On this day, December 2nd, 1804, Napoleon used a sacred ceremony to legitimize his reign as the absolute ruler of France.
The Coronation of Napoleon I as Emperor of the French took place on Sunday 2 December 1804, in the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral. A sacred ceremony held to legitimize Napoleon's reign, the coronation signaled the birth of the First French Empire (1804-1814; 1815) and established the imperial Bonaparte Dynasty.
Significantly, the coronation was done in the presence of Pope Pius VII (served 1800-1823); along with the Concordat of 1801, this marked the reconciliation between France and the Catholic Church. But the coronation also had a secular component, acknowledging the idea that Napoleon ruled with the consent of the people, who had approved of his elevation to emperor in a plebiscite. The ceremony was unique from the coronations of previous French monarchs, as Napoleon combined various rites from the Carolingian Dynasty, the Ancien Régime, and the First French Republic to add to his legitimacy
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