Charlemagne’s Empire 814

By the time of his death on 28 January 814, Charlemagne had conquered most of western Europe and instituted a number of lasting changes to its social and political landscape. Charlemagne was instrumental in the spread of Catholic Christianity throughout the German lands in particular and prioritized education and law across his empire. The empire contained a number of regions known as marches, which were effectively buffer zones with other states. The Frankish Empire had overall control over the regions and collected taxes, however jurisdiction was often altered or even shared between the two bordering states. Charlemagne had been able to expand his influence in Italy mainly because of his close relationship with the papacy throughout his reign. He came to the aid of Pope Adrian I in 773, which resulted in him gaining the Lombard Kingdom and was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III in 800.