Born: April 2, 747 in Aachen or in Prüm (now Germany)

Died: January 28, 812, in Aachen (now Germany)

Alternately known as: Carolus Magnus (Latin), Karl der Grosse (German), Charlemagne (French). The designation means “Charles the Great” in all three languages.

Charlemagne is considered the greatest of the Frankish kings. He secured the realm’s borders, subdued rebellious vassal states, and significantly extended the kingdom’s domain. He created the Holy Roman Empire which would dominate much of Europe throughout the Middle Ages. Charlemagne became the first European emperor since the end of the Roman Empire.

In addition to his military achievements, Charlemagne instituted administrative reforms which brought stability to his domain. He was a skillful diplomat, strengthening the Frankish Kingdom and the later Empire through treaties, alliances, and power politics.

Charlemagne was the grandson of Charles Martel and the oldest son of King Pepin the Short, who had become sole ruler of the Frankish realm in 747. Both forefathers had been outstanding warriors. Charles Martel had expanded the Frankish Kingdom, and put a stop to Muslim invasion attempts. Pepin saved Pope Stephen II from Lombard attacks and formed a political alliance with the Papacy.

Under Charles Martel and Pepin, the Frankish Kingdom grew to encompass all of modern France except Brittany; the Benelux region; Switzerland; Western and Southern Germany; and Thuringia in Eastern Germany.

In 754 Pepin followed Frankish tradition and had his sons Charles (the later Charlemagne) and Carloman anointed as co-regents by Pope Stephen III. As a teenager and young man, Charles accompanied his father on campaigns in Italy and Aquitaine. Six-Feet, Six-inches tall and strapping, the young man soon made a name for himself on the battlefield.

After Pepin died in September, 768, Charles became ruler of the western half of the Frankish Kingdom. When Carloman died in December of 771, Charles also took control of the eastern half. He immediately began a series of military campaigns which would run without interruption until his death in 812.

His initial campaigns were defensive, but the new king of all the Franks soon turned to expanding his domain. Like all leaders of his time (and like his enemies), Charles conducted his campaigns with utmost brutality.

Charles’ first campaign against the Saxons (772) in Northeastern Germany was a punitive expedition after Saxon raids into Frankish territory. He took the Saxon’s main fortresses, destroyed their main pagan holy site, and ravaged the countryside.

After accepting a Saxon oath to keep the peace, Charles marched into Northern Italy where the Lombards were once again threatening the Pope. The Franks defeated the Lombards 773-774. Charles annexed Northern Italy, and placed the Papal State under Frankish protection, making it a de facto client state.

While Charles was occupied in Italy, Saxon raids on Frankish territory resumed. Hurrying northward, he led the 774-775 Winter campaign. He thrust deep into Saxon territory, crossing the Weser River. Accepting Saxon submission and hostages, Charles withdrew his army and sent Christian missionaries into Saxon territory. On the one hand, he hoped conversion would pacify the Saxons. On the other hand he hoped to use the nascent Church infrastructure there as a channel for spreading Frankish influence.

In 777 Charles received emissaries from the Muslim governor of Barcelona requesting aid against the emir of Cordoba. Charles, concerned the emir remained a threat to the Frankish province of Aquitaine, led his army over the Pyrenees Mountains. He won a few skirmishes and conquered the Basque (Christian) city of Pamplona, but could not take the city of Saragossa. Hard pressed by Muslim forces, the Franks withdrew in 778. The rearguard commanded by Charles’ nephew Roland was ambushed and massacred by Basque warriors in the Pyrenees mountain pass at Ronceval - an act immortalized in the medieval epic Song of Roland.

Meanwhile the Saxons had again broken the peace. Past incursions had been mere raiding parties. Now the Saxons marched in full military formation, heading for Cologne. Charles solemnly swore not to rest until the oath-breaking Saxons had been eradicated or converted to Christianity.

Ousting the intruders, he mounted a counteroffensive in 779 that lasted until 785. The Franks prevailed, winning major field battles. The Saxons also won some battles. In 782 they annihilated a Frankish army at the Battle of the Süntel Mountains. Enraged, Charles had 4,500 captive Saxon warriors beheaded (Massacre at Verden).

While Charles seemed tied down with the Saxons, Bavaria’ Duke Tossila III conspired with the Lombards to throw off Frankish rule (Bavaria had been a Frankish vassal state since 757). Charles handily defeated this uprising in 787-788, deposed Tossila (who was placed in a monastery), and annexed Bavaria completely.

He then set about securing his new borders. On the northeastern frontier Charles warred against various Slavic peoples east of the Saxons. Rather than overextend the Kingdom by incorporating them, Charles forced the Slavic Abotrite and Wiltze territories to become Frankish protectorates.

Charles next turned on the Avars. These aggressive Turkic nomads dominated the Balkans and the Danube Basin, and posed a threat to the Frankish territories in Bavaria and Italy. The Avars were driven back over ten years of fighting (791-801). Present day Austria was added to the Frankish Kingdom.

By now the Frankish Kingdom was strong enough for sustained campaigning on multiple fronts. Charles’ son Louis, since 781 King of Aquitaine, waged almost continual low-level war against the emir of Cordoba. Between 785 and 795 the Franks conquered a strip of land south of the Pyrenees. This became the Spanish March, a fortified border zone dedicated to protecting Aquitaine. The Spanish March would be extended after additional Frankish victories during Charlemagne’s reign.

Charles created similar border marches along the frontiers with the Avars and the Slavs in the East, along the Danish frontier in the North, and on the Breton border in the West.

By the end of the Eighth Century, Charlemagneruled over almost the entire Christian portion of the European continent. The Papal State was dependent on him for protection. Pope Leo III. crowned Charlemagne Emperor on December 25, 800 in recognition of his power and achievement.

As Emperor Charlemagne waged a ten-year war with the Byzantine Empire over control of the Adriatic Sea. For once, the Frankish monarch did not get what he wanted. The Dalmatian coastline stayed in Byzantine hands. Charlemagne did win a political victory. Byzantium recognized his imperial title and his status as a peer to Emperor Michael I.

Charlemagne died in 814. He is widely considered the most important single leader in early medieval Europe. His success in uniting most of the civilized European continent and his crushing of barbarian and Islamic threats earned him the sobriquet “Father of Europe.”