Battle of Soissons (486)

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Battle of Soissons (486)

The Battle of Soissons in the year 486

486

Events...
was fought between the Frankish

Franks

The Franks or Frankish people were a West Germanic ethnic group first identified in the 3rd century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River....
forces under Clovis I

Clovis I

Clovis was the first King of the Franks to unite all the Franks under one king. He succeeded his father Childeric I in 481 as King of the Salian Franks, one of the Frankish tribes who were then occupying the area west of the lower Rhine, with their centre around Tournai and Cambrai along the modern frontier between France and Belgium, in an...
, and the Gallo-Roman Kingdom of Soissons

Domain of Soissons

In the Late Antiquity period, two states in the area of modern-day northwest France were termed the Domain of Soissons. This area is often incorrectly called the Kingdom of Soissons or the Kingdom of Syagrius....
under Syagrius

Syagrius

Syagrius was the son of Aegidius, the last Roman magister militum per Gaul. Syagrius preserved his father's rump state between the Somme and the Loire around Domain of Soissons after the collapse of central rule in the Western Empire, the so-called "Kingdom" of Syagrius, as Gregory of Tours understood it, applying the Frankish term for...
.

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St Remy Bishop of Rheims Begging of Clovis the Restitution of the Sacred Vase Taken By the Franks in the Pillage of Soissons

The Battle of Soissons in the year 486

486

Events...
was fought between the Frankish

Franks

The Franks or Frankish people were a West Germanic ethnic group first identified in the 3rd century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River....
forces under Clovis I

Clovis I

Domain of Soissons

Syagrius

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
rump state

Rump state

A rump state is the remnant of a once-larger government, left with limited powers or authority after a disaster, invasion or military occupation....
of Soissons, a milestone for the Franks in their attempt to establish themselves as a major regional power.

After final collapse of the Western Roman Empire

Western Roman Empire

The Western Roman Empire refers to the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, today widely known as the Byzantine Empire....
between 476 and 480, Syagrius was the only remaining representative of Roman rule in the area between the Loire

Loire

Loire is an departments of France in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches....
and the Somme

Somme

The Somme is a departments of France of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme River. It is part of the Picardie regions of France....
. The son of Aegidius

Aegidius

Aegidius was a Gallo-Roman promoted as magister militum in Gaul under Flavius A?tius around 450. He was an ardent supporter of Majorian, whom he helped to gain power....
, the last Roman magister militum
Magister militum

Magister militum was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine I . Used alone, the term referred to the senior military officer of the Empire....
per Gallias
Gaul

Gaul is the name used for the region of Western Europe comprising part of present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the River Rhine....
; Syagrius preserved his father's rump state

Rump state

A rump state is the remnant of a once-larger government, left with limited powers or authority after a disaster, invasion or military occupation....
between the Somme

Somme

The Somme is a departments of France of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme River. It is part of the Picardie regions of France....
and the Loire

Loire

Loire is an departments of France in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches....
, ruling not as king, but as a dux

Dux

Dux is Latin for leader and for duke, and in Ancient Rome could refer to anyone who commanded troops, such as tribal leaders....
.

The central location of Soissons

Soissons

Soissons is a Communes of the Aisne department in the Aisne Departments of France in Picardie in northern France, located on the Aisne River, about 100 kilometres northeast of Paris....
in Gaul

Gaul

Gaul is the name used for the region of Western Europe comprising part of present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the River Rhine....
and its largely intact infrastructure

Infrastructure

Infrastructure can be defined as the basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise , or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function....
allowed a level of stability in the years of the Völkerwanderung, but also made the area tempting for the Frankish

Franks

The Franks or Frankish people were a West Germanic ethnic group first identified in the 3rd century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River....
neighbours to the North.

The realm of Syagrius was of almost the same size as the Frankish one, though the Frankish one was subdivided into small kingdoms, and on the right bank of the Rhine

Rhine

File:Swiss Grand Canyon.jpgThe Rhine is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe, at , with an average discharge of more than ....
, untouched by Roman culture. Nevertheless, Clovis I managed to unite the Franks, and to motivate them to strike a decisive blow against Syagrius.

The ensuing battle was a major success for the Franks with the Roman army effectively destroyed. Syagrius succeeded to flee into exile

Exile

Exile means to be away from one's home while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened by prison or death upon return....
to the Visigoths (under Alaric II

Alaric II

File:Alaric II 484 507 gold 1470mg reverse.jpgAlaric II, also known as Alarik, Alarich, and Alarico in Spanish language and Portuguese language or Alaricus in Latin succeeded his father Euric in 485 and became eighth king of the Visigoths....
), but was due to pressure of threats handed over to Clovis, and was executed.

Consequently the realm of the Franks almost doubled in size, its border was now on the Loire adjacent to the realm of the Visigoths, who were finally routed at the Battle of Vouillé

Battle of Vouillé

The Battle of Vouill? or Campus Vogladensis was fought in the northern marches of Visigothic territory, at a small place near Poitiers , in the spring of 507 between the Franks commanded by Clovis I and the Visigoths of Alaric II, the conqueror of Spain....
in 507

507

Events...
and forced to retreat south of the Pyrenées

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees are a mountain range in southwest Europe that form a natural border between France and Spain. They separate the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of continental Europe, and extend for about from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean Sea ....
.

Battle of Soissons (486)

See also