The Rise and Fall of the Carolingian Empire

  • Oct 1, 732

    Battle of Tours

    Charles Martel led the Frankish Army. He defeated the Mohammedan, who were trying to invade the Franks. Charles Martel became a hero because of this victory.
  • Jan 1, 741

    Charles Martel Died

    Charles Martel died on this way. He had created heavy armor for the Frankish calvalry. Charles Martel had the authority of the king with the Franks, even though he never actually had the title.
  • Mar 1, 752

    Childeric III Deposed

    Charles Martel had died, so then his kids took over the empire. His son Pippen became the king of the Empire. His other son, Carolman, joined the clergy.
  • Jan 1, 768

    Pippin Died

    Pippin died on this day. Pippin had two sons who ruled together. Then, Charlemagne took over the empire.
  • Jan 1, 774

    King of Lombards

    The Lombards had been conquered by Pippin, and the land was given away to the pope. Then, the Lombards wanted the land back. Charlemagne helped the pope to fight back against the Lombards and conquer even more of their land.
  • Jan 1, 787

    Educational Reform

    Schools were forced to work in an organized manner. Libraries were rebuilt throughout the empire as well. Also, copies of old literature were recovered and preserved to learn from.
  • Dec 25, 800

    Vivat Carolus Augustus Romanorum

    Charlemagne fought back the Lombards. He eventually won and got appointed Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope. The empire at this time was almost as large as the Roman Empire.
  • Jan 28, 814

    Charlemagne Died

    Charlemagne died on this day. His empire got split up between his sons. When he died, he had ruled almost all of Europe.
  • Jan 1, 817

    The First Partition

    Charlemagne's sons all died except for Louis. Because of this, Louis inherited the whole empire. However, Louis split the empire up between his three sons.
  • Jan 1, 829

    The Second Partition

    Louis's wife died. He had another son with somebody else. Then, Louis split the land up with his new son as well as with the rest of his sons.
  • Jan 1, 842

    Treaty of Verdun

    Louis died. After his death, all of his sons went to war for land. They eventually created a peace treaty that granted them each land from the empire.
  • Sep 29, 855

    Lothair I Died

    When Louis died, Lothair had become emperor. However, after the treaty of Verdun, he obtained the middle part of the empire. This land of his got split up between his three sons.
  • Aug 28, 876

    Louis the Bavarian Died

    Louis was Charlemagne's most successful grandson. This is because none of his descendants fought. He split up his land evenly and his sons handled their own responsibilites, they did not fight for land.
  • Oct 6, 877

    Charles the Bald Died

    Charles was the king of France. He was also the Holy Roman Emperor. He was peaceful, but got attacked frequently, forcing him to flee from fights.
  • Jan 13, 888

    Charles the Fat Died

    Charles the Fat was crowned Emperor by the pope. Charles the Fat united the entire Carolingian Empire during his lifespan. However, when he died, the unity of the empire crumbled.