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Jun 9, 2021 · Definition. The Holy Roman Empire officially lasted from 962 to 1806. It was one of Europe ’s largest medieval and early modern states, but its power base was unstable and continually shifting. The Holy Roman Empire was not a unitary state, but a confederation of small and medium-sized political entities.
Holy Roman Empire, German Heiliges Römisches Reich, Realm of varying extent in medieval and modern western and central Europe. Traditionally believed to have been established by Charlemagne, who was crowned emperor by Pope Leo III in 800, the empire lasted until the renunciation of the imperial title by Francis II in 1806.
The Holy Roman Empire was not a highly centralized state like most countries today. Instead, it was divided into dozens—eventually hundreds—of individual entities governed by kings, dukes, counts, bishops, abbots, and other rulers, collectively known as princes.
The Holy Roman Empire, despite its name, was not a unitary state, but a defensive confederation of states, most hereditary monarchies, but some elected aristocracies, and the head position of "emperor" was elected, serving for life, but not hereditary, with limited powers.
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The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. The German prince-electors, the highest-ranking noblemen of the empire, usually elected one of their peers to be the emperor. The empire evolved into a decentralized, limited ...
