Was Charlemagne emperor of Rome

Answer 1

yes

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The question of whether Charlemagne was Emperor of Rome was raised as soon as he was crowned emperor. Personally, I would say he was not, but others could disagree, and with some reason.

The West Roman Empire was long gone, so clearly he was not emperor of that.

The East Roman Empire still existed at the time he was crowned, under the name Empire of the Roman People. Today we call it the Byzantine Empire. Empress Irene, who was its monarch at the time Charlemagne was crowned, was quite upset that Charlemagne was crowned emperor of a country with the same name as her own, especially because it seemed to imply that he was the rightful ruler of her empire.

Today, we use the term Carolingian Empire for Charlemagne's empire, and the term Byzantine Empire for Irene's, to avoid confusion. Neither term was used at the time.

The Carolingian Empire dissolved, but was reestablished as what we call the Holy Roman Empire, a term used while it existed, though originally, it, too, was called the Roman Empire.

The City of Rome, by the way, was not part of either the Carolingian Empire or the Byzantine Empire, but was part of the Papal States.