Quote:
Originally Posted by CroFlames
I'm no expert, but I've done a fair bit of reading on the subject. I would say that yes the Vatican/Papal states were a political entity to varying degrees for a long time. The Pope was essentially the king of the papal states, and they participated in world politics; they had to.
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The Popes were "also king makers" however, and in a way that made them more powerful in some circumstances. In medieval Europe, no one could be declared the king of a realm or an emperor unless approved by either the Pope or the Orthodox Patriarchy.
This was a big reason why when the Bulgarian king declared himself "emperor", the Byzantine Empire (home of the Orthodox Patriarchy) and Croatia (on behalf of the Pope) declared war on Bulgaria and eventually defeated them. Incidentally, the Byzantine emperor rewarded Croatia with parts of Dalmatia for their part in the war.
Of course, pagan areas of Europe didn't adhere to any of that, but their kingdoms were not very organized to begin with.