Charlemagne was able to join many of the many countries together as one nation. This was something that allowed Europe as a whole to gain greater power and strength. As many countries before the reign of Charlemagne were easily defeated due to a lack of power, and war between each other, the new Carolingian Empire would prevent many problems such as these from occurring. This was also important because it would help Europe remain as Europe and not any other country due to invasion by other peoples. It is also what would later form the boundaries of all the different lands and territories that exist today. This is because after the death of Charlemagne, the land was split into many other smaller lands that had been given to each of Charlemagne's sons. Had empire have not been united by Charles I, the division of the land by his sons would have formed a different Europe. Europe may have been many more smaller countries that were all still fighting each other.
“We have seen that Charlemagne’s coronation by Pope Leo III., and the title of emperor then conferred on that prince, did not, properly speaking, deprive the emperor of Constantinople of the sovereignty of Rome and of the exarchate, for he had been deprived of it long before, at least since Pepin’s donation in 754. From our principle it also follows, that Charlemagne’s coronation, in 900, had not the effect of transferring to the king of France the sovereignty of Rome and of the exarchate, because from that time the pope alone continued to exercise there all the rights of sovereignty, as he had constantly done since Pepin’s donation. What other effect, then, could Charlemagne’s coronation, in 800, have but to attack him more closely to the defense and protection of the Holy See, by a title more honourable than that of the patrician of the Romans, which he had hitherto borne?” (Dolman)
2. Strength from the Pope.
As a country Italy was basically governed by the head bishop, or the pope. The pope was in charge of his own area in Southern Italy known as the Papal States; and Northern Italy was free from any type of king, and only governed by the pope. Before this, during the Roman Empire the emperor was in charge of Italy and was in charge of maintaining the Roman Empire. Maintaining the Roman Empire meant to control all of the lands that were in the Empire. In contrast, Charlemagne was able to unite Italy and add it to the Empire with permission from Pope Leo III. What was different was that unlike the previous Roman Empire, Italy was part of the Carolingian Empire, but was still under the control of the pope. Previously, the Roman Empire controlled and land that was in this empire, and generally had conquered and defeated the person of power of that nation.
Strength from, and coronation by the pope also meant that the pope supported what Charlemagne was doing, and also meant that the pope had given his blessing to Charlemagne. The fact that a semi-free nation supported a monarchy was defiantly a sign of change and support from what was once the most powerful country.
“The answer probably is that all these things would have existed without Charlemagne, but that they would not be as we know them today. Certainly the achievements and personality of Charlemagne loom very large in the thinking of most modern Europeans.” (Einhard)
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