What is the relationship between the Roman Empire and the various medieval empires that used the same name?

Answer 1

There were four empires that called themselves the Roman Empire: the ancient Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Carolingian Empire, and the Holy Roman Empire.

The ancient Roman Empire divided at different times, between an eastern half and a western half. It divided in 395, at the death of Emperor Theodosius I, and remained divided until the West Roman Empire fell in the 5th century. The date usually given is 476, but in fact it was a slow process drawn out over many years.

The East Roman Empire remained intact, and continued until it fell in 1453. It was always called the Roman Empire by the people who lived there, and by many others. Today, we call the medieval East Roman Empire by the name Byzantine Empire, a name that was invented in the 17th century. Though it is not what they were called by anyone at the time, it is a useful name because it distinguishes them from the ancient Roman Empire, and from other empires that also claimed to be Roman. Modern historians date the change from East Roman Empire to Byzantine Empire as early as 395 AD, the death of Theodosius I, to as late as 610 AD, when the official language of the empire was changed from Latin to Greek.

In 800 AD, Pope Leo III, for whatever reasons, crowned Charlemagne as Emperor of the Roman People. This angered the people of the Byzantine Empire, because they claimed to be the Empire of the Roman People and did not recognize Charlemagne as their emperor. Later, the Byzantine emperors recognized the heirs to Charlemagne's empire as emperors, but not as emperors of the Roman People. This empire was made up of most of France, most of Germany, Switzerland, the northern half of Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and bits of Austria, Spain, and other countries. It divided after he died into three kingdoms, and one of the kings was the emperor, but the kings fought over the title, and it quickly had no real authority associated with it. The last person to have it died in 927 AD. Today, historians call Charlemagne's empire the Carolingian Empire, and give it the dates of 800 to 927.

In 962 AD, Otto I was crowned as emperor. This was really interesting in a way, because he was just the Emperor of the [unnamed] Empire, which was the eastern part, a bit more than half, of the old Carolingian Empire. It seems the emperors of this empire did not want to antagonize the people of the Byzantine Empire at first, and so it was not until around 1030 that people began calling it the Roman Empire again. This empire began calling itself the Holy Roman Empire in the 16th century, after the Middle Ages were over. During much of the Middle Ages, it was also called Germany, and between the time its rulers took power and their coronations, which was years in many cases, they were referred to by the title King of Germany. Modern historians refer to it as the Holy Roman Empire for all parts of its history back to the coronation of Otto I.