Signed in 843, the Treaty of Verdun was the peace agreement that put an end to the Carolingian Empire civil war period, in which the emperor Louis I’s sons, Charles 'the Bald', Lothair, and Louis 'the German', fought against one another for power. Each one of them claimed the throne and the right to rule over such a vast territory.
Since Louis I, who was Charlemagne's son, was weak and irresolute, he could not control his sons ambition and behavior. The strife for power among his sons had already started three years before the emperor’s death in 840. They fought viciously against one another in a civil war, each one claiming the throne of the Carolingian Empire.
Lothair was the eldest son and he had the strongest army. At the beginning, he had the upper hand over his younger brothers. However, when Charles and Louis (Ludwig), 'the German', joined forces against their elder brother, Lothair agreed to sign the Treaty of Verdun in 843. Not only did it put an end to the civil war, but it also put an end to the Carolingian Empire for it got fragmented in three portions as part of the agreement.
– Charles, the Bald, was granted the territory lying to the west. Over the centuries, it would become France.
– Lothair’s claim to the throne was acknowledged, but he would rule only the central portion of the empire, which included a strip of land that stretched from northern Italy to what are today the Low Countries.
– Louis (or Ludwig) the German received the Germania, which was the eastern portion of the Carolingian Empire, which was the largest one. In time, it would become Germany.
Map of Carolingian Empire after the Treaty of Verdun
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