo III]] became pope in 795, he faced political opposition. His enemies accused him of a number of crimes and physically attacked him in April 799, attempting to remove his eyes and tongue.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=160}} Leo escaped and fled north to seek Charlemagne's help.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=152}} Charlemagne continued his campaign against the Saxons before breaking off to meet Leo at [[Paderborn]] in September.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=115}}{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=143}} Hearing evidence from the pope and his enemies, he sent Leo back to Rome with royal legates who were instructed to reinstate the pope and conduct a further investigation.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=161}} In August of the following year, Charlemagne made plans to go to Rome after an extensive tour of his lands in Neustria.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=161}}{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=145}} Charlemagne met Leo in November near [[Mentana]] at the twelfth milestone outside Rome, the traditional location where Roman emperors began their [[Adventus (ceremony)|formal entry]] into the city.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=145}} Charlemagne presided over an assembly to hear the charges, but believed that no one could sit in judgement of the pope. Leo swore an oath on 23 December, declaring his innocence of all charges.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=381}} At mass in [[Old St. Peter's Basilica|St. Peter's Basilica]] on Christmas Day 800, Leo proclaimed Charlemagne "emperor of the Romans" (''Imperator Romanorum'') and crowned him.{{efn|The Latin title ''[[imperator]]'', meaning "commander", used to denote successful generals in ancient Rome, but eventually came to denote the position of [[Augustus]] and his successors.{{sfn|Hornblower|2012|p=728}} In German, the title was rendered as ''[[kaiser]]'', after [[Caesar (title)|''Caesar'']]. In Greek, it was rendered as ''[[autokrator]]'' and used alongside the traditional title of ''[[basileus]]''. For a discussion of Charlemagne's title and Constantinople's reaction, see {{harvnb|Sarti|2024|pp=7–39}}.}} Charlemagne was the first reigning emperor in the west since the deposition of [[Romulus Augustulus]] in 476.{{sfn|Heather|2009|p=368}} His son, [[Charles the Younger]], was anointed king by Leo at the same time.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=96}}

[[File:Karel Leo.jpg|thumb|alt=Miniature from an illuminated manuscript|Pope Leo III crowning Charlemagne. From ''Chroniques de France ou de Saint Denis'', volume 1, France, second quarter of the 14th century]]
Historians differ about the intentions of the imperial coronation, the extent to which Charlemagne was aware of it or participated in its planning, and the significance of the events for those present and for Charlemagne's reign.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=115}} Contemporary Frankish and papal sources differ in their emphasis on, and representation of, events.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|pp=161, 163, 165}} Einhard writes that Charlemagne would not have entered the church if he knew about the pope's plan; modern historians have regarded his report as truthful or rejected it as a literary device demonstrating Charlemagne's humility.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|pp=165–166}} Collins says that the actions surrounding the coronation indicate that it was planned by Charlemagne as early as his meeting with Leo in 799,{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=147}} and Fried writes that Charlemagne planned to adopt the title of emperor by 798 "at the latest."{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=408}} During the years before the coronation, Charlemagne's courtier [[Alcuin]] referred to his realm as an ''Imperium Christianum'' ("Christian Empire") in which "just as the inhabitants of the Roman Empire had been united by a common Roman citizenship", the new empire would be united by a common Christian faith.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=151}} This is the view of [[Henri Pirenne]], who says that "Charles was the Emperor of the ''ecclesia'' as the Pope conceived it, of the Roman Church, regarded as the universal Church".{{sfn|Pirenne|2012|p=233}}

The Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire remained a significant contemporary power in European politics for Leo and Charlemagne, especially in Italy. The Byzantines continued to hold a substantial portion of Italy, with their borders not far south of Rome. Empress Irene had seized the throne from her son Constantine VI in 797, deposing and blinding him.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=361}} Irene, the first Byzantine empress, faced opposition in Constantinople because of her gender and her means of accession.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=370}} One of the earliest narrative sources for the coronation, the ''[[Annales laureshamenses|Annals of Lorsch]]'', presented a female ruler in Constantinople as a vacancy in the imperial title which justified Leo's coronation of Charlemagne.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=384}} Pirenne disagrees, saying that the coronation "was not in any sense explained by the fact that at this moment a woman was reigning in Constantinople."{{sfn|Pirenne|2012|p=234n}} Leo's main motivations may have been the desire to increase his standing after his political difficulties, placing himself as a power broker and securing Charlemagne as a powerful ally and protector.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=167}} The Byzantine Empire's lack of ability to influence events in Italy and support the papacy were also important to Leo's position.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=167}} According to the ''Royal Frankish Annals'', Leo [[Prostration|prostrated]] himself before Charlemagne after crowning him (an act of submission standard in Roman coronation rituals from the time of [[Diocletian]]). This account presents Leo not as Charlemagne's superior, but as the agent of the Roman people who acclaimed Charlemagne as emperor.{{sfn|Muldoon|1999|p=24}}

Historian Henry Mayr-Harting claims that the assumption of the imperial title by Charlemagne was an effort to incorporate the Saxons into the Frankish realm, since they did not have a native tradition of kingship.{{sfn|Mayr-Harting|1996}} However, Costambeys ''et al.'' note in ''The Carolingian World'' that "since Saxony had not been in the Roman empire it is hard to see on what basis an emperor would have been any more welcomed."{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=167}} These authors write that the decision to take the title of emperor was aimed at furthering Charlemagne's influence in Italy, as an appeal to traditional authority recognised by Italian elites within and (especially) outside his control.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=167}}

Collins also writes that becoming emperor gave Charlemagne "the right to try to impose his rule over the whole of [Italy]", considering this a motivation for the coronation.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=148}} He notes the "element of political and military risk"{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=148}} inherent in the affair due to the opposition of the Byzantine Empire and potential opposition from the Frankish elite, as the imperial title could draw him further into Mediterranean politics.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=149}} Collins sees several of Charlemagne's actions as attempts to ensure that his new title had a distinctly-Frankish context.{{sfn|Collins|1998|pp=150–151}}

Charlemagne's coronation led to a centuries-long ideological conflict between his successors and Constantinople known as the [[problem of two emperors]],{{efn|{{langx|de|Zweikaiserproblem}}, "two-emperors problem"}} which could be seen as a rejection or usurpation of the Byzantine emperors' claim to be the universal, preeminent rulers of Christendom.{{sfn|Muldoon|1999|p=21}} Historian James Muldoon writes that Charlemagne may have had a more limited view of his role, seeing the title as representing dominion over lands he already ruled.{{sfn|Muldoon|1999|pp=25–26}} However, the title of emperor gave Charlemagne enhanced prestige and ideological authority.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=168}}{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|pp=115–116}} He immediately incorporated his new title into documents he issued, adopting the formula "Charles, most serene [[Augustus (title)|augustus]], crowned by God, great peaceful emperor governing the Roman empire, and who is by the mercy of God king of the Franks and the Lombards"{{efn|{{langx|la|Karolus serenissimus augustus a deo coronatus magnus pacificus imperator Romanum gubernans imperium, qui et per misercordiam dei rex francorum atque langobardorum}}}} instead of the earlier form "Charles, by the grace of God king of the Franks and Lombards and [[Patrician (ancient Rome)#Late Roman and Byzantine period|patrician]] of the Romans."{{efn|{{langx|la|Carolus gratia dei rex francorum et langobardorum ac patricius Romanorum}}}}{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|p=116}} Leo acclaimed Charlemagne as "emperor of the Romans" during the coronation, but Charlemagne never used this title.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=382, 385}} The avoidance of the specific claim of being a "Roman emperor", as opposed to the more-neutral "emperor governing the Roman empire", may have been to improve relations with the Byzantines.{{sfn|Muldoon|1999|p=26}}{{sfn|Sarti|2024|pp=7-39}} This formulation (with the continuation of his earlier royal titles) may also represent a view of his role as emperor as being the ruler of the people of the city of Rome, as he was of the Franks and the Lombards.{{sfn|Muldoon|1999|p=26}}{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|pp=168–169}}

===Governing the empire===
[[File:Aachener Dom BW 2016-07-09 13-49-15.jpg|thumb|alt=A simple seat at the top of several stone steps|Charlemagne's [[Throne of Charlemagne|throne]] in Aachen Cathedral]]
Charlemagne left Italy in the summer of 801 after adjudicating several ecclesiastical disputes in Rome and experiencing [[801 Apennine earthquake|an earthquake in Spoleto]].{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=387-389}} He never returned to the city.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=168}} Continuing trends and a ruling style established in the 790s,{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|pp=173–174}} Charlemagne's reign from 801 onward is a "distinct phase"{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=472}} characterised by more sedentary rule from Aachen.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=168}} Although conflict continued until the end of his reign, the relative peace of the imperial period allowed for attention on internal governance. The Franks continued to wage war, though these wars were defending and securing the empire's frontiers,{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=170}}{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=462}} and Charlemagne rarely led armies personally.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=169}} A significant expansion of the [[Spanish March]] was achieved with a series of campaigns by Louis against the Emirate of Cordoba, culminating in the [[Siege of Barcelona (801)|801 capture of Barcelona]].{{sfn|Collins|1998|pp=74–75}}

The 802 ''[[Capitularia missorum specialia|Capitulare missorum generale]]'' was an expansive piece of legislation, with provisions governing the conduct of royal officials and requiring that all free men take an [[loyalty oath|oath of loyalty]] to Charlemagne.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=495–496}}{{sfn|Ganshof|1965}} The [[capitulary]] reformed the institution of the {{lang|la|[[Missus dominicus|missi dominici]]}}, officials who would now be assigned in pairs (a cleric and a lay aristocrat) to administer justice and oversee governance in defined territories.{{sfn|Fried|2016|pp=450–451}} The emperor also ordered the revision of the Lombard and Frankish legal codes.{{sfn|Fried|2016|pp=448–449}}

In addition to the {{lang|la|missi}}, Charlemagne also ruled parts of the empire with his sons as sub-kings.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=409, 411}} Although Pepin and Louis had some authority as kings in Italy and Aquitaine, Charlemagne had the ultimate authority and directly intervened.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=410–415}} Charles, their elder brother, had been given lands in Neustria in 789 or 790 and made a king in 800.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=157}}

The 806 charter {{lang|la|Divisio Regnorum}} (''Division of the Realm'') set the terms of Charlemagne's succession.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=429}} Charles, as his eldest son in good favour, was given the largest share of the inheritance: rule of Francia, Saxony, [[Margraviate of the Nordgau|Nordgau]], and parts of Alemannia. The two younger sons were confirmed in their kingdoms and gained additional territories; most of Bavaria and Alemmannia was given to Pepin, and Provence, Septimania, and parts of Burgundy were given to Louis.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=477}} Charlemagne did not address the inheritance of the imperial title.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=157}} The {{lang|la|Divisio}} also provided that if any of the brothers predeceased Charlemagne, their sons would inherit their share; peace was urged among his descendants.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=432–435}}

===Conflict and diplomacy with the east===
[[File:Woodcut illustration of Irene, Empress of the East, and Charlemagne - Penn Provenance Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|alt=Coloured woodcut of Charlemagne holding a staff and Irene seated on a throne|15th-century woodcut of Charlemagne and Irene]]
After his coronation, Charlemagne sought recognition of his imperial title from Constantinople.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|pp=167–168}} Several delegations were exchanged between Charlemagne and Irene in 802 and 803. According to the contemporary Byzantine chronicler [[Theophanes the Confessor|Thophanes]], Charlemagne made an offer of marriage to Irene which she was close to accepting.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=153}} Irene was deposed and replaced by [[Nikephoros I]], who was unwilling to recognise Charlemagne as emperor.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=153}} The two empires conflicted over control of the [[Adriatic Sea]] (especially [[Istria]] and [[Veneto]]) several times during Nikephoros' reign. Charlemagne sent envoys to Constantinople in 810 to make peace, giving up his claims to Veneto. Nikephoros died in battle before the envoys could leave Constantinople but his son-in-law and successor [[Michael I Rangabe|Michael I]] confirmed the peace, sending his own envoys to Aachen to recognise Charlemagne as emperor.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=458–459}} Charlemagne soon issued the first Frankish coins bearing his imperial title, although papal coins minted in Rome had used the title as early as 800.{{sfn|McKitterick|2008|pp=116–117}}

He sent envoys and initiated diplomatic contact with the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]] caliph [[Harun al-Rashid]] during the 790s, due to their mutual interest in Spanish affairs.{{sfn|Dutton|2016|p=60}} As an early sign of friendship, Charlemagne requested an elephant as a gift from Harun. Harun later provided an elephant named [[Abul-Abbas]], which arrived at Aachen in 802.{{sfn|Dutton|2016|pp=60–61}} Harun also sought to undermine Charlemagne's relations with the Byzantines, with whom he was at war. As part of his outreach, Harun gave Charlemagne nominal rule of the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]] in Jerusalem and other gifts.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=441}} According to Einhard, Charlemagne "zealously strove to make friendships with kings beyond the seas" in order "that he might get some help and relief to the Christians living under their rule." A surviving administrative document, the [[Basel roll]], shows the work done by his agents in Palestine in furtherance of this goal.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=449–452}}{{efn|For more on the Basel roll, see {{harvnb|McCormick|2011}}. }}

Harun's death lead to a succession crisis and, under his successors, churches and synagogues were destroyed in the caliphate.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=442}} Unable to intervene directly, Charlemagne sent specially-minted coins and arms to the eastern Christians to defend and restore their churches and monasteries. The coins with their inscriptions were also an important tool of imperial propaganda.{{sfn|Fried|2016|pp=442–446}} Johannes Fried writes that deteriorating relations with Baghdad after Harun's death may have been the impetus for renewed negotiations with Constantinople which led to Charlemagne's peace with Michael in 811.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=444}}

As emperor, Charlemagne became involved in a religious dispute between Eastern and Western Christians over the recitation of the [[Nicene Creed|Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed]], the fundamental statement of orthodox Christian belief. The original text of the creed, adopted at the [[First Council of Constantinople|Council of Constantinople]], professed that the [[Holy Spirit]] proceeded from [[God the Father|the Father]]. A tradition developed in Western Europe that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father "and the [[God the Son|Son]]", inserting the Latin term {{lang|la|[[filioque]]}} into the creed.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=449}} The difference did not cause significant conflict until 807, when Frankish monks in Bethlehem were denounced as heretics by a Greek monk for using the {{lang|la|filioque}} form.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=449}} The Frankish monks appealed the dispute to Rome, where Pope Leo affirmed the text of the creed omitting the phrase and passed the report on to Charlemagne.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=449–450}} Charlemagne summoned a [[Councils of Aachen|council at Aachen in 809]] which defended the use of {{lang|la|filioque}}, and sent the decision to Rome. Leo said that the Franks could maintain their tradition, but asserted that the canonical creed did not include {{lang|la|filioque}}.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=452–453}} He commissioned two silver shields with the creed in Latin and Greek (omitting the {{lang|la|filioque}}), which he hung in [[St. Peter's Basilica]].{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=449}}{{sfn|Sterk|1988}} Another product of the 809 Aachen council was the ''[[Handbook of 809]]'', an illustrated [[Date of Easter|calendrical]] and astronomical compendium.{{sfn|Fried|2016|pp=488–490}}

===Wars with the Danes===
[[File:Europe 814.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Colour-coded map of Europe in 814|Europe at the death of the Charlemagne in 814]]
[[Scandinavia]] had been brought into contact with the Frankish world through Charlemagne's wars with the Saxons.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=461}} Raids on Charlemagne's lands by the [[Danes (tribe)|Danes]] began around 800.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=167}} Charlemagne engaged in his final campaign in Saxony in 804, seizing Saxon territory east of the [[Elbe]], removing its Saxon population, and giving the land to his [[Obotrites|Obotrite]] allies.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=163}} The Danish king [[Gudfred]], uneasy at the extension of Frankish power, offered to meet with Charlemagne to arrange peace and (possibly) hand over Saxons who had fled to him;{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=167}}{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=462}} the talks were unsuccessful.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=462}}

The northern frontier was quiet until 808, when Gudfred and some allied Slavic tribes led an incursion into the Obotrite lands and extracted tribute from over half the territory.{{sfn|Fried|2016|pp=462–463}}{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=167}} Charles the Younger led an army across the Elbe in response, but only attacked some of Gudfred's Slavic allies.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=459}} Gudfred again attempted diplomatic overtures in 809, but no peace was apparently made.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=168}} Danish pirates raided Frisia in 810, although it is uncertain if they were connected to Gudfred.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=463}} Charlemagne sent an army to secure Frisia while he led a force against Gudfred, who had reportedly challenged the emperor to face him in battle.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=169}}{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=463}} The battle never took place, since Gudfred was murdered by two of his own men before Charlemagne's arrival.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=462}} Gudfred's nephew and successor [[Hemming of Denmark|Hemming]] immediately sued for peace, and a commission led by Charlemagne's cousin [[Wala of Corbie|Wala]] reached a settlement with the Danes in 811.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=169}} The Danes did not pose a threat for the remainder of Charlemagne's reign, but the effects of this war and their earlier expansion in Saxony helped set the stage for the intense [[Vikings|Viking]] raids across Europe later in the ninth century.{{sfn|Costambeys|Innes|MacLean|2011|p=171}}{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=170}}

===Final years and death===
[[File:Shroud of Charlemagne manufactured in Constantinople 814.jpg|thumb|upright=1|A portion of Charlemagne's death [[shroud]]. Illustrating a [[quadriga]] (a four-horse chariot), it was manufactured in [[Constantinople]].]]
The Carolingian dynasty experienced a number of losses in 810 and 811, when Charlemagne's sister [[Gisela, Abbess of Chelles|Gisela]], his daughter Rotrude, and his sons Pepin the Hunchback, Pepin of Italy, and Charles the Younger died.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=440, 453}} The deaths of Charles and Pepin of Italy left Charlemagne's earlier plans for succession in disarray. He declared Pepin of Italy's son [[Bernard of Italy|Bernard]] ruler of Italy and made his own only surviving son, Louis, heir to the rest of the empire.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=158}} Charlemagne also made a new [[Testament of Charlemagne|will]] detailing the disposal of his property at his death, with bequests to the church, his children, and his grandchildren.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=468–470}} Einhard (possibly relying on [[Trope (literature)|tropes]] from Suetonius's ''[[The Twelve Caesars]]'') says that Charlemagne viewed the deaths of his family members, his fall from a horse, astronomical phenomena, and the collapse of part of the palace in his last years as signs of his impending death.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=480–481}} Charlemagne continued to govern with energy during his final year, ordering bishops to assemble in five ecclesiastical councils.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=478–480}} These culminated in a large assembly at Aachen, where Charlemagne crowned Louis as his co-emperor and Bernard as king in a ceremony on 11 September 813.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=476}}

Charlemagne became ill in the autumn of 813 and spent his last months praying, fasting, and studying the [[gospel]]s.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=480–481}} He developed [[pleurisy]], and was bedridden for seven days before dying on the morning of 28 January 814.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=514}} [[Thegan of Trier|Thegan]], a biographer of Louis, records the emperor's last words as "Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit" (quoting from {{Bibleverse|Luke|23:46}}).{{sfn|Nelson|2019|p=481}} Charlemagne's body was prepared and buried in the [[Palatine Chapel, Aachen|chapel at Aachen]] by his daughters and palace officials that day.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=482–483}} Louis arrived at Aachen thirty days after his father's death, making a formal {{lang|la|[[Adventus (ceremony)|adventus]]}} and taking charge of the palace and the empire.{{sfn|Nelson|2019|pp=483–484}} Charlemagne's remains were exhumed by Holy Roman Emperor [[Frederick Barbarossa]] in 1165, and reinterred in a new casket by [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] in 1215.{{sfn|Fried|2016|p=520}}

{{Multiple image
| total_width       = 1000
| align             = center
| direction         = horizontal
| background color  =
| width             =
| image1            = AachenerDomSarg.jpg
| width1            =
| alt1              = An ornate marble sarcophagus
| caption1          = The [[Proserpina sarcophagus]] in which Charlemagne is thought to have been originally buried
| image2            = Regione mosana, karlsschrein, reliquiario a cassa di carlomagno, 1182-1215, 06.jpg
| width2            =
| alt2              = Another ornate, darker sarcophagus
| caption2          = The [[Karlsschrein]], in which Frederick II reinterred Charlemagne in 1215
}}