The County of Toulouse (Occitan: Comtat de Tolosa, Latin: Comitatus Tolosanus, Middle French: Conté de Thoulouse) was a territory in present-day southern France consisting of the city of Toulouse and its environs, ruled by the Count of Toulouse from the late 9th century until the late 13th century.
After Pippin the Short conquered Septimania, his successor Charlemagne imposed an administration where Frankish counts were established in key cities such as Toulouse. The first count, Fredelo (appointed by Pippin II) ruled the Toulouse region under the sovereignty of the king of Francia in the 840s. Over time his descendants gained more power over the region compared to their Frankish overlord; by the end of the 9th century, they had gained total independence. Later in the 12th century, the county was affected by the Albigensian Crusade, and by 1229, the Treaty of Paris saw Toulouse formally submitted to the crown of France, ending its independence. But the counts of Toulouse ruled Toulouse town and the surrounding county until 1271.
Formation of administration under the early Carolingians
The Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis fell to the Visigothic Kingdom in the 5th century. Septimania, the Visigothic province roughly corresponding to the later county of Toulouse, fell briefly to the Emirate of Córdoba in the 750s before it was conquered into Francia by Pippin the Short in 759 following the Siege of Narbonne. Septimania within the Frankish realm would become known as Gothia or Marca Gothica by the end of the 9th century.
Pippin died in 768 and was followed by his sons Charlemagne and Carloman I. Because of this event, Hunald II, son of the late Duke Waifer, raised an insurrection against Frankish power in Aquitaine. Charlemagne soon intervened and defeated him. In 771, Carloman died and Charlemagne was left as the only ruler of the Frankish realm. In 778, Charlemagne led his army into Spain against the Arabs. On his way back the famous event of Roncesvalles (Roncevaux in French) occurred: Charlemagne's rear-guard was attacked in the pass of the same name by some Basque warriors. This led him to realize that Frankish power in Gascony and Aquitaine was still feeble, and that the local populations were not entirely loyal to the Franks. Consequently, that same year, he completely reorganized the administration of the region: direct Frankish administration was imposed, and Frankish counts were established in key cities, such as Toulouse.
In 781, Charlemagne set up the Kingdom of Aquitaine, comprising the whole of Aquitaine (including Gascony) plus the Mediterranean coast from Narbonne to Nîmes (an area then known as Gothia). Other such sub-kingdoms were created inside the wider Carolingian Empire in places such as Bavaria or Lombardy. They were meant to ensure the loyalty of local populations in territories freshly conquered and with strong local idiosyncrasies.
General supervision of this Basque frontier seems to have been placed in the hands of Chorson, count or duke of Toulouse. These politics displeased the Basques, and in 787 or 789 Chorson was captured by Odalric "the Basque", probably son of Duke Lupus, who forced Chorson into an agreement which Charlemagne considered so shameful that he replaced him by the Count William in 790. Toulouse was a major Carolingian military stronghold close to Muslim Spain. Military campaigns against the Muslims were launched from Toulouse almost every year during Charlemagne's reign. Barcelona was conquered in 801, as well as a large part of Catalonia. Together with the northern areas of Aragon and Navarre along the Pyrenees, the region became the southern march (the Spanish March) of the Frankish empire.
Toulouse under the sons of Charlemagne
In 814, Charlemagne died, and his only surviving son was Louis, king of Aquitaine, who became Emperor Louis the Pious. Gothia was detached from the Kingdom of Aquitaine and administered directly by the emperor. Problems soon arose. Louis the Pious had three sons, and in 817 he arranged an early allocation of the shares in the future inheritance of the empire where Pippin was confirmed king in Aquitaine.
In 823, Charles the Bald was born from the second wife of Louis the Pious which caused a succession crisis among the ruling circle, this eventually led to the decentralization of the Frankish empire. War broke out among the sons of Louis the Pious when the latter died in 840. Louis the German allied with his half-brother Charles the Bald and they jointly defeated Lothar. The empire would split under the Treaty of Verdun in 843. Charles the Bald moved south to defeat Pippin II (son of Pippin I who was son of Louis) and add Aquitaine to his territory. He conquered Gothia from its rebellious count, who had taken advantage of the Carolingian feud, and had him executed.
In 844, he moved west and besieged Toulouse, the capital of King Pippin II of Aquitaine. However, he had to withdraw without being able to capture the city. That same year, the Vikings entered the mouth of the Garonne River, took Bordeaux, and sailed up as far as Toulouse, plundering and killing all along the Garonne River valley. They moved back when they reached Toulouse, without attacking the city. It is still a matter of debate among historians whether they were called by Pippin II in his fight against Charles the Bald (as Charles' propaganda later claimed), helped defeat Charles the Bald, and left with due payment from Pippin II of Aquitaine, or whether they just took advantage of the war to invade unchecked, but moved back at the sight of the strong garrison of Toulouse who had just resisted successfully Charles the Bald.In 845, following these events, Charles the Bald signed a treaty recognizing Pippin II as king of Aquitaine in exchange for him relinquishing the northern part of Aquitaine (the county of Poitiers) to Charles the Bald. However, the Aquitanians grew very unhappy with their king Pippin II, perhaps for his friendliness towards the Vikings who inflicted terrible damage on the population, and so in 848 they called Charles the Bald to topple Pippin II.
Counts of Toulouse gains power over the Carolingians
In 849, Charles the Bald moved south again and was presented the capital of Aquitaine, Toulouse, by Fredelo (the count of Toulouse recently appointed by Pippin II). Charles the Bald then officially confirmed Frédelon as count of Toulouse. Soon the whole of Aquitaine was submitting to Charles the Bald. In 852, Pippin II was taken prisoner by the Basques and handed over to his uncle Charles the Bald who put him in a monastery.
In 852, Count Fredelo of Toulouse died and Charles the Bald appointed Frédelon's brother Raymond as the new count. This was a special favor, normally counts were only administrative agents not chosen in the same family. However, it would prove to be the start of the dynasty of the counts of Toulouse, who were all descendants of Count Raymond I of Toulouse. Meanwhile, Pippin II of Aquitaine had escaped from his monastery in 854, and he was raising an insurrection in Aquitaine but failed. He then resorted to calling the Vikings for help. In 864, at the head of a Viking army, Pippin II of Aquitaine besieged Toulouse where the count of Toulouse resisted fiercely. The siege failed, and the Vikings left to plunder other areas of Aquitaine. Pippin II, abandoned by all, saw the ruins of his ambitions. He was captured and again put in a monastery by his uncle, where he died soon after.
In 866, Charles the Child died. Charles the Bald then made his other son, Louis the Stammerer (Louis le Bègue), the new king of Aquitaine. By then, the central state in the kingdom of France was rapidly losing authority. Charles the Bald was rather unsuccessful at containing the Vikings; local populations had to rely on their local counts to resist the Vikings, and the counts soon became the main source of authority, challenging the central authority of Charles the Bald in Paris. As they grew in power, they started to be succeeded in the same family and establish local dynasties. Wars between the central power and the counts arose, as well as wars between the competing counts, which further debilitated the defenses against the Vikings. Western Europe, and France in particular, was again entering a new Dark Age, which would prove even more disastrous than those of the 6th and 7th centuries.