How did an attempt to blind a pope establish the Holy Roman Empire?
French poet and historian Voltaire once wrote that the Holy Roman Empire was “neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.” Given that the first true leader of the empire was Otto I of Germany, the Enlightenment thinker had a good point. Yet, the authenticity of the Holy Roman Empire’s sacredness and imperialism doesn’t shake out as easily. First, it’s crucial to differentiate between the Roman Empire (think Caesar and Mark Antony) and the Holy Roman Empire (think Christendom and the pope). The Roman Empire lasted from 27 B.C. to A.D. 476. In 395, the empire split into eastern and western divisions after the Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity. Constantine established Constantinople as the capitol of the Byzantine Empire in modern-day Asia Minor and the Balkans peninsula. German tribes invaded the western re
