Shortly after the beginning of the Saxon wars the king of
the Franks received an urgent summons from the pope, who was again being
threatened by his old enemies, the Lombards. Charlemagne led a mighty host
across the Alps, captured Pavia, where the Lombard ruler had taken refuge, and
added his possessions to those of the Franks. Thus passed away one more of the
Germanic states which had arisen on the ruins of the Roman Empire. Charlemagne
now placed on his own head the famous "Iron Crown," and assumed the
title of "King of the Franks and Lombards, and Patrician of the
Romans."
CHARLEMAGNE'S OTHER CONQUESTS
Charlemagne's conquests were not confined to Germanic
peoples. He forced the wild Avars, who had advanced from the Caspian into the
Danube valley, to acknowledge his supremacy. He compelled various Slavic
tribes, including the Bohemians, to pay tribute. He also invaded Spain and wrested
from the Moslems the district between the Ebro River and the Pyrenees. By this
last conquest Charlemagne may be said to have begun the recovery of the Spanish
peninsula from Mohammedan rule. [15]
[15] The rearguard of Charlemagne's army, when returning
from Spain, was attacked and overwhelmed by the mountaineers of the Pyrenees.
The incident gave rise to the famous French epic known as the Song of Roland.
