711–732 (invasion and Battle of Poitiers) – 751–756 (Pepin as king, "Donation of Pepin") – 767, 772–774

The rise of the Carolingians, the Battle of Poitiers, and the "Donation of Pepin"

Already in 687 the mayor of the palace Pepin of Herstal had defeated rival noble families. He became the effective ruler of the Franks. The Merovingian kings by then were powerless and reigned only in name. After Pepin's death (714) power passed to his son Charles Martel.

In 711 Muslims under Tariq invaded Spain and quickly conquered the Iberian Peninsula. They then advanced into southern Gaul. In 732 Charles Martel stopped them in the seven-day Battle of Poitiers (Tours). It was a turning point for the fate of Christian Europe.

In 751 his son Pepin the Short, with the consent of Pope Zachary, sent the last Merovingian, Childeric III, to a monastery. Bishop Boniface anointed Pepin king. In 754 Pope Stephen II personally crowned him in Gaul, seeking help against the Lombards. In 756 Pepin defeated the Lombards and handed the pope the lands of central Italy taken from them (the "Donation of Pepin"). This laid the foundation for the papacy's temporal power, the Papal States.

In 767, according to some chronicles, Pepin convened a council. It discussed disputes between the Franks and Greeks over the Holy Trinity and the veneration of icons. This was one of the early signs of the future conflict over the filioque and icon veneration.

Pepin's son Charlemagne continued the alliance with the papacy. In 772–774 he subdued the Lombards and annexed their kingdom. He also reaffirmed his father's donation to the pope.