When did the Kingdom of the Franks exist?

The Kingdom of the Franks existed 481–843. On this map it is drawn AD 462–660, 666–849.

How large was the Kingdom of the Franks?

At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the Kingdom of the Franks covered about 1.3 million km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.

Europe · The migration period

Kingdom of the Franks

481–843

Francia (Regnum Francorum, the Kingdom of the Franks) was the most consequential of the successor states, running conventionally from the accession of Clovis I in 481 to the Treaty of Verdun in 843. It was ruled by two great dynasties: the Merovingians (481–751) and the Carolingians (751–843 and beyond).

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Existed: 481–843
Shown on the map: AD 462–660, 666–849 (2 periods)
Peak area: 1.3M km²
Region: Europe

Overview

History

Clovis I (r. 481–511) founded the realm by uniting the Frankish peoples, defeating Syagrius at Soissons (486), the Alamanni (Tolbiac), and the Visigoths (Vouillé, 507), and — crucially — adopting Catholic Christianity, which secured the loyalty of the Gallo-Roman Church and population. On his death the kingdom was partitioned among his four sons (Reims, Orléans, Paris, Soissons) per Frankish custom, a pattern of division and reunification that recurred throughout Merovingian history and produced bloody feuds (notably between queens Brunhilda and Fredegund). Dagobert I (r. 629–639) was the last strong Merovingian; thereafter the "do-nothing kings" (rois fainéants) reigned while real power passed to the Mayors of the Palace.

Decline and legacy

The Mayors of the Carolingian line seized effective control: Charles Martel ("the Hammer") halted a major Muslim raid from al-Andalus at the Battle of Tours/Poitiers (732). His son Pepin the Short deposed the last Merovingian, Childeric III, in 751 with papal sanction, founding the Carolingian dynasty. Charlemagne (Charles the Great) (r. 768–814) conquered the Lombards (774), the Saxons (772–804), Bavaria, and more, and was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800, inaugurating the Carolingian Renaissance. After the reign of his son Louis the Pious (d. 840) and civil war among Louis's sons, the Treaty of Verdun (843) partitioned the empire into West Francia (ancestor of France), East Francia (ancestor of Germany), and Middle Francia — the foundational division of medieval Europe. At its 814 peak Francia covered roughly 1.2 million km².

Common questions

What was the Kingdom of the Franks?: Francia (Regnum Francorum, the Kingdom of the Franks) was the most consequential of the successor states, running conventionally from the accession of Clovis I in 481 to the Treaty of Verdun in 843. It was ruled by two great dynasties: the Merovingians (481–751) and the Carolingians (751–843 and beyond).
When did the Kingdom of the Franks exist?: The Kingdom of the Franks existed 481–843. On this map it is drawn AD 462–660, 666–849.
How large was the Kingdom of the Franks?: At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the Kingdom of the Franks covered about 1.3 million km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
Who ruled the Kingdom of the Franks?: Clovis I (r. 481–511) founded the realm by uniting the Frankish peoples, defeating Syagrius at Soissons (486), the Alamanni (Tolbiac), and the Visigoths (Vouillé, 507), and — crucially — adopting Catholic Christianity, which secured the loyalty of the Gallo-Roman Church and population.
How did the Kingdom of the Franks end?: The Mayors of the Carolingian line seized effective control: Charles Martel ("the Hammer") halted a major Muslim raid from al-Andalus at the Battle of Tours/Poitiers (732). His son Pepin the Short deposed the last Merovingian, Childeric III, in 751 with papal sanction, founding the Carolingian dynasty.

Sources

This compendium cites its sources once for the whole document rather than per territory. Its bibliography names the English Wikipedia articles for each territory and its key figures as the primary basis, with Encyclopædia Britannica, the World History Encyclopedia, and academic and primary sources — Jordanes, Procopius, Gregory of Tours, Bede, Ammianus and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, read through the secondary literature. The article this entry is anchored on:

Wikipedia — Francia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francia

This entry was last updated 27 September 2026.

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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