Who was crowned Emperor of the Romans on Christmas Day 800?

Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Romans on Christmas Day 800. Pope Leo III performed the coronation during Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, proclaiming the Frankish king emperor in the West.

Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great, ruled a powerful kingdom covering much of modern France, Germany, northern Italy, and other parts of western and central Europe. His reign expanded the Carolingian Empire and promoted administrative, educational, and religious reforms.

The coronation revived the idea of a western Roman emperor after the deposition of Romulus Augustulus in 476. It also created diplomatic tension with the Byzantine Empire, whose rulers regarded themselves as the legitimate Roman emperors. Historians still debate how much Charlemagne expected or wanted the ceremony.

A common mix-up is confusing Charlemagne with Charles Martel, his grandfather, who stopped the Umayyad advance at the Battle of Tours in 732. Charlemagne’s son, Louis the Pious, became emperor later, in 814.