brothers). Family strife left the empire weak and undefended, and the Vikings took advantage of the situation. After the Treaty of Verdun, Charles the Bald moved south to defeat Pippin II and add Aquitaine to his territory. He conquered Gothia, and in 844 besieged Toulouse before withdrawing from the city. That year the Vikings entered the Garonne River, took Bordeaux and sailed as far as Toulouse, plundering and killing throughout the valley. They withdrew from Toulouse, without attacking the city. In 845 Charles the Bald signed a treaty with Pippin II of Aquitaine, recognizing Pippin as king of Aquitaine in exchange for Pippin's relinquishing of northern Aquitaine (the County of Poitiers) to Charles. The Aquitanians, now dissatisfied with Pippin, asked Charles to topple him in 848. The following year Charles received Toulouse from Frédelon, the count of Toulouse recently appointed by Pippin, and Charles confirmed Frédelon as count of Toulouse. Aquitaine soon submitted to Charles; in 852 Pippin was imprisoned by the Basques and handed over to Charles (who placed him in a monastery). In 852 Frédelon of Toulouse died, and Charles appointed Frédelon's brother Raymond the new count. This began the dynasty of the counts of Toulouse, who were descendants of Count Raymond I of Toulouse. In 855, following the example of his grandfather Charlemagne, Charles the Bald recreated the kingdom of Aquitaine (without Gothia) and gave the crown to his son Charles the Child. Pippin II of Aquitaine escaped from the monastery in 854, and unsuccessfully attempted to foment an insurrection in Aquitaine. He appealed to the Vikings for help and in 864, at the head of a Viking army, unsuccessfully besieged Toulouse. The Vikings left to plunder other areas of Aquitaine and Pippin II was captured and again placed in a monastery by his uncle, where he soon died. In 866, Charles the Child died; Charles the Bald made his other son, Louis the Stammerer, the new king of Aquitaine. By then, the central state in the kingdom of France was losing its authority. Charles was unsuccessful at containing the Vikings and local populations relied on their counts, who became the chief authorities. As their power increased, they established local dynasties. Wars began between the central authorities and the counts and between counts, which weakened defenses against the Vikings. Western Europe, France in particular, entered a new dark age which would be more disastrous than that of