The
government, administration, and organisation of the Carolingian Empire were forged in the court of
Charlemagne in the decades around the year 800. In this year, Charlemagne was crowned emperor and adapted his existing royal administration to live up to the expectations of his new title. The political reforms wrought in his capital
Aachen were to have an immense impact on the political definition of
Western Europe for the rest of the
Middle Ages. The Carolingian improvements on the old
Merovingian mechanisms of governance have been lauded by historians for the increased
central control, efficient
bureaucracy,
accountability, and
cultural renaissance.