The father of Charlemagne, who was later to become a major force in Europe and Holy Roman Emperor, seized the Frankish throne from what dynasty in 751 CE?
Military history of the Netherlands 10th centuries, from 481 ruled by Clovis I of the Merovingian Dynasty, the first king of all the Franks. From 751, under the Carolingian Dynasty, it is known as the Carolingian Empire. After the Treaty of Verdun of 843 it was split into East, West and Middle Francia. East Francia gave rise to the Holy Roman Empire with Otto I the Great in 962. Since the term "Empire" properly applies only to times after the coronation of Charlemagne in 800, and since the unified kingdom was repeatedly split and re-united, most historians prefer to use the term Frankish Kingdoms or
Carolingian Empire the later emperors, see Holy Roman Emperor. Carolingian Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large empire in western and central Europe during the early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lombards of Italy from 774. In 800, the Frankish king Charlemagne was crowned emperor in Rome by Pope Leo III in an effort to revive the Roman Empire in the west during a vacancy in the throne of the eastern Roman Empire. After a civil war (840–43) following the death of