Carolingian Empire

The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was the final stage in the history of the early medieval realm of the Franks, ruled by the Carolingian dynasty. The size of the empire at its zenith around 800 AD was 1,112,000 km², with a population of between 10 and 20 million people.^[1]

With its division in 843, it also represents the earliest stage in the history of the kingdom of France and thekingdom of Germany, which in the High Middle Ages would emerge as the powerful monarchies of continental Europe, Capetian France and the Holy Roman Empire, and by extension the predecessor of the modern nations of France and Germany. The beginning of the Carolingian era is marked by the coronation ofCharlemagne, or Charles the Great by Pope Leo III at Christmas of the year 800, and its end with the death ofCharles the Fat.^[2] Because Charlemagne and his ancestors had been rulers of the Frankish realm earlier (his grandfather Charles Martel had essentially founded the empire during his lifetime, and his father, Pepin the Short, was the first King of the Franks), the coronation did not actually constitute a new empire. Most historians prefer to use the term "Frankish Kingdoms" or "Frankish Realm" to refer to the area covering parts of today's Germany and France from the 5th to the 9th century.

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the term "Carolingian" comes from the French terms "Carolingien" and "Carlovingien", probably a blend of Carolus (Latin for Charles) and "Mérovingien".