Otto I the Great was born in 912. After his father's death in 936 he became Duke of Saxony and German King and continued his father's work of unifying all German tribes into a single kingdom. His reign was marked by a expansion of the king's powers at the expense of the aristocracy and the Ottonian Renaissance of arts and architecture. In 955 he ended the Hungarian invasions of Western Europe, which earned him a reputation as a savior of Christendom. In 961 he conquered the Kingdom of Italy and in 962 he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John XII. To resolve his conflict with the Byzantine Empire he married his son to the Byzantine princess in 972. He died in 973.
In 968 he founded the Archbishopric of Magdeburg. The Cathedral of Magdeburg is today home to the grave of Otto I the Great.
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