The Second
Western Empire (otherwise and more accurately known as the
Frankish Empire) covered much of the area of the original, with the notable exceptions of
Spain and
Britannia. It managed to maintain to a large extent the infrastructure and the remnants of the
economic system that had been left behind by the first Empire, though it was always a case of damage control with little chance for improvement. The first ruler to claim to be the Western Roman Emperor in this period was
Charlemagne who founded the ruling
Carolingian Dynasty after being crowned in Rome on Christmas day in 800AD. It was a long time before the Eastern Roman Empire (often called the
Byzantine Empire by modern historians) accepted the legitimacy of the Western Empire's claims to be the continuation of the ancient empire, and when it did it was only for short term polital gains. The Second Western Empire really ceased to exist with the death of
Charles the Bald in 877, though it continued in name for a very long time and was squabbled over by the many successor states. The rulers during this period were:
800-814: Charlemagne
814-840: Lewis the Pious
817-831 and 840-855: Lothair I
850-875: Lewis II
875-877: Charles the Bald
881-888: Charles the Fat