The Holy Roman Empire (Empires in the Middle Ages)

The Holy Roman Empire (Empires in the Middle Ages) — page 5
people who would give it the kings of the Franks the strongest power north of the Alps In 754 Frankish king Pippin the Short invaded Italy and conquered the Lombard kingdom Two years later Pippin assigned the former Byzantine territory around Ravenna to the pope creating the Papal States of Italy which would endure until the unification of Italy in the nineteenth century The close cooperation between popes and the Frankish kings had far-reaching consequences It laid the basis for centuries of conflict between emperors and popes over who had the supreme authority in Europe According to the popes the empire was the political arm of the church The emperors however saw them selves as directly responsible to God and they relied solely on conquest and control for their power 8 the holy roman empire