800/962[a]–1806 | |
Quaternion Eagle (1510) | |
Capital | Multicentral[3]
Rome (de jure) Aachen (800–1562)
Vienna (1550s–1583, 1612–1806) Frankfurt (1562–1806)
Regensburg (1594–1806)
Wetzlar (1689–1806) |
Common languages | German, Medieval Latin (administrative/liturgical/ Various[c] |
Religion | Various official religions: Roman Catholicism (1054–1806)[d] Lutheranism (1555–1806) Calvinism (1648–1806) |
Government | Elective monarchy Mixed monarchy (after Imperial Reform)[14] |
Emperor | |
• 800–814 | Charlemagne[a] (first) |
• 962–973 | Otto I |
• 1519–1556 | Charles V |
• 1792–1806 | Francis II (last) |
Legislature | Imperial Diet |
Historical era | Middle Ages to early modern period |
25 December 800 | |
• East Frankish Otto I is crowned Emperor of the Romans | 2 February 962 |
• Conrad II assumes crown of the Kingdom of Burgundy | 2 February 1033 |
25 September 1555 | |
24 October 1648 | |
1648–1789 | |
2 December 1805 | |
6 August 1806 | |
Area | |
1150[e] | 1,100,000 km2 (420,000 sq mi) |
Population | |
• 1700[15] | 23,000,000 |
• 1800[15] | 29,000,000 |
Currency | Multiple: thaler, guilder, groschen, Reichsthaler |
The Holy Roman Empire,[f] also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor.[16] It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for most of the 2nd millennium until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.[17]
On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne Roman emperor, reviving the title more than three centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476.[18] The title lapsed in 924, but was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor by Pope John XII, as Charlemagne's and the Carolingian Empire's successor.[19][20][21][g] From 962 until the 12th century, the empire was one of the most powerful monarchies in Europe.[22] It depended on cooperation between emperor and vassals;[23] this was disturbed during the Salian period.[24] The empire reached the apex of territorial expansion and power under the House of Hohenstaufen in the mid-13th century, but overextension led to a partial collapse.[25][26][27][28][29] The imperial office was traditionally elective by the mostly German prince-electors. In theory and diplomacy, the emperors were considered the first among equals of all of Europe's Catholic monarchs.[30]
A process of Imperial Reform in the late 15th and early 16th centuries transformed the empire, creating a set of institutions which endured until its final demise in the 19th century.[31][32][33][34] On 6 August 1806, Emperor Francis II abdicated and formally dissolved the empire following the creation by French emperor Napoleon of the Confederation of the Rhine from German client states loyal to France.
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