Clovis I

Reign: 481 – 511
Life: 466–511

He is considered the founder of the Merovingian dynasty, which ruled the Frankish kingdom for the next two centuries. At the Battle of Soissons (486), he established control over a rump state of the fragmenting Western Roman Empire, which was under the command of Syagrius. By the time of his death in 511, Clovis had conquered several smaller Frankish kingdoms in the northeast of Gaul, stretching into what is now Germany. Clovis also conquered the Alemanni in eastern Gaul and the Visigothic kingdom of Aquitania in the southwest. These campaigns added significantly to his Frankish domains and established his dynasty as a major political and military presence in western Europe. Clovis is also significant because of his baptism between 498 and 506, largely at the behest of his wife, Clotilde, who would later be venerated as a saint for this act, celebrated today in both the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church.

During Clovis I's reign, Ariadne ruled Rome, Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei ruled China, and Pope Symmachus ruled Papacy.

Further reading: The Franks by Edward James

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Clovis I

The World During Their Reign

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Further Reading

The Franks