Treaty of Verdun partitions the Carolingian Empire
- Date
- 10 August 843 CE
- Category
- Politics & governance
- Region
- Carolingian Empire (Western Europe)
- Era
- Post-Classical / Medieval
- Significance
Signed on 10 August 843, the Treaty of Verdun ended a bitter civil war among the grandsons of Charlemagne by dividing the Carolingian Empire among the three surviving sons of Emperor Louis the Pious.
Lothair I retained the imperial title and a long central strip ('Middle Francia') running from the Low Countries through Burgundy to Italy; Louis the German received the eastern lands ('East Francia') that would evolve into Germany; and Charles the Bald took the western territories ('West Francia') that would become France. The partition was the first lasting fragmentation of Charlemagne's empire and is widely regarded as a foundational moment in the political geography of Western Europe, foreshadowing the eventual emergence of France and Germany as distinct realms. The unstable middle kingdom dissolved within a generation, leaving a contested borderland between the two that would be fought over for centuries. The treaty also weakened central authority just as Viking, Magyar and Saracen raids intensified, accelerating the localisation of power that fostered feudal society.
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Empires active in 10 August 843 CE
- Byzantine Empire330 CE – 1453 CE
- Samanid Empire819 CE – 999 CE
- Tang Dynasty618 CE – 907 CE
- Abbasid Caliphate750 CE – 1258 CE
- Kanem-Bornu Empire700 CE – 1900 CE
- Carolingian Empire800 CE – 888 CE
Related politics & governance events
- Charlemagne crowned Emperor of the Romans25 December 800 CE
- Emperor Kanmu founds Heian-kyo, opening Japan's classical golden ageNovember 17, 794 CE
- Al-Mansur founds Baghdad as the Abbasid capital30 July 762 CE
- Donation of Pepin establishes the Papal States754–756 CE
- The Abbasid Revolution overthrows the Umayyad Caliphate25 January 750 CE (Battle of the Zab)
- Otto I crowned emperor, founding the Holy Roman Empire2 February 962 CE
Further reading
The wider story
Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire
Vivid, thematic popular history by a top Byzantinist.
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