The Verdun section of the once huge and powerful empire of Charlemagne led to the disappearance of the Frankish kingdom and the emergence on its territory of three states of approximately the same size, ruled by his grandchildren, the sons of Louis the Pious. The preparation of the contract involved 120 advisers who, according to a contemporary, did not even have a clear idea of the borders of this immense power. We will discuss this year in what year the Verdun section of the Carolingian empire took place.
The main reasons for the collapse of the state
Despite the fact that Charles the Great sought to build his power in the style of the Roman Empire, he did not succeed. Most likely because neither in the territorial, nor in the economic, and even more so militarily, the country of the Franks could not be compared with such a powerful state. Moreover, the strengthening of the empire of Charles was largely hindered by national differences, since he managed to conquer a large number of different tribes and nationalities. It is known that the Romans solved all the problems associated with governance, according to the principle of "Divide and conquer", but the king of the Franks either did not have time to put it into practice, or failed.
On the one hand, the Carolingian empire was constantly shocked by the uprisings of local residents who tried to get rid of the hated conquerors by any means, and on the other hand, the counts who completely controlled their territories and increasingly tried to pursue their own policy independent of the central government. The Frankish state under Charlemagne relied solely on its military strength. That is why, not having time to form properly, it almost immediately began to fall apart.
Contract signing
In 814, Charlemagne dies, and power passes to his heir - Louis the Pious. However, his calm reign did not last long. Three years later, his sons - Lothar, Karl Lysy and Louis the German - demanded that his father divide the empire. Hoping to put an end to family strife, Louis distributed the available land among his heirs, but he did not achieve such peace actions. His sons first unleashed a war against the emperor himself, and coming out of it as victors, they began to wage war against each other. So, Karl Lysy joined forces with Louis the German, after which they went together to war against Lothar.
The brothers came to a common agreement only in 843 in the city of Verdun. Here the so-called Verdun treaty was signed, according to which the Carolingian empire was divided into three parts. The eldest of the brothers - Lothar - inherited Italy, Lorraine and Burgundy, and also retained the title of emperor. Louis of Germany got the eastern lands, while the western regions (now the territory of France) went to Karl Lysy. Thus, the Verdun section laid the foundation for the formation of the three main Western European peoples - German, Italian and French.
Economic situation
Today, the borders of the division of the Frankish Empire under the Verdun Treaty seem quite logical and natural. However, we can say with confidence that at that time the brothers divided the state in no way caring about any national unity of its inhabitants. The ethnic community, which began to form already in the new kingdoms, also did not matter much to them. The main problem that the three kings had to deal with was the economy.
It is known that the regions of the Frankish state under Charles the Great, and then during the reign of his son and grandchildren, were developed extremely unevenly. When dividing the empire, no one took into account economic feasibility. Then the main thing was to give each of the rulers the same amount of land.
Arab threat
As soon as the borders of the division of the Frankish Empire were established under the Verdun Treaty, the Carolingian power ceased to exist. The new states that were formed as a result of this agreement were not ready for the extremely difficult political situation prevailing at that time. The fact is that the new conquerors began to approach the borders of the once powerful empire.
The most dangerous enemies have always been Arabs. At one time, they could not defeat Charlemagne on the mainland, so now they directed all their efforts to where the military power of the Carolingians was traditionally small, namely at sea. It is no secret that the emperor practically did not care about creating a good fleet, since he believed that his main lands were located quite far from the sea borders of his possessions. Karl did not think of him even after the failure at sea, which befell him in the confrontation with Byzantium. Therefore, the Arabs almost immediately after the death of the emperor attacked southern Italy, landed in Sicily, capturing it and setting up their base there, from which they from time to time freely attacked the Apennine peninsula.
Further crushing
After the division of the Carolingian empire, Louis the German began to rule the East Frankish kingdom. He very successfully fought with his neighbors, subduing the encouragement, and also establishing suzerainty over the lands of Great Moravia. The king tried to restore the former unity of the empire of his grandfather, but this venture was not crowned with success. After the death of his older brother Lothar, Louis the German fought for some time with the West Frankish kingdom, until in 870 he signed the Treaty of Merzens, according to which part of Lorraine joined his possessions.
At the end of his reign, he, like his father, Louis the Pious, yielded to the insistent demands of his own sons and divided his state into three parts, giving the younger Lorraine and Swabia, the middle - Saxony, and the oldest - Bavaria.
Clan wars
Even after the Verdun section, the newly formed kingdoms were too large to maintain reliable state ties, since all of them were based either on vassalage relations or on the personal ties of their rulers. By the middle of the 9th century, Karl Lysy was also forced to conclude additional agreements not only with his siblings, but also with large feudal lords. In addition, at the end of the century, the once-existing electoral principle of royal power was restored, and the so-called General Assembly nominally acted, which in reality was only a collection of members of the highest nobility.
Not much time has passed since the signing of the Verdun treaty, as the royal thrones turned into tools of clan wars between several feudal warring factions. In 920, independent duchies and counties began to form, which later became politically independent territories.
The subsequent strengthening of feudal power
It is no secret that the Verdun section affected the further reduction of the role of the once powerful Carolingian. By the middle of the 10th century, a powerful new clan led by Robert of Paris appeared among numerous feudal clans and newly formed counties.
This nobleman also belonged to the side relatives of the Carolingian. However, due to unrest and civil strife, which lasted for decades, as well as interference in the general empire affairs of the German kings, stability came only after the adoption of a joint agreement of the feudal nobility regarding the future political structure of the country.
Dying dynasty
The coronation of the last representatives of the Carolingian clan was made on the condition that they would rule the state only by listening to the advice of the princes, led by the Frankish duke. The last member of this imperial dynasty, Louis V, died in 987. After this, the feudal assembly decided that the next king of the French western lands would be the representative of the Robertin clan, which became Hugo Capet.