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Conflict Europe

Charlemagne's Saxon Wars

772 CE – 804 CE · 32 years

Charlemagne waged 30 years of brutal campaigns to conquer and forcibly Christianise the pagan Saxons of northern Germany. The Massacre of Verden (782), where thousands of Saxon prisoners were reportedly executed, remains one of the era's most controversial events.

Belligerents

The main peoples, kingdoms and states involved.

  • Frankish Empire (Charlemagne)
  • Saxons (Widukind)

Key moments

Defining events in the Charlemagne's Saxon Wars.

  1. 772 Destruction of the Irminsul
  2. 782 Massacre of Verden
  3. 804 Final Saxon submission

Elsewhere in Europe at the time

Records whose own span overlaps this one, found by the same test the canvas draws with. The bar under each card is where it sits inside this one.

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Image credits6 pictures from Wikimedia Commons