Charlemagne

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Charlemagne Powerpoint
Presentation
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At the end of the Roman Empire, Visigoths ruled
most of Gaul.
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Then the Franks arrived from Germany and took
over!
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Clovis was the son of a Frank chieftain and
became leader of the Franks at age 15 !
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Within a few years he had defeated the Visigoths
and other German tribes in Gaul.
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According to some stories, Clovis called upon the
Christian God to help him defeat his enemies and
then won ! He immediately was baptized and became
the 1st Christian King of the Franks !
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When Clovis (whose name later became Louis) died,
his 4 sons took over the kingdom. But they let
the Mayor of the Palace take over running the
kingdom and fighting any enemies
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Charles Martel was not a king. He was a Mayor of
the Palace and was actually more powerful than
the King !
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When Charles heard that Muslims from Spain had
invaded Frank territories (modern day France),
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he fought them
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And WON ! Saving Europe to remain Christian even
to this day !
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(No Transcript)
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Pepin had a close friendship with the Pope in
Rome and promised to protect him against all
enemies. In return, the Pope blessed Pepin and
gave him authority to rule and conquer in the
name of God !
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1. When Charlemagnes father, Pepin, died,
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he divided the kingdom of the Franks between his
2 sons- Charles and Carloman
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2. Carloman died -(Poisoned?) so Charles became
king of all the Franks -
and hired a secretary (Einhard) to record his
life.
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3. The Lombards invade Italy
and threaten the Pope.
He asks Charles to bring an army to Italy to stop
the Lombards.
Charles helped the Pope by defeating the Lombards
in Italy.
LOMBARDS !
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Muslims had conquered Arabia, the Middle East,
North Africa, and almost all of Spain by the time
Charles was king of the Franks.
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But not all of Spain. Christians still controlled
the top part of Spain
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Pamplona
Land of the Basques
Saragossa
4. Charles tried to conquer Northern Spain from
Muslims
but lost.
His friends Roland and Oliver were killed.
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5. Charles created  new churches and schools with
help from Alcuin ( a monk from Britain)
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6.  German Saxons and their leader Widdukind
worshipped nature gods at a sacred tree called
the Irmunsul.
Charles defeated the Saxons Widdukind became a
Christian.       
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7.  In 791 A.D. Charles created his capital at
Aachen (modern day Germany)
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8. On Christmas day 800 A.D. the Pope crowned
Charles "Holy Roman Emperor." Charles became
known as   Charlemagne - Charles The Great.
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9.  In 814 A.D Charlemagne died of a fever, age
71, in Aachen.
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10.  Charlemagnes only surviving son - Louis I
became the new emperor.
(he was a weak king, his 3 sons divided the
empire)