No. The Holy Roman Empire was a separate medieval state in central Europe, dated from 800 or 962 to 1806, whose rulers claimed to be heirs of ancient Rome. The Roman Empire it borrowed its name from was a different, far older state.
Key takeaways
- The Holy Roman Empire was a medieval and early modern state, mostly in Germany and Italy, that lasted until 1806.
- It began with an emperor crowned in the West, either Charlemagne in 800 or Otto I in 962, depending on which historians you follow.
- Its rulers claimed to inherit imperial power from ancient Rome, but the Roman state itself carried on in the East until AD 1453.
- At AD 1000, when the Holy Roman Empire already existed, our map outline shows only the Eastern empire, covering 854,602 km².
How the two empires compare
The Holy Roman Empire and the Roman Empire were two different states, separated by centuries. The Roman Empire is the one on this site's map: it began with Augustus in 27 BC and, in its Eastern form, lasted until AD 1453. The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in central Europe that existed from 800 or 962 until 1806 [1]. Historians disagree on the start, because some count Charlemagne's coronation as emperor in 800, and others count the coronation of Otto I in 962 [1].
The names are linked because the later empire borrowed the idea of the earlier one. Its emperors claimed that they held supreme power inherited from the ancient emperors of Rome, an idea known as translatio imperii, the "transfer of rule" [1]. That is where "Roman" in the name comes from. The "Holy" part of the name reflected its Christian character.
In practice the two states looked very little alike. The Holy Roman Empire was centred on German lands and northern Italy, and its government was an elective monarchy in which sovereignty stayed fragmented and shared with many local rulers [1]. It was so divided that it was sometimes called a patchwork carpet [1]. It never governed the whole Mediterranean world as the ancient empire had.
Meanwhile the Roman state itself had not stopped. The Eastern empire, which later historians call Byzantine, kept its emperor in Constantinople and its people called themselves Romans [2]. That is why the Eastern empire is the better candidate for the continuation of the ancient Roman state.
An example from our data
At AD 1000 both empires existed. The Holy Roman Empire had begun in 962 [1]. But the Roman Empire outline on our map at that date shows only the Eastern empire, at 854,602 km² (the year 1000 page), and it is drawn from modern regions. The map does not show the Holy Roman Empire at all.
Look at modern Germany, the core of the later empire. On our map it was inside the Roman Empire from 44 BC to AD 395, and at most 29% of the country was ever inside. Italy, by contrast, reaches 99% at its peak. The two empires overlapped in Italy, but they did not cover the same ground, and they were centuries apart in their heyday.
You can follow the Roman state to its end on the Byzantine Empire map, which ends at AD 1453 with Constantinople's fall.
The thing people get wrong
Many people assume the Holy Roman Empire was the Roman Empire after it "moved north" or that it was the same empire under a new name. It was neither. The ancient Roman Empire did not turn into the Holy Roman Empire. One was a continuous state with Roman law, Roman emperors and Roman citizens, continuing in the East. The other was a newer creation in the West, built on the memory of Rome. The confusion is made worse by the word "Roman" in the name, and by the fact that the Holy Roman Empire ended only in 1806, well after the Roman Empire had gone.
Holy Roman Empire vs Roman Empire
| Roman Empire | Holy Roman Empire | |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | 27 BC to AD 1453 (East) | 800 or 962 to 1806 |
| Heartland | The Mediterranean | Germany and northern Italy |
| Capital | Rome, then Constantinople | Several, with no single capital |
| Government | Emperor with courts in several cities | Elective monarchy sharing power with local rulers |
| Main languages | Latin and Greek | German and medieval Latin |
Frequently asked questions
Was the Holy Roman Empire the successor to ancient Rome?
Its emperors claimed to be, through an idea the sources call translatio imperii, the transfer of imperial power. Most historians treat it as a separate state, and the Eastern Roman Empire was the direct continuation of the old one.
When did the Holy Roman Empire begin and end?
Historians date its start to either 800, with Charlemagne's coronation, or 962, with Otto I's. It ended in 1806.
Was the Holy Roman Empire holy, Roman or an empire?
It claimed all three. The writer Voltaire joked that it was none of them, a remark often quoted since.
Sources
- Holy Roman Empire, Wikipedia.
- Byzantine Empire, Wikipedia.
- Every figure from our own map is worked out from the datasets on the data sources page (checked against Ancient World Mapping Center outlines and Pleiades).