Carloman Dies: Charlemagne Rules All of Francia Alone
Carloman was 20 when he died. His widow fled immediately to Italy with their sons — she knew what was coming. Charlemagne absorbed his brother's kingdom before the body was cold. No sharing, no partition, no mercy for rival heirs. The Lombard court in Pavia sheltered Carloman's family, but that protection lasted exactly two years. When Charlemagne invaded Italy in 773, those nephews vanished from every record. No graves, no exile notices, no ransom demands. Just silence. And from that silence came an empire: Charlemagne ruled alone for 43 years, crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 800, redrawing the map of Europe from a throne that should have been split in half.
December 4, 771
1255 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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