Accepting that the German cities and territories were the political and military domains of their local rulers, Charles worked with these local leaders to establish a combined dominance instead of attempting to wrest away their power. Voted by the Cardinal Council as Holy Roman Emperor in 1355, Charles immediately gave up all imperial ambitions in Italy and instead focused on consolidating power in the Germanic lands and the eastern half of his empire. This practice has continued with only minor changes to the present day.Ĭharles VI ruled with perhaps the most pragmatic view of his empire. A council of churchmen, known as Cardinals, was formed and given the power to nominate and elect popes. During the reign of the Salian Emperors (1024-1125) this practice again changed. Initially it was only the Pope who could designate the Roman Emperor, however over time - especially during the reign of Otto I - it became instead the Emperor who named the next Pope, providing the throne with enormous religious power. Throughout its history, the Holy Roman Empire was the stage for conflicts between its Emperors and the Church. However, the majority of his military ventures into Italy were unsuccessful, and Otto I only succeeded in eroding his power base in Germany. Although Italy was not formally part of the empire, Otto I repeatedly invaded that country in order to secure holdings for the Germanic empire. While Otto I managed to reunite the empire, his downfall, and that of many successor emperors, was his fixation on Italy. In some ways "Emperors" in name only, the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire were rarely able to exert real control over any territory that was beyond the reach of their personal armies.Īlthough the Holy Roman Empire was not referred to as such until late in the reign of Otto I (962-973), it came into being as a political entity in 800 AD when Pope Leo III, in an effort to break ties with the weakening Byzantine Empire, crowned Charlemagne the "Emperor of the Romans." A keen military strategist and devout Catholic, Charlemagne managed to keep the empire united until his death in 814, upon which the empire steadily dissolved into separate warring states until reunited under the rule of Otto I. Covering much of central Europe from the Netherlands to Hungary, the Empire was both a political powerhouse and a hotbed of political intrigue and military conflict. The Holy Roman Empire was created in 800 AD by Charlemagne.
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