ABSTRACT
Following the surrender of the Saxon warlord Widukind in 785, Charlemagne’s Saxon Wars were given a brief reprieve. However, within a few years, Saxon rebellions resumed, notably in the region of Wigmodia and among Saxons situated north of the Elbe. The continuation of the Saxon Wars was connected to Frankish imperial ambitions, including their conquest of the Pannonian Avars, in which Saxons were required to participate. The Avar campaigns ultimately broadened the scope of the Saxon Wars, drawing in other peripheral peoples, such as the Frisians, Wiltzi, and Obodrites. To quell the new Saxon rebellions, Charlemagne continued to employ scorched earth military campaigns, implemented new capitularies, reformed Saxon law, promoted the development of ecclesiastical institutions, made conversion to Christianity mandatory, and unleashed a series of massive deportations that proved decisive in ending Saxon resistance.
