The establishment of a permanent capital was an achievement in itself, since medieval kings tended to move from place to place. The Carolingian age signified the beginning of a return to the civilized way of life that had prevailed before the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, and in 800, Charlemagne received a title that recognized him as the leader of a new Roman Empire.
The year before, Pope Leo III had been attacked by mobs in Rome and imprisoned. He had escaped and gone to Aachen for help, and Charlemagne had assisted him with a contingent of soldiers. Soon they restored the pope to power,
Though much of Charlemagne's reign was spent in military pursuits, he also surrounded himself with thinkers and educators and fostered a rebirth of learning in his kingdom. Reproduced by permission of the Corbis Corporation.
And Charlemagne himself came to Rome in mid-December 800. On Christmas Day, the pope placed a crown on his head and declared him "Emperor of the Romans." Historians regard this as an early foundation for the Holy Roman Empire, which would take shape nearly two centuries later.
Though this empire was more of an idea than a reality, it would still play a significant part in European politics throughout the remainder of the Middle Ages. Certainly the Byzantine emperors, who ruled the Eastern Roman Empire from Greece, took the title seriously enough that they regarded it as an insult to their own claims to the Roman throne. Only in 813 did they recognize Charlemagne's use of the title.
World History
