Holy Roman Empire

Holy Roman Empire Sacrum Imperium Romanum (in Latin) Heiliges Römisches Reich (in German)
800/962[a]–1806
Imperial Banner (c. 1430–1806) Coat of arms of Francis II
The Holy Roman Empire at its greatest extent in the early to middle 13th century during the Hohenstaufen dynasty (1155–1268) superimposed on modern state borders.
Capital	No official capital, various imperial seats[b]
Common languages	German, Latin (administrative/liturgical/ceremonial) Various[c]
Religion	Roman Catholicism (800–1806) Lutheranism (1555–1806) Calvinism (1648–1806) see details
Government	Elective monarchy
Emperor
• 800–814	Charlemagne[a]
• 962–973	Otto I (first)
• 1792–1806	Francis II (last)
Legislature	Imperial Diet
Historical era	Middle Ages Early modern period
• Charlemagne is crowned Emperor of the Romans[a]	25 December 800
• Otto I is crowned Emperor of the Romans	2 February 962
• Conrad II assumes crown of Burgundy	2 February 1033
• Peace of Augsburg	25 September 1555
• Peace of Westphalia	24 October 1648
• Battle of Austerlitz	2 December 1805
• Francis II abdicated	6 August 1806
Population
• 1200	5000000[2]
• 1500	16000000[3][4]
• 1618	21000000[5]
• 1648	16000000[5]
• 1786	26265000[6]
Preceded by Succeeded by East Francia Kingdom of Germany Kingdom of Italy Dutch Republic Old Swiss Confederacy Kingdom of Prussia Austrian Empire Confederation of the Rhine

The Holy Roman Empire (Latin: Sacrum Imperium Romanum; German: Heiliges Römisches Reich), occasionally but unofficially referred to as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation,^[7] was a polity in Western and Central Europe under the rule of an Emperor, who was elected by the princes and the magistrates of its regions and cities. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned Frankish king Charlemagne as Roman emperor and revived the title in Western Europe for the first time since the fall of the ancient Western Roman Empire in 476.

When Charlemagne died in 814, his Frankish Empire was given to his sons and divided into three different countries: West Francia, Lotharingia and East Francia. In 962, Otto I was crowned Emperor by Pope John XII. The empire would live on for over eight centuries until it ended in 1806.

At the outset of the empire, the Emperor was considerably powerful. As time went on, however, the empire's duchies and counties became more powerful.
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1. ↑ Žůrek, Václav (31 December 2014). "Les langues du roi. Le rôle de la langue dans la communication de propagande dynastique à l'époque de Charles IV". Revue de l'Institut Français d'Histoire en Allemagne (in French) (6). doi:10.4000/ifha.8045. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
2. ↑ "Atlas of Europe in the Middle Ages", Ostrovski, Rome, 1998, page 70
3. ↑ John Pike. "Holy Roman Empire - 1500 - The German Empire".
4. ↑ Rabe, Horst (1989). Reich und Glaubensspaltung, Deutschland 1500-1600. C.H.Beck. ISBN 9783406308161.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Mansbach, Richard W.; Taylor, Kirsten L. (17 June 2013). Introduction to Global Politics. Routledge. ISBN 9781136517372.
6. ↑ Dann, Otto (1993). Nation und Nationalismus in Deutschland, 1770-1990. C.H.Beck. ISBN 9783406340864.
7. ↑ Wilson, Peter H. (10 April 2016). Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674058095 – via Google Books.