Hello everyone, and welcome to the history of Byzantium.

Episode 113.

Carolingian Decline

The first two episodes of our end of the century tour were spent in the east, which as you

know has been the primary military front for the entire course of our story.

Shalimane's extraordinary career didn't change that reality for the Byzantines, but

it certainly made the Franks relevant to Roman concerns in a way they never had been before.

In today's episode we travel west to catch up on developments within the Carolingian

world and review the ways in which they impacted on our narrative.

Then we will discuss the dissolution of the Carolingian Empire, which as the title

of our episode suggests, went a similar way to the Abbasid Caliphate.

The last time we were in the west was back in episode 82 as a new Roman Emperor was crowned.

Shalimane's list of conquests seemed to demand nothing less than the highest honour

available.

And even if Pope Leo claimed to have the power to anoint him, no one was in doubt about

where real temporal power resided.

Up in Arcan, Shalimane was in charge and the nobles of Western Europe all knelt before

him.

As we saw in the narrative, even the Byzantines were forced to accept this new title.

Michael Raghave sent ambassadors to Hale Charles as Emperor.

To accept the existence of another Vasilev's was a historic moment.

But the men from Constantinople would only go so far.

...