Born
742
Died
814
Nationality
Frankish
Events involving Charlemagne (36)
768
ID: 2886
Charlemagne and Carloman inherit - kingdom divided, Charles gets Austrasia and northern Aquitaine, Carloman gets Burgundy and southern regions
ID: 2886
770
ID: 2887
Charlemagne marries Lombard princess - Desiderata, daughter of King Desiderius, political alliance angers Pope
ID: 2887
771
ID: 2889
Charlemagne divorces Desiderata - repudiates Lombard wife, marries 13-year-old Swabian Hildegard, breaks with Lombards
ID: 2889
771
ID: 2888
December 771
Death of Carloman I - dies suddenly at 20, Charlemagne seizes his lands, Carloman's widow and sons flee to Lombardy
ID: 2888
772
ID: 2890
First Saxon War begins - Charlemagne invades Saxony, destroys Irminsul (sacred tree), begins 30-year struggle
ID: 2890
773
ID: 2891
Charlemagne invades Lombardy - Pope Adrian I appeals for help, Charlemagne crosses Alps with army
ID: 2891
774
ID: 2892
Fall of Pavia - Charlemagne captures Lombard capital, deposes Desiderius, crowns himself King of Lombards, visits Rome at Easter
ID: 2892
775
ID: 2893
Saxon rebellion under Widukind - while Charlemagne in Italy, Saxons revolt, begin guerrilla warfare
ID: 2893
778
ID: 2894
Spanish campaign - Charlemagne crosses Pyrenees, besieges Zaragoza unsuccessfully, retreats
ID: 2894
778
ID: 2896
Birth of Louis the Pious - twin son (brother dies), Charlemagne's third son but will be sole surviving legitimate heir
ID: 2896
778
ID: 2895
August 15, 778
Battle of Roncesvalles Pass - Basques ambush Frankish rearguard, Roland killed, becomes legend of Song of Roland
ID: 2895
781
ID: 2907
Louis crowned King of Aquitaine - three-year-old son made sub-king by Pope Adrian, establishing succession
ID: 2907
782
ID: 2897
Massacre of Verden - Charlemagne executes 4,500 Saxon nobles in one day for rebellion, brutality shocks contemporaries
ID: 2897
782
ID: 2898
Capitulatio de partibus Saxoniae - harsh laws for Saxony, death for refusing baptism or eating meat during Lent
ID: 2898
785
ID: 2899
Widukind submits - Saxon leader baptized at Attigny, Charlemagne as godfather, major victory for Christianization
ID: 2899
788
ID: 2900
Charlemagne deposes Tassilo III of Bavaria - forces him into monastery, Bavaria fully incorporated into Frankish realm
ID: 2900
789
ID: 2901
Admonitio Generalis - Charlemagne orders schools in every monastery and bishopric, Alcuin leads palace school
ID: 2901
790
ID: 2902
Palace complex at Aachen begun - modeled on Ravenna, octagonal chapel, becomes Charlemagne's favorite residence
ID: 2902
793
ID: 2903
Fossa Carolina attempted - Charlemagne tries to build Rhine-Danube canal, project abandoned due to engineering difficulties
ID: 2903
794
ID: 2904
Monetary reform - Charlemagne establishes silver pound standard, 1 pound = 20 shillings = 240 pennies, basis for £sd system
ID: 2904
794
ID: 2905
Council of Frankfurt - condemns Adoptionism heresy and Byzantine iconoclasm, asserts Frankish theological independence
ID: 2905
796
ID: 2906
Destruction of Avar Ring - Charlemagne's son Pepin destroys Avar capital, immense treasure taken, Avars cease to exist
ID: 2906
797
ID: 2908
Embassy to Harun al-Rashid - Charlemagne sends delegation to Abbasid Caliph, alliance against Byzantium
ID: 2908
799
ID: 2909
Attack on Pope Leo III - Roman nobles try to blind and depose Pope, he flees to Charlemagne for protection
ID: 2909
800
ID: 2911
December 25, 800
Charlemagne crowned Emperor - Pope Leo III crowns him in St. Peter's on Christmas, Charlemagne claims surprise, Western Empire restored
ID: 2911
801
ID: 2914
Barcelona captured - Louis the Pious takes city after two-year siege, establishes Spanish March against Muslims
ID: 2914
802
ID: 2910
Elephant arrives at Aachen - Abul-Abbas, gift from Harun al-Rashid, only elephant in Europe, dies in 810
ID: 2910
802
ID: 2912
Byzantine negotiations - Empress Irene proposes marriage to unite empires, she's deposed before completion
ID: 2912
802
ID: 2913
Administrative reforms - Charlemagne sends missi dominici (royal inspectors) throughout empire, issues capitularies
ID: 2913
804
ID: 2915
Final pacification of Saxony - after 32 years of war, Saxony fully incorporated and Christianized, 10,000 Saxons relocated
ID: 2915
806
ID: 2917
Divisio Regnorum - Charlemagne plans division of empire among three sons, but two die before him
ID: 2917
810
ID: 2919
Death of Pepin of Italy - Charlemagne's second son dies, only Louis remains as heir
ID: 2919
811
ID: 2920
Death of Charles the Younger - Charlemagne's eldest son dies, Louis the Pious now sole heir
ID: 2920
812
ID: 2921
Byzantine recognition - Emperor Michael I recognizes Charlemagne as Emperor of the West, two Roman Empires acknowledged
ID: 2921
813
ID: 2922
Louis the Pious crowned co-emperor - Charlemagne personally crowns son at Aachen, no papal involvement
ID: 2922
814
ID: 2923
January 28, 814
Death of Charlemagne - dies at 71 after 46-year reign, buried in Aachen chapel, Louis inherits intact empire
ID: 2923