In 843, the Treaty of Verdun divided Charlemagne's empire into three kingdoms, one for each of his grandsons. Louis II (called the German) received lands east of the Rhine River, most of which later became what is now Germany. The western part, later called France, went to Charles II (the Bald). Lothair I received the middle kingdom, a narrow strip that extended from the North Sea to central Italy. He also kept the title of emperor.

In 911, the German branch of the Frankish royal family died out. By then, the German kingdom had been divided into five powerful duchies (territories ruled by a duke)—Bavaria, Lorraine, Franconia, Saxony, and Swabia. The dukes elected Conrad I of Franconia as king. In 919, Conrad was succeeded by Henry I (the Fowler) of Saxony, whose family ruled until 1024. With the founding of the Saxon dynasty (a series of rulers from the same family), the lands given to Louis II became permanently separated from the French parts of Charlemagne's empire.

Henry's son, Otto I (the Great), drove invading Hungarians out of southern Germany in 955, and extended the German frontier in the north. Otto also won control over most of the old middle Frankish kingdom, including Italy. This gave him the right to claim the title of emperor. In 962, Otto was crowned emperor in Rome. This marked the beginning of what later was called the Holy Roman Empire.