Towards the end of the Merovingian dysnasty, the so-called Mayors of the Palace held most of the administrative powers in the Frankish empire. Which leads to Charles Martel, a well known and powerful mayor of the palace whose son Pepin the Short became Emperor after Childeric the Thirds deposition. This event started the Carolingian dynasty, which continues when Pepin divides his empire between his sons Charlemagne and Carloman. In the midst of the Dark Ages not many monarchs were regarded as glorious but Charles the Great, more widely known as Charlemagne, King of the Franks and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire is regarded as a great monarch due to his military expansion, social reforms, personal character, and other circumstances that occurred in the time period he ruled.
Charlemagne's military conquest earned him the title of Charlemagne the unconquerable. His first campaign began when Carloman was still alive (768-771). It was against Aquitaine, which was a war started by his father Pepin the short. Without his brothers support, Charlemagne still defeated Aquitaine and occupied it, securing another province to his Frankish empire. Charlemagne's next campaign was sparked "at the request of Hadrian, Bishop of the City of Rome, who first asked and then begged him to do so" (Einhard 60). By this time Carloman had died and Charlemagne commanded the entire former empire of Pepin. With a vast army Charlemagne began the assault upon the Longobards and forced their king Desiderius to surrender after a long siege on the city of Pavia. .
After securing northern Italy, Charlemagne turned to his northern neighbors, the Saxons and began a war that lasted well over thirty years. At the end however, Charlemagne won and kept the Saxons under control through his military presence in their land. Other conquests of Charles include the addition of Brittany and parts of middle and southern Italy to his empire.