Charles and Carloman—Final conquest of Aquitaine—Death of Carloman—Character and habits of Charles—State of the Frankish Empire—Charles interferes in Italy on behalf of the Pope—He subdues the Lombard monarchy—His later expeditions into Italy—First conquest of Saxony—Expedition to Spain—Rebellions of Saxony followed by its reconquest and permanent subjection. The moment that king Pippin had been laid beneath his marble slab near the high altar of St. Denis, his two sons drew apart, and after retiring a few leagues from the place of their father’s death hastily had themselves saluted as kings by their counts and dukes, and anointed by their bishops—Charles at Noyon, Carloman at Soissons (Oct. 9th, 768). Now for the second time it appeared likely that the greatness of the house of St. Arnulf might be wrecked by the old and evil Frankish custom which prescribed the division of the kingdom among the sons of the king. How that custom had worked under the Merovings we have already seen. At the death of Charles Martel it had already threatened to break up the power of his house, a danger which was only averted by the unexpected abdication of the elder Carloman. Untaught by the experience of his own youth Pippin the Short had committed the same mistake: old habit was too much for him. On his deathbed, as we have seen, he divided his realm between his two sons. He had, however, done his best to leave his first-born so superior in strength to his brother, that the younger king should not be able to compete with him. [Sidenote: Joint rule of Charles and Carloman. 768-72.] Charles was left the warlike half of the kingdom, all those Frankish lands, both Austrasian and Neustrian, from the Main to the Channel, which supplied the chief fighting element in the Frankish armies. In addition he obtained the western half of the newly-conquered Aquitaine. Carloman’s share consisted of Burgundy, the Suabian lands on both sides of the upper Rhine, and the whole Mediterranean coast from the Maritime Alps to the border of Spain—the old Provincia and Septimania. Moreover, he took the eastern half of Aquitaine,—the country about Clermont, Rodez, Albi, and Toulouse. Though well-nigh as large as the share of Charles, his kingdom was not nearly so powerful, for the king who could command the swords of the Franks was the one who could give law to the whole realm.