East Francia

East Francia (Medieval Latin: Francia orientalis) or the Kingdom of the East Franks (Regnum Francorum orientalium) was a successor state of Charlemagne's empire ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was created through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the former empire into three kingdoms.[lower-alpha 1] It is considered the first polity in German history.

Kingdom of the East Franks Francia orientalis
843–962
East Francia after the Treaty of Verdun of 843.
Capital	Various, including Frankfurt and Ratisbon (Regensburg)
Common languages	Old High German Old Low German Old Frisian limited use of Old Franconian and Latin in official and church matters; vassal territories also used Slavic and various other languages
Religion	Catholic Church Germanic religion
Demonym(s)	East Frankish, East Frank
Government	Monarchy
King of the Franks
• 843–876	Louis the German (first)
• 936–962 (title held until his death in 973)	Otto the Great
Historical era	Middle Ages
• Treaty of Verdun	843
• Treaty of Meerssen	870
• Disestablished	962
Currency	Pfennig
Preceded by Succeeded by Francia Lotharingia Holy Roman Empire
Today part of	Austria Germany Czech Republic Switzerland Italy Slovenia

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The east–west division, enforced by the Germanic-Latin language split, "gradually hardened into the establishment of separate kingdoms",[1] with East Francia becoming the Kingdom of Germany and West Francia the Kingdom of France.[2][3]