Was Charlemagne crowned by the pope as a new Roman Emperor?

Answer 1

Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Romans by pope Leo II. However, the was not actually a Roman emperor. He was the king of the Franks and became the emperor of what historians call the Carolingian Empire, which was and empire of the Franks, not the Romans.

Charlemagne was given the title of Emperor of the Romans because he was a protector of the Catholic Church and the tilte was meant to signify that there was a Catholic empire in Western Europe, separate and independent of the Roman Empire (which at that time was the eastern part of the Roman Empire which continued to exist after the fall of the western part of this empire and which historians call Byzantine Empire). The Byzantines had controlled part o Italy, including Rome. The popes had been struggling to assert their independence from this empire, which, besides interfering, was Orthodox Christian.

Answer 2

We have no record of why Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as emperor. All we have is a record of the event and the fact that Charlemagne claimed he did not expect it to happen. The result is that the question is the subject of debate and differences of opinion.

I have read the view of some historians that the West was ready for the restoration of the Roman Empire, and had the belief that crowning Charlemagne emperor would facilitate this, to the benefit of all the people in Europe.

I have also read that Leo III may have believed the government of the Byzantine Empire, which never gave up calling itself the Roman Empire, was illegal because it was headed by a woman, Empress Irene. This leads to further speculation about what he intended to do with separate Roman Empires of the East and West, with the possibility that uniting them was envisioned.

And, of course, there are a number of other opinions, including the idea that Leo III merely wanted to express thanks that Charlemagne had saved him from a mob that had attacked him.

Nobody knows exactly why this is. Even so, Charlemagne was never really emperor. He was king of the Franks, a people who lived in modern day France and Germany. He lived 300 years after the true western half of Rome fell. The eastern half, Byzantium, already had a leader

Answer 3

Charlemagne was crowned on 25 December 800 by Pope Leo III in Rome.

Answer 4

Charlemagne was crowned the Holy Roman Emperor in Rome on Christmas Day 800 by Pope Leo III.

Answer 5

Christmas Day 800 AD