The Carolingian Empire

The Carolingian Empire

Throughout the course of history many different empires have been formed. Of these empires, the Carolingian Empire is one that really intrigued me to learn more about. The knowledge about the empire is easily retained. Though the information was easy to grasp, it did cause me some problems. While reading about this historical empire I overlooked some very important actions upheld within the empire. Initially, I thought that the information presented in the book was all credited to Charlemagne. Though the majority of the greatest years of the empire occurred under Charlemagne, it did not fully explain the empire itself. Most of what was accomplished was carried out inside of Charlemagne's realm, but he alone did not form the empire himself. The groundwork to the empire was taken care of by the Carolingians who controlled the Frankish realm at this time. The rise and fall of the Carolingian Empire can be attributed to the decisions of those in power and the many government reforms enacted.

The beginning of the Carolingian Empire can be traced even farther back than its given name. The empire itself first took over the Merovingian dynasty of the Frankish Realm. The Carolingian family was a wealthy body of people who did not feel it necessary they were not in power. After the year 600 is when the family really began to establish itself in government office.

The Carolingian rise to power was able to happen because the family controlled so much wealth. Since the Carolingian nobility was so powerful, other nobility felt it necessary to become a part of the Carolingians. The Alliances the Carolingians made with others allowed them to increase their following and expand their empire even further.

The Carolingian nobility recognized that some of their territory was under attack from opposing forces. Furthermore, they realized if they do not take care of these attacking forces, that they may lose power in their territory. To restore the Carolingian empire, the help of Charles Martel was enlisted by the nobility. Charles Martel was able to lead forces into Gaul and overrun the Arab forces held within the city. Management of the empire by the Carolingians helped create a much more expansive area to rule. The early empire was helped along by the actions of the Carolingian family.

All through this time the Carolingians were not only gaining much needed land for their empire, but they were also creating a larger following. Nobility accomplished this by funding all of the wars. These acts of war allowed the nobility to gain numbers of people in their area. After a successful conquest, the Carolingians believed it necessary to protect their investment. Constant rewards were given to people form the nobility to ensure that they stayed loyal to the Carolingians. These defeated people realized that their lives would be so much better if they would just allow themselves to be a part of the Carolingian Empire.

The mere fact of knowing the Carolingian family was in control was not enough for the nobility. As Pippin III came into power, he wanted to make sure who once and for all who was really in control. He felt that if someone were to be in power, that person should be the king and not somebody else. Pippin III decided to send some troops over to the office of the Pope and retrieve some answers about who was in charge. The Pope believed that no one person should be in charge because it goes against the Divine Plan. Regardless what the Pope believed to be correct, Pippin III was elected king after the last Merovingian king was gone. Even though Pippin III pressured the Pope into giving him power, he wanted the Pope to act as if nothing out of the ordinary happened. Whether or not the Pope felt Pippin III was qualified by the divine or not, the Pope gave in to Pippin III's request. A ceremony was set in place to fully incorporate Pippin III and his sons to power. They were anointed and were officially given empirical office. At this same time the Pope issued a decree saying that a king of the empire can only come from the Carolingian family. Knowing the Carolingian family would be in power for as long as they had a member present in the empire put all the questions of authority to rest. Well, for around fifty years or so.

Now that the Carolingian family was in control, the family would have to reform how the empire would be run. Much of the work of the Carolingian Empire was carried out by the reforms and ideas of Charlemagne. Under his rule, the Carolingian Empire made great strides within their territory. As Pippin III did before him, Charlemagne wanted it to be known who would be in charge. As a prerequisite to serve, Charlemagne required all males to swear an oath of allegiance to him. With all of the worry about who was in charge, I wonder how social gatherings took place in the Carolingian Empire. No matter what situation, no one is happy unless they are leading. This fact alone really surprises me. With all of these power hungry people how did anything get done? The holidays would really tear that family apart.

Anyways, even though Charlemagne wanted it to be known that he was in control, he knew that he could not rule the entire empire all by himself. To me the way the empire was ruled was like a river with an abundant amount of tributaries. The river itself is one large movement of water that is only strengthened by the extra currents of water it picks up along its path. The king, much like the river, is only as strong as those who look over his vast empire at certain points. Without the tributaries, or the civil servants, the empire and river would lose power, leading to the loss of control within each domain.

Local government itself was up to the local officials. These officials were part of Charlemagne's Missi Dominici, which consisted of counts and magrabs. The counts job was to enforce royal orders given from the throne of Charlemagne. The incentive for someone to be a count lied within the third of all fines they were allowed to accept. So, the counts were basically like prison guards who enforce the law and maintain justice for a small piece of the many fines in a region. With the counts taking care of their regions, there was still room for Charlemagne to stay even more connected to his empire by the people who helped him carryout his plans.

Whether one was secular or ecclesiastical, all were vassals to the king. Being a vassal to the king meant one pledged their loyalty and service to him. If having counts answer directly to the king himself was not enough, an assembly between the vassals and the king was set-up to occur once or twice every year. At these assemblies many different