Charlemagne
c. 748 – 814 · 66 years · Aachen · Europe
Reign: 768 – 814 (Franks and France)
United much of Western Europe and was crowned emperor in 800, sparking the Carolingian Renaissance.
Wikipedia (Russian) · Wikipedia (English) · 8th century
Portrait: Charlemagne. Autorité émettrice de monnaie indéterminé. Atelier… · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Contemporaries around the world
Europe
- Louis the Pious — Charlemagne's son, under whom his empire began to break up, 30 years younger
Middle East
- Harun al-Rashid — Abbasid caliph, 18 years younger
- Al-Khwarizmi — mathematician and astronomer, 32 years younger
Asia
- Emperor Kanmu — emperor who founded Heian-kyō, the future Kyoto, 11 years older
- Li Bai — Tang dynasty poet, 47 years older
The world in their lifetime
- 762 Founding of Baghdad — aged 14, Middle East
- 793 Viking raid on Lindisfarne — aged 45, Europe
- 800 Coronation of Charlemagne — aged 52, Europe
- c. 800–950 Drought and the Classic Maya collapse — aged 52, Americas
- 802 Founding of the Khmer Empire — aged 54, Asia