Charlemagne in the ruins of the Roman Empire created a huge and powerful state, which had a great influence on the tribes and peoples who inhabited Europe at the turn of the millennium. In order to correctly answer the question of which peoples inhabited the empire of Charlemagne, it is necessary to follow step by step how the empire expanded and the lands of which tribes were annexed to this state.
Saxons
The year 772 can be called the beginning of the creation of the state of the Franks, led by their leader. The peoples who inhabited the empire of Charlemagne and how they were annexed to this state can be judged by the history of two completely different ethnic groups - the Saxons and the Lombards. In terms of their social and political system, customs and character, these nationalities were completely opposite to each other. Nevertheless, it was these peoples of the empire of Charlemagne who became the symbol of his victories.
The foundation of the new state was laid by the Saxon tribe. They were the eternal enemies of the emperor. Karl repeatedly conquered the Saxons and their friendly Germanic peoples throughout his reign. The Saxons formed the confederation of Germanic tribes, which united the free peoples of the Ostfals, Ingres and Westphals. Until that time, the Saxons lived in communities, did not have state formations, unified faith, did not pay taxes and did not have rulers in the full sense of the word. Therefore, their resistance to the imperial power was the longest and most fierce in the history of the Carolingians - over and over again they rebelled against laws incomprehensible to them, and most of all against the Christian faith, which the emperor actively planted on conquered lands.
As soon as Karl paid attention to other territories, the Saxons again tried to regain freedom and independence. In the list of names of which peoples inhabited the empire of Charlemagne, the Saxons and their friendly tribes take first place, since the emperor spent the most time on their subjugation.
Lombards
After the first successful campaign against the Saxons, Charlemagne turned his attention south. There, on the territory of modern Italy, was the kingdom of the Lombards. The inhabitants of the southern outskirts of the country of the Franks did not expect a war with Charlemagne. Fearing a direct clash, the Lombards strengthened in their capital Pavia, where they were forced to withstand a long seven-month siege. When the city fell, Charlemagne spared the majority of the Lombards, imposing them with a feasible tribute and making them swear allegiance.
Campaign in Spain
Mohammedan feudal princes, who disagreed with the rule of the Spanish Umayyad dynasty, asked Charlemagne to help them. The army of Charles annexed to his empire vast territories between the Pyrenees and the Ebro. On the way back, their rearguard of the conquerors was attacked by the Basques. In retaliation for the death of his comrades-in-arms, Carl confiscated the possessions of the Duke of Aquitaine, and took his own life. So the Basques and Gascons were subjects of the emperor. The peoples who inhabited the empire of Charlemagne in the southwest are described in the medieval poem about the knight Roland, where among the poetic lines the plots of the confrontation between the conquered Gascons, Aquitans and Basques with the Frankish warriors are fairly correctly conveyed.
Slavs and Charlemagne
The policy of Charlemagne in relation to the Western Slavic tribes was not as straightforward as in the case of the Saxon peoples. For example, in making an alliance with the encouragement, Karl fought against the Wilts and annexed these two rather large Slavic tribes to the peoples of his empire. Later, Karl joined forces of the Wiles and the encouragement for a joint campaign against the Avars.
Based on the foregoing, an answer can be given to the question of which peoples inhabited the empire of Charlemagne. In abbreviation, these are the Franks, Saxons, Lombards, Basques, Aquitans and tribes of the Western Slavs themselves .