Charlemagne, the king of the Franks, inherited large domains and in 771, on the basis of his lands, began to form an empire. With the blessing of the Church, he expanded his territory into Slavic, Lombard, Byzantine and Muslim territories. At the same time, Charlemagne also implemented a defensive policy by establishing large border areas known as marches. The purpose of the Spanish March was to protect his empire against Muslim expansion. At Christmas in the year 800, Charlemagne was crowned emperor in Rome. Shortly after his death in 814, the empire began to break up.