Otto 1 coins

Otto I (November 23th 912 – May 7th 973), also known as Otto the Great, was the founder of the Holy Roman Empire and reigned from 936 until his death in 973.

The eldest son of Henry the Fowler and Mathilda of Ringelheim, Otto was “the first German who could call himself emperor of Italy”.

Otto inherited the duchy of Sachsen and the crown of Germany after his father’s death in 936. He continued his father’s work to unite all German tribes into a single kingdom and significantly augmented the king’s powers at the expense of the aristocracy.

Through strategic marriages and personal agreements, Otto placed members of his own family in the most important duchies in the kingdom. This reduced the dukes, who had previously been equal to the king, to royalty under his authority.

After ending a brief civil war among the rebellious duchies, Otto defeated Hungary in 955, thus the Hungarian invasions of Europe ended.

With the victory over the Hungarian heretics, Otto’s reputation as the savior of Christianity grew and secured his control of his kingdom. In 961 Otto conquered Italy and expanded his kingdom to the north, east and south.

Following the example of Karl the Great’s coronation as “Emperor of the Romans” in 800, Otto was crowned as emperor in 962 by Pope John XII in Rome. Later on Otto’s reign was plagued by conflicts about the papacy and battles to retain his power over Italy. Ruling from Rome, the emperor sought to improve his relations with the Byzantine Empire, which was opposed to becoming part of the Holy Roman Empire, and thus blocked his further expansion to the south.