Carloman I of the Franks

Carloman I
A denarius minted by Carloman I
King of the Franks
Reign	768-771
Predecessor	Pepin the Short
Successor	Charles I
Born	28 Jun 751
Died	4 Dec 771
Spouse	Gerberga
Issue	Pepin
Father	Pepin the Short
Mother	Bertrada of Laon

Carloman I, also Karlmann (28 June 751 – 4 December 771) was king of the Franks from 768 until his death in 771. He was the second surviving son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon and was a younger brother of Charlemagne. Little is known of him, except such as touches upon his more famous father and brother. Carloman is mainly regarded by historians as Charlemagne's first steps towards acquiring the Holy Roman Empire, as his death allowed Charlemagne to take all of Francia and begin his expansion into other kingdoms.

At the age of 3, he was, together with his father, Pepin the Short, and his elder brother, Charlemagne, anointed King of the Franks and titled "Patrician of the Romans" by Pope Stephen II, who had left Rome to beg the Frankish King for assistance against the Lombards. Carloman and Charlemagne each inherited a half of the Kingdom of the Franks upon Pepin's death. His share was based in the centre of the Frankish Kingdom, with his capital at Soissons, and consisted of the Parisian basin, the Massif Central, the Languedoc, Provence, Burgundy, southern Austrasia, Alsace and Alemannia; the regions were poorly integrated and surrounded by those bequeathed to Charlemagne, and, although Carloman's territories were easier to defend than those of Charlemagne, they were also poorer in income.

It is commonly agreed that Carloman and Charlemagne disliked each other, although the reasons behind this are unclear: some historians suggest that each brother considered himself rightfully to be the sole heir of their father – Charlemagne as the elder child, Carloman as the legitimate child (Charlemagne is sometimes claimed to have been born a bastard in 742, a claim not always accepted). Be that as it may, Pepin the Short's disposal of his kingdom appears to have exacerbated the bad relations between the pair, since it required co-operation between the pair and left both feeling cheated.

Carloman's reign proved short and troublesome. The brothers shared possession of Aquitaine, which broke into rebellion upon the death of Pepin the Short; when Charlemagne campaigned to put down the revolt, Carloman led his own army to assist. The two quarreled at Moncontour, near Poitiers, and Carloman withdrew. This, it had been suggested, was an attempt to undermine Charlemagne's power, since the rebellion threatened Charlemagne's rule. Charlemagne crushed the rebels, whilst Carloman's behaviour had damaged his own standing amongst the Franks. Relations between the two then degenerated further, requiring the mediation of their mother, Bertrada, who appears to have favoured Charlemagne, with whom she would live out her widowhood.