Otto I and the Holy Roman Empire

Otto, king of the East Franks, halts the Hungarian raids at the battle on the river Lech, subdues the duchies and intervenes in Italy. In 962 the pope crowns him emperor in Rome — so the empire begun by Charlemagne is renewed, but now bound firmly to the German lands. The emperor appoints bishops himself and leans on them as a pillar of his power — which will later lead to the long quarrel with the papacy over investiture. This loose join of principalities and cities will survive until 1806.