A Consise History Of Germany Germanic warriors decisively defeated Roman forces at the Battle of Teutoburg Forest. The Frankish king Clovis overran the Roman province of Gaul. Clovis introduced features of Roman life into western Germany. 843 The Treaty of Verdun divided Charlemagne's empire into three kingdoms. The German kingdom soon divided into five duchies. 962 Otto I was crowned Holy Roman emperor in Aachen. 1075 A dispute between Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII marked the beginning of a series of civil wars contesting church power. 1300s The Hanseatic League was the supreme commercial and military powe