Holy, Roman, and an Empire

     The actions of emperors of long gone empires still impact modern life. July and August have thirty-one days to make them among the longest days of the year. Originally with thirty days, February was robbed of two days to make these adjustments possible. The Roman emperors and Roman laws have some of the longest and farthest reaching impacts of history. Rome directly birthed both the Byzantine Empire, which lasted until the fifteenth century, and Europe. Europe went on to influence and dominate the world, especially in the nineteenth century, and it is appropriate for a topic that deals with a mixture of both Rome and Europe to begin with Rome.
     Living in an age of absolute monarchs, Voltaire, the famous French philosopher of the eighteenth century, famously stated, "This agglomeration which was called and which still calls itself the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire." When this was said, the Holy Roman Empire had less than a century of existence left, and it was another Frenchman, Napoleon Bonaparte, that dismembered the nine-hundred year old empire.
     The Holy Roman Empire was never a simple state governed by one monarch. While the power of the emperor increased for several centuries, the size and terrain, hindered by the Alps, limited absolute control over the territory. The diversity of culture and history throughout the region further complicated assertions of control and led to a constant, internal fracturing of provinces throughout the centuries; these many narratives complicate a single explanation or agenda of the empire throughout its nine-hundred year existence. Thus, due to the complicated, constantly shifting power structure, fluid borders, and variant personalities of the monarchs, an uneven presentation of the power of the empire through the centuries must look at distinct people and periods since the world greatly changed from establishment to abolishment.
     A reflection of this unpredictable nature, the name itself changed multiple times as the purpose and peoples of the empire shifted. The most famous, longest lasting, and most recognized name is the one that will be explained and defended based, not off of the empire of Voltaire's day but, on history.
Roman
     Otto the Great became king of German-based East Francia in 936, stabilized his rule, and successfully conquered Northern Italy and Rome in 951. In 962 Pope John XII crowned him as Emperor over the German and Roman Empires. Because of the regional overlap and an understanding passed down from the Merovingian and Carolingian rulers, Otto assumed translatio imperii which placed him as the inheritor of Charlemagne's and the Western Rome Empires.
     Further legitimizing claims of reestablishing the Roman Empire, Otto the Great was the only emperor to have marital ties with the Byzantine Empire, the inheritor of the Eastern Roman Empire. While this success is notable, it was short lived since the son born from this marriage had a short reign and never had children.
    Although there was some overlap, the Holy Roman Empire's power base around Saxony Germany was never ruled by the Roman Empire. Rome never succeeded in expanding as far northeast as Otto's land claims, but with the control of the city of Rome, the conveyance of power and authority succeeded in legitimizing the claims in the new emperors.

Holy
     Control over Rome and Northern Italy allowed the emperor to control the pope and through him Western Christendom that extended to the rest of Europe. Frederick I Barbarossa solidified this strategy and expended great efforts to ascertain imperial influences throughout Italy. Under his reign the empire adopted the title of "holy" to demonstrate this desire to dominate the papacy. Interestingly, this power struggle reinforced the Investiture Controversy which pitted the powers of pope versus the powers of the king.
     One of the largest obstacles in justifying the title of "holy," notably after the Investiture Controversy, is that as the power of the empire waned, Rome became independent and the justification for the title faded away. In an attempt to renegotiate its name, the 1512 Diet of Cologne changed the official name to "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" since controls over Italian lands had disappeared.
Empire
     The Confederation of Germanic tribes, governance over dozens of modern nation states, and successful passage of inheritance rights through several generations attest to the strength and endurance of the empire. Even in its last years, the empire ruled over an assortment of Germanic states, Belgium, the Czech Republic, and portions of other modern countries.
     The most significant opposition to the declaration of empire comes from imperial coronation by the pope. Harkening back to Charlemagne and Otto I, many rulers only took the title of "emperor" after official papal recognition. From 1493 to 1806, only Charles V (1530) was crowned as emperor. The languishing power of the kings lasted three hundred years until a truly powerful emperor put the millennium-old state out of its misery.

     Undoubtedly names hold power. Even today oppressive, authoritarian, and tyrannical regimes often rule in countries titled "Republic of the People of" around the world. While a title may not longer the strength it intends, its creation is backed by the pages of history and the irreversible presses of the times.

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Agatha Tyche