Europe · The successor kingdoms
Duchy of Thuringia
drawn on the map AD 567–632, 641–723
The Duchy of Thuringia was a Frankish duchy in central Germany, established after the Frankish conquest of the independent Kingdom of the Thuringians in 531 (by the sons of Clovis, allied with the Saxons). Thereafter it was governed by dukes under Frankish overlordship.
- Shown on the map
- AD 567–632, 641–723 (2 periods)
- Peak area
- 40k km²
- Region
- Europe
Overview
The Duchy of Thuringia was a Frankish duchy in central Germany, established after the Frankish conquest of the independent Kingdom of the Thuringians in 531 (by the sons of Clovis, allied with the Saxons). Thereafter it was governed by dukes under Frankish overlordship.
Decline and legacy
In the 7th century, Duke Radulf revolted against Frankish (Austrasian) authority around 641–642 (the only war of Sigebert III's reign), defeating a royal army and establishing effective independence for a time. Thuringia later became important as a march against the Slavs and Saxons. In the 8th century it was Christianized largely through the mission of Saint Boniface. It was absorbed into the Carolingian administrative structure and eventually evolved into the Thuringian march and, later, the Landgraviate of Thuringia.
Common questions
- What was the Duchy of Thuringia?
- The Duchy of Thuringia was a Frankish duchy in central Germany, established after the Frankish conquest of the independent Kingdom of the Thuringians in 531 (by the sons of Clovis, allied with the Saxons). Thereafter it was governed by dukes under Frankish overlordship.
- When is the Duchy of Thuringia shown on the map?
- The border data draws the Duchy of Thuringia AD 567–632, 641–723, in 2 separate periods. The source samples borders at fixed dates, so a span can begin late or run on past the end.
- How large was the Duchy of Thuringia?
- At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the Duchy of Thuringia covered about 40,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
- How did the Duchy of Thuringia end?
- In the 7th century, Duke Radulf revolted against Frankish (Austrasian) authority around 641–642 (the only war of Sigebert III's reign), defeating a royal army and establishing effective independence for a time. Thuringia later became important as a march against the Slavs and Saxons.
Sources
This compendium cites its sources once for the whole document rather than per territory. Its bibliography names the English Wikipedia articles for each polity as the primary basis, cross-checked against Encyclopædia Britannica and the World History Encyclopedia, while flagging entries built on thin or contested evidence — Samo's Empire on a single Fredegar passage, Venice's 697 founding date as legendary, the Pacta conventa as a probable forgery. The article this entry is anchored on:
- Wikipedia — Duchy of Thuringia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchy_of_Thuringia
This entry was last updated .
This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made
Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.
Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).
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