Mayor of the Palace was an early medieval title and office, also known by the Latin name, maior domus or majordomo, used most notably in the Frankish kingdoms in the 7th and 8th centuries. It could be equated to a Duke or Prince, and in the Frankish kingdoms, it was more. A title is a prefix or suffix added to a persons name to signify either veneration, an official position or a professional or academic qualification. ... An office is a room or other area in which people work, but may also denote a position within an organisation with specific duties attached to it (see officer, office-holder, official); the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one... Statue of Charlemagne (also called Karl der Große, Charles the Great) in Frankfurt, Germany. ... // Events Islam starts in Arabia, the Quran is written, and Syria, Iraq, Persia, North Africa and Central Asia convert to Islam. ... (7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. ...

During the 8th century, the office of Mayor of the Palace developed into the true power behind the throne in Austrasia, the northeastern portion of the Kingdom of the Franks, under the Merovingian dynasty. Majordomos used the true power, their kings being mostly just puppet monarchs. Austrasia & Neustria Austrasia was the northeastern portion of the Kingdom of the Merovingian Franks, comprising parts of what are now eastern France, western Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. ... The Franks or the Frankish people were one of several west Germanic tribes who entered the late Roman Empire from Frisia as foederati and established a lasting realm (sometimes referred to as Francia) in an area that covers most of modern-day France and the region of Franconia in Germany... For other uses of the term Merovingian, see Merovingian (disambiguation). ... Puppet monarchs are rulers who are installed or patronized by imperial powers in order to provide the appearance of local authority, while allowing political and economic control to remain among the dominating nation. ...

The office became hereditary, in the family of the Carolingians. After Austrasia and Neustria were reunited to form a joint Frankish kingdom, Pippin III — Majordomo since 747 — took the crown of the Merovingians in 751, to establish the line of Carolingian rulers. His son Charlemagne assumed even greater power, when he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor, in 800, thus becoming one of the most prominent figures in French and German history. The Carolingians were a dynasty of rulers that eventually controlled the Frankish realm and its successors from the 8th to the 10th century, officially taking over the kingdom from the Merovingian dynasty in 751. ... Neustria & Austrasia The territory of Neustria originated in A.D. 511, made up of the regions from Aquitaine to the northern seacoast approximating most of the north of present-day France. ... Pepin III (714 - September 24, 768) more often known as Pepin the Short (French, Pépin le Bref; German, Pippin der Kleine), was a King of the Franks (751 - 768). ... Events Abu Muslim unites the Abbasid Empire against the Umayyads. ... Events Pippin the Short is elected as king of the Franks by the Frankish nobility, marking the end of the Merovingian and beginning of the Carolingian dynasty. ... Charlemagne is also the name of a column in The Economist on European affairs. ... The Holy Roman Emperor was, with some variation, the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, the predecessor of modern Germany, during its existence from the 10th century until its collapse in 1806. ... For other uses, see number 800. ...

Related articles

• Franks (main article on Frankish kingdoms)
• List of Frankish Kings (includes list of Mayors)