Charlemagne reunited many of the Germanic kingdoms that had succeeded the Western Roman Empire under his empire in the late 8th century. He extended Frankish rule across Western Europe and was crowned emperor by the pope in 800, unifying the traditions of the Germanic peoples, the Catholic Church, and the former Roman Empire. However, upon his death the empire was divided among his heirs and fell apart, with his grandsons dividing it into three kingdoms by the Treaty of Verdun in 843.