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07.04.

924: Death of Berengar I – The Last Italian Crowned Emperor in Rome

924: Death of Berengar I – The Last Italian Crowned Emperor in Rome
Photo Credit To http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Berengar_I_of_Italy.jpg

Berengar of Friuli was crowned the Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John X.



Emperor Berengar I, a man descended from an Italian noble family from Friuli, died on this day in 924. Berengar was the last man of Italian heritage who was crowned Holy Roman Emperor (later emperors were mostly of German descent). Since he was the Margrave of Friuli, he is sometimes known as Berengar of Friuli.

The Roman imperial title had been revived in 800 by Charlemagne, who was the first man crowned as Roman emperor after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476. The title was then passed on to Charlemagne’s descendants from the Carolingian dynasty, followed by several Italian magnates.

Berengar most likely died in Verona in his late seventies. After the death of Berengar I, the imperial post remained vacant for a time, until it was revived by Otto the Great in 962. That event also marked a shift of the centre of the Holy Roman Empire from Italy to Germany.

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