Charlemagne (French: Charlemagne, German: Karl der Gro ß e, English: Charles the Great; April 2, 742 – January 28, 814), also known as Charlemagne ("man" means the Great). King of the Carolingian dynasty of the Frankish Kingdom (reigned from 768 to January 28, 814), founder of the Charlemagne Empire.
In 768, after the death of his father Pippin, Charlemagne and his brother Carloman were crowned kings respectively, dividing the Frankish kingdom. [1] After the death of Carloman in 771, Charlemagne merged all of the land of Franks. In 774, Charlemagne sent troops to destroy the Kingdom of Lombardy under the pretext of aiding Pope Hadrian, expanding his influence to northern and central Italy. From 772 to 804, he launched multiple wars against the Saxons, conquered Bavaria, defeated the Slavs and Avars, and brought the power of the Charlemagne Empire north to the Baltic Sea and south to the western region of Eastern Europe in the Adriatic Sea. In 800 AD, he was crowned as the "Emperor of the Romans" by Pope Leo III. In 806, Charlemagne made a will to divide the empire equally among his three sons, Charles, Pippin, and the devout Louis. In 814, Charlemagne passed away in Aachen at the age of 72. [2]
Charlemagne has made outstanding achievements in administration, judiciary, military system, and economic production, and vigorously developed cultural and educational undertakings. He introduced European civilization and shifted the cultural focus from the Mediterranean and Greek regions to the vicinity of the Rhine River in Europe. He is considered one of the most important rulers in European history and enjoys the honor of "Pater Europae".

Family background and succession
In 741, Charlemagne (also known as Charles the Great or Karl the Great, meaning "great" in French) was probably born in present-day Herstal, Belgium. His father was the dwarf of the Frankish court, Pippin III. Grandfather Charlie Matt achieved victory in the Battle of Tours in 732, shattering the Arab Empire's plan to conquer France. In 751, Pippin declared himself king of the Franks, ending the rule of the Merovingian dynasty and establishing a new dynasty, now known as the Carolingian dynasty, named after Charlemagne's grandfather Charles Martel.

On September 24, 768, the dwarf Pippin passed away in Saint Denis. Before his death, he continued to follow the tradition of the Merovingian dynasty and divided the land of the Frankish kingdom equally between his two sons: Charlemagne divided it between Austrasia and Neustria, and the northern part of Aquitaine, while his brother Carloman divided it between southern Aquitaine, Burgundy, Provence, and Septimania. [6] In October, Charlemagne and Carloman were crowned as kings in Nuvayon and Suazon, respectively. [1]
During the initial period, the brothers lived in harmony, but when the uprising broke out in Aquitaine, Carloman refused to assist Charlemagne in suppressing the uprising (some say he arrived late after the chaos subsided). Through similar events, the conflicts between the two gradually increased. But in 771, Carloman passed away suddenly. This unexpected change led 29 year old Charlemagne to merge the entire territory and become the sole monarch of the Frankish Kingdom. [2] [7-8]
Einhard, who wrote a biography of Charlemagne, described him as a burly figure, nearly 7 feet tall, with large and bright eyes, a slightly longer nose, a rosy complexion, and a cheerful expression. Charlemagne's personal habits are not always good, but he abides by religious rituals and is very concerned about the missionary work organized by the church and the school. Although he has never learned to write, he understands Germanic and Latin, and can understand Greek, although he speaks it poorly. Charlemagne greatly admires knowledgeable people and has done a lot of work to encourage academic research. [9]
Lombardy Conquest
When Charlemagne ascended the throne, the Frankish Kingdom mainly included many regions of present-day France, Belgium, and Switzerland, as well as the Netherlands and Germany today. With the further development of the feudal system, military and church nobles urgently demanded external expansion to seize land and labor. In this situation, Charlemagne commanded the Frankish army to embark on a large-scale annual campaign.

After Carloman's death, his widow and two sons took refuge in the Kingdom of Lombardy in northern Italy. In 773, the last king of the Lombard dynasty, Desiderius, sent troops to attack Pope Hadrian I, who did not obey his orders, and arrived at the city of Rome. And Charlemagne, after divorcing his Lombardy wife, Tisaderata, had no hesitation and decided to go to Italy. In 774, Charlemagne, upon receiving a plea for help from the Vatican, led his army to cross the Alps and attack the Kingdom of Lombardy under the pretext of aiding the Pope. He adopted the tactics of dividing troops and conducting surprise attacks, besieging and landing, capturing all the territory of Lombardy and capturing Desiderius, who also served as the king of Lombardy. [2] Carloman's widow and children fell into Charlemagne's hands and never appeared again. [35]
On Easter in 774, while the war was still ongoing, Charlemagne went to Rome to reiterate to the Pope the promise made by his father Pippin in 756 (see entry Pippin offering soil), which was to dedicate central Italy to the Pope. Received the title of "Roman Elder" bestowed by the Pope. From then on, northern and central Italy came under Charlemagne's control. [2]
In 776, Adelcis, the son of Desiderius, launched a rebellion with the support of Alexis, Duke of Benevento in southern Italy. As a result, Charlemagne invaded Italy again in 780, quelling the rebellion, making the Duchy of Benevento a vassal state, and appointing his 5-year-old son Pippin as the king of Italy. [31] [37]
In the western part of the Frankish Kingdom, Charlemagne quelled the rebellion of the Aquitaine nobles through three wars and established his son Louis (the devout Louis) as the King of Aquitaine in 778.