- Charlemagne was also known as Charles the Great and he's the grandson of Charles Martel.
- He was born in 742 in the Frankish Kingdom.
- He reigned for 46 years.
- Charlemagne loved battle.
- He spent most of his reign fighting Muslims in Spain, Saxons in the North, Avars and Slavs in the East, and Lombards in Italy.
- Much of the old Roman Empire was reunited from his conquests.
- On Christmas day in 800, Pope Leo III crowned the German king successor.
- This was Pope Leo III way of showing gratitude to Charlemagne for helping him against rebellious nobles in Rome.
- Charlemagne appointed nobles to rule local regions.
- He gave the nobles land so they could offer support and supply soldiers for his army.
- He sent out officials called missi dominici to keep control over the provincial rulers. They checked on roads, listened to grievances, and see that justice was served.
- Charlemagne wanted to make his court at Aachen a "second Rome."
- Under the direction of the respected scholar Alcuin of York, Charlemagne founded a school at Aachen.
- Alcuin created a curriculum based on Latin learning
- The curriculum consisted of grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy.
- Charlemagne died in 814 in the Roman Empire.
- One of his longest lasting achievements was extending the Christian civilization into northern Europe and further blending German, Roman, and Christian traditions. He also set-up strong, efficient governments giving later medieval rulers an example when they tried to strengthen their kingdoms.