Charlemagne

 Charlemagne By Mark L.

Charlemagne was a skilled military leader who was king of the Franks. His father, Pepin III, began the empire in France and Germany. When Pepin III was dying, he divided his land into two for his sons, Carloman and Charlemagne. Three years later, Carloman died and Charlemagne was left to rule alone. Charlemagne ruled the empire like his father wanted him to, to continue to fight the Lombards, protect the church, and to add land on to his own. Charlemagne conquered the Lombards, crowning himself king of the Lombards and the French. He was also in war with the Saxons and Bavarians, which he also conquered. Charlemagne controlled a huge empire. Even though he was king of the Lombards, they still continued to attack. Charlemagne constantly protected Pope Leo III against the Lombards. Charlemagne brought Pope Leo III back to power in Rome. While he was there, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne king of the Romans. This created conflict between the government and church. Even with the growing tensions between Charlemagne and the pope, Charlemagne still encouraged his people to become Christian.

With this huge empire, there were many threats like the Byzantian Empire. To gain respect of the empire, he arranged that one of his daughters marry the Byzantian Empress' son.

 Fast Fact: Charlemagne could speak several languages besides French. He was very fluent in Greek and Latin. Charlemagne was different from other kings. He let anybody come to him and present what they wanted to tell him.

Bibliography:  By Mark Luke
 * "Charlemagne-King of the Franks." 16 April 2009 . ||
 * "Einhard : Life of Charlemagne." 16 April 2009 . ||