Pope Leo III crowning Charlemagne emperor, December 25, 800.
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Charlemagne was crowned King in 768. He became sole ruler of the Franks in 771. He became Holy Roman Emperor in 800.
Charlemagne was crowned emperor in St. Peter's Basilica, in Rome, on December 25, 800. This act created what historians call the Carolingian Empire, which was ancestral to both the the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of France. Charlemagne is considered Charles I of both countries. At the time of the coronation, and for quite a while after, the empire called itself the Roman Empire. Unfortunately the Byzantine Empire also called itself the Roman Empire. Modern historians use the terms they do to avoid confusion. For more, please use the link below.
charlemagne...
Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III in 800. He would be the first person in the west to bear this title since the deposition of the last Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus in 476.
Charlemagne was crowned as King of the Franks in 768. More importantly, he was crowned Emperor of the Romans (or Emperor of the West) on December 25, 800.