Shown above is a German-language map of the Holy Roman Empire when it was ruled by the Hohenstaufen Emperors during the middle of the 12th century to the late 13th century (1138-1254).
The map above includes the Empire’s many principalities and states, with each of them being distinguished by various colors. Also shown are the kingdoms neighboring the empire, such as France and England in the west, as well as Poland and Hungary in the east. To complete the picture, various bodies of water and mountain ranges are depicted on the map to show the geographical features around the Empire at the time.
Among the notable regions in the Empire at the time are the duchies of Bavaria and Saxony, as well as the Kingdom of Bohemia. While not part of the Empire itself, the Kingdom of Sicily and the Republic of Venice played important roles in European politics back in the day.
The Empire’s largest cities include Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Aachen, and Cologne. Meanwhile, its largest states include the duchies of Austria, Bavaria, and Saxony.
For context, the Hohenstaufen dynasty, or the Staufen dynasty for short, led the Empire from 1138 to 1254. The Empire itself consisted of several states that were semi-independent which made for its complexity. Politically, while the states in the Empire were under the Emperor’s rule, local rulers also had an autonomy of sorts.
During the Empire’s existence, culture and information significantly developed (especially during the Hohenstaufen rule), and economic activity was smooth. However, conflicts and crusades against neighboring kingdoms also happened.
The Holy Roman Empire was formed in the year 800 AD, upon the coronation of Charlemagne (Charles the Great) as Emperor of the Romans by the Catholic Pope Leo III. Throughout the years it existed, the Empire’s territorial boundaries were changing constantly.
Its existence lasted for more than a millennium, with its dissolution in 1806 by Emperor Francis II after losing at the hands of Napoleon.
Various factors contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire, including weaknesses in the Empire’s political structure, infighting among the Empire’s states and the ruling Emperor, the divide in religion accelerated by the Protestant Reformation, the changes in society and economic flow in wider Europe, and threats from outside forces, particularly the influence of France’s Napoleon Bonaparte.
In fact, the French philosopher Voltaire criticized the Empire itself as “neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire”. It wasn’t holy, for it faced multiple conflicts, both in terms of religion and within the Empire’s states and rulers. Not Roman, as it had little connection with Rome at the time of Voltaire’s quip. It wasn’t an Empire as well, mainly due to its aforementioned complex composition of states.
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