Holy Roman Empire

On 2nd April 747, Charlemagne was born. He would build an empire stretching from the Atlantic to the Elbe. His heirs would spend thirty years tearing it apart. The pieces became France and Germany.

On 24 February 1525, Charles V turned twenty-five. His birthday present was the Battle of Pavia, a captured French king, and confirmation that his was the most powerful empire Europe had seen since Rome.