Over 12 centuries ago, Charles the Great, Charlemagne, united, by force and diplomacy, those regions that make up today the core of the European Union, and created a state apparatus to govern the area. The empire lasted only a few decades beyond his death, but the institutions and cultural processes he promoted have marked Western Europe until today. He remains Europe's most successful leader.
For over a millennium, a mythic Charlemagne captured the dreams of Europeans and inspired or challenged their political leaders. At some point in the 20th century, however, the Frankish king and emperor ceased to inspire the imagination of Europeans, and Charles moved from myth to history.
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