Capital and Favorite Residence of Charlemagne
Charlemagne’s favorite place of residence was at Aix-la-Chapelle (in German, Aachen). He made this the northern capital of his empire, as Rome was the southern, and built a magnificent palace there. When his power was confirmed by his coronation as Emperor of the West, all the world hastened to pay him homage. The Saracen caliph, the famous Haroun-al-Raschid, who ruled the Eastern dominion of the Saracens, at Bagdad, exchanged courtesies with his great brother of the West, sending him, among other presents, an ape, an elephant, and a curious clock which struck the hours.