In 476 ad the Roman Empire was under attack from Germanic barbarians from all .
The city of Rome itself had already been sacked. In 476 the Saxons and .
Lombards attacked the last strong city of the empire. Romulus Augustus the last emperor .
of Rome was there. In front of a crowd of Roman people Romulus was beheaded, so too .
was the Roman Empire. Europe without a super power like Rome was like a dark room .
without a light. The Germanic tribes were eventually made civilized, but the idea that .
Rome was dead still placed Europe in the dark ages. Since there was no Roman Emperor .
that meant there was no Rome. Europe would stay in the dark ages for 300 years, until .
the birth of a new king, a new emperor, a man named, Charlemagne.
.
From the moment he was born it seems the Charles was destined to do great .
things. He came from a line of great men. It seemed that talent for winning arguments .
through both political intrigue and war were in his blood. His grandfather was a .
German noble named Charles Martel. In the late 600's Europe was under constant attack .
from the Arab nations of the Moors and the Saracens. They were attempting, in their .
Jihad, to conquer the frail Christian Europe. This is where Charles Martel came in. The .
kings of Europe chose Charles Martel to lead an army to the last line of defense in .
Europe. Europe had two borders with Muslims, the stronghold of Constantinople to .
the east, and the stronghold of Tours to the west in France. Charles Martel led his army .
there and fought the Muslims. In his strategic brilliance he ordered his men to get off of .
their horses and form a shield wall to deflect the arrows being hurled at them. It worked .
and eventually the Arabs were forced to withdraw. Thanks to Charles Martel there is a .
Christian church and the Muslims never got further into Europe than Spain. Charles the .
great was descended from another great mind. His father was Pepin the Short. Pepin was .
