Carolingians
Carolingians, or Carlovingians, the second ruling house of the Franks. The name (from the Latin Carolus, or Charles) is derived from either Charles Martel, father of Pepin the Short, or Charlemagne, Pepin's son. Pepin deposed the last of the Merovingian kings in 751, thus becoming the first of the Carolingian rulers. Charlemagne succeeded his father in 768. After the death of Charlemagne's son and successor, Louis I or Ludwig (the Pious), in 840, the kingdom was divided among Louis's three sons.
The Carolingians ruled in the central kingdom, which included Italy, until 887, and in the eastern (German) kingdom until 911. In the western kingdom, which became France, the Carolingians ruled until 987, when Hugh Capet was chosen to succeed the last Carolingian king, Louis V.