To make governing such a large empire easier, Charlemagne subdivided his empire into an inner core of the kingdoms of Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy which were supervised directly by him and a system of envoys called missi dominici (messengers of the king) who relayed messages across the kingdom in what was called the missatica system.

Charlemagne also created two sub-kingdoms in Aquitaine and Italy, ruled by his sons Louis the Pious and Pepin the Hunchback (quite an unfortunate nickname, but he developed a hunched back after birth that led early medieval historians to give him this eloquent title).

The outer region, or regna, was divided into counties, ruled, appropriately, by counts. The counts were usually Charlemagne's military followers, but sometimes they were commoners. Counts were sent to regions to which they did not have personal ties. The outer regions and borders were protected by marches, lands ruled by powerful governors (again, often military leaders) ordered to defend the empire from foreign invasion. These marches were present in Bavaria, Spain and Brittany.

The Capitulare de villis [a portion pictured right] was written in order to guide the governance of the royal estates, which were large lands that almost functioned like villages and were owned by the king. It is only the surviving administrative documents from Charlemagne's reign discussing detailed estate management and revenue collection Below are some excerpts.

"We desire that each steward [overseer of an estate] shall make an annual statement of all our income, giving an account of our lands cultivated, including all animals, mills, fields, bridges, ships, timber, crops and food sources...they shall also make known the number of fishermen, workers in metal, sword makers, and shoemakers. They shall make all these known to us, set forth separately and in order, at Christmas, so that we may know what and how much of each thing we have.

In each of our estates the chambers shall be provided with cushions, pillows, bedclothes, coverings for the tables and benches; vessels of brass, lead, iron, and wood; and irons, chains, pothooks, axes, and all other kinds of tools, so that it shall never be necessary to go elsewhere for them, or to borrow them. And the weapons which are carried against the enemy shall be well cared for, so as to keep them in good condition .

For the women, they are to provide linen, wool, combs, soap and other necessary items. Each steward shall have in his district good workmen, namely, blacksmiths, a goldsmith, a silversmith, shoemakers, turners, carpenters, sword makers, fishermen, foilers, soap makers, men who know how to make beer, cider, or other kind of liquor good to drink, bakers to make pastry for our table, net makers who know how to make nets for hunting, fishing, and fowling [bird hunting], and other sorts of work."

Charlemagne's conquests in Italy brought the Franks into contact with the Abbasid Caliphate. In 801, the Caliph Harun al-Rashid sent Charlemagne a clock (the Arabs were famous for their innovative clocks) and an Asian elephant named Abul-Abbas. The gifts symbolized the beginning of Abbasid-Carolingian relations that would greatly benefit the Franks and Europe. As historian Amin Maalouf explained: "What they [the Franks] learned from the Arabs was indispensable [essential] in their subsequent expansion. The heritage of Greek civilization was transmitted through Arab intermediaries. In medicine, astronomy, chemistry, geography, mathematics, and architecture, the [Franks] drew their knowledge from Arabic books, which they assimilated, imitated, and then surpassed. . . . In the realm of industry, the Europeans first learned and then improved upon the processes used by the Arabs in papermaking, leather-working, textiles, and the distillation of alcohol and sugar."