The Holy Roman Empire at its greatest extent in the early to middle 13th century during theHohenstaufen dynasty (1155–1268) superimposed on modern state borders.
TheHoly Roman Empire (Latin:Sacrum Imperium Romanum;German:Heiliges Römisches Reich), occasionally but unofficially referred to as theHoly Roman Empire of the German Nation,[7] was a polity inWestern andCentralEurope under the rule of anemperor, who was elected by theprinces andthe magistrates of its regions and cities.On 25 December 800,Pope Leo III crownedFrankish KingCharlemagne as Roman emperor and revived the title inWestern Europe for the first time since the fall of the ancientWestern Roman Empire in 476.
When Charlemagne died in 814, the Frankish Empire was given to his sons and divided into three different countries:West Francia,Lotharingia andEast Francia. In 962,Otto I was crowned emperor byPope John XII. The empire would last for over eight centuries, until it ended in 1806.
At the start of the empire, the emperor was quite powerful. As time went on, however, the empire'sduchies andcounties became more powerful than the emperor.
SinceCharlemagne, the polity was simply called the "Roman Empire".[8] The name "Holy Roman Empire" was not used until the 13th century. Before then, people had called the empire by different names likeuniversum regnum ("the whole kingdom", meaning that it included all regions, not just local kingdoms) andimperium christianum ("Christian empire"). The emperor's right to rule came from the idea oftranslatio imperii ("transfer of rule"), which meant that he had the highest power, which had been passed down from theAncient Roman emperors.[9]
The Holy Roman Empire was not very centralised, unlike most countries today. Instead, it was divided into dozens and eventually hundreds of individual entities, which were governed by kings, dukes, counts, bishops, abbots and other rulers, who were collectively known asprinces. The emperor directly ruled some areas, but he could not simply issue decrees and govern autonomously over the empire. His power was severely restricted by the various local leaders.
The empire was a rare state inEurope to have an elective monarchy. The emperor was chosen by a small group ofprince-electors, but the previous emperor'sdynastic heir was commonly elected to the throne. Until 1596 the elected emperor was crowned by thePope to make him a real emperor. TheHouse of Habsburg ruled most of the time between about 1280 and 1806, the end of the empire.
↑The Empire had no official capital, though there were a number of imperial seat cities, which varied throughout history: e.g.Vienna (Continuous ImperialResidenz City, 1483–1806),Regensburg (Eternal Diet, 1663–1806) andPrague (1346–1437, 1583–1611)
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