1. THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES (PART 3).
THE GERMANIC KINGDOMS: THE CAROLINGIAN
EMPIRE
María Jesús Campos
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2. THE FALL OF THE WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE
The fall of the Western
Roman Empire after
the conquest of Rome
by the Ostrogoths in
the year 476 A.D.
meant the break-up
of Mediterranean
unity and the arose of
new powers and
civilizations as the
Germanic Kingdoms,
the Byzantine Empire
and the Islamic
4. THE GERMANIC KINGDOMS: THE FRANKISH
KINGDOM
After the fall of the
Western Roman
Empire, the Franks
expelled the
Visigoths from Gaul
and established
there the Frankish
Kingdom.
5. But Frankish kings
were weak so they
handed power over to
officials called
Mayors of the
Palace.
One of the most
important mayors was
Charles Martel
because he
strengthened the
frontiers and stopped
the Muslims from
invading the Frankish
kingdom.
6. Charles Martel’s son,
Pippin the Short was
mayor of the palace
until he deposed the
last Frankish
monarch and became
king himself.
He was annointed by
the Pope. In
exchange, Pippin
gave the Pope the
lands he had
conquered in Italy to
the Lombards. Those
lands became the
Papal States.
7. THE CAROLINGIAN EMPIRE
Pippin’s son, Charlemagne,
succeeded him. He was an able
military leader that wanted to unite
the Germanic tribes into a single
Christian state and restore the
Western Roman Empire.
He conquered the Lombard
kingdom in Italy, annexed Bavaria
and the Danube, defeated the
Saxons and attacked the Muslims
in Spain capturing the northeast
section of the Iberian Peninsula.
The Pope annointed Charlemagne
as emperor. The Carolingian
Empire showed itself as the
successor of the Western Roman
Empire. This angered the
Byzantine Empire.
9. THE CAROLINGIAN EMPIRE: GOVERNMENT
The empire was
divided into:
Counties ruled by
counts who were
usually men of noble
families.
Marches ruled by
margraves who were
counts and military
men as this
territories were
located in frontier
areas.
10. THE CAROLINGIAN EMPIRE: CULTURE
The reign of Charlemagne
is distinguished as a time
of culture.
A lot of buildings and
churches were built
reflecting both Roman and
Byzantine influence.
The emperor established
centers of
learning, libraries and
famous scriptorium so that
ancient manuscripts could
be preserved an copied by
monks.
11.
12. The Decline of the Carolingian Empire
After Charlemagne, his son
Louis the Pious was crowned
emperor. He was a weak
leader that could not hold
together the vast territories.
He divided the empire among
his three sons: Charles, Louis
and Lothair. They signed the
Treaty of Verdun, which
divided the empire into three
kingdoms.
Nevertheless, they soon
began to fight over the lands.
Civil wars and poor leadership
weakened the empire until it
could not longer resist foreign
invasions. The last Carolingian
emperor was deposed by the
Vikings.
