OTTO THE GREAT AND THE RESTORATION OF THE ROMAN
EMPIRE, 962 A.D.
CONDITION OF ITALY
Otto the Great is not to be remembered only as a German
king. His reign was also noteworthy in the history of Italy. The country at
this time was hopelessly divided between rival and contending peoples. The
emperor at Constantinople controlled the southern extremity of the peninsula.
The Mohammedans held Sicily and some cities on the mainland. The pope ruled at
Rome and in the States of the Church. A so-called king of Italy still reigned
in Lombardy, but he could not manage the powerful counts, dukes, and marquises,
who were virtually independent within their own domains. Even the imperial
title died out, and now there was no longer a Roman emperor in the West.
CORONATION OF OTTO THE GREAT, 962 A.D.
The deplorable condition of Italy invited interference
from abroad. Following in the footsteps of Charlemagne, Otto the Great led two
expeditions across the Alps, assumed the "Iron Crown" of
Lombardy, and then proceeded to Rome, where he secured the pope (John XII)
against the latter's enemies in that city. Otto's reward was the same as
Charlemagne's. On Candlemas Day, (February 2d) 962 A.D., the grateful pope
crowned him Roman emperor.
