THE FRANKISH KINGDOMSBY NICK MINOR AND SAM O’BRIEN

WHAT IS THE FRANKISH KINGDOM?

• The Frankish Kingdom was the territory ruled by the Franks from the 1st to the 10th Century.

• In the early ninth century, Charles Martel, Pepin the Short, and Charlemagne (Father, son, grandson) the Frankish Kingdom was expanded to it’s maximum –seen here:

RISE OF THE FRANKISH KINGDOM

• The Frankish people were originally Germanic• Originally allies to the Romans and defended the Rhine frontier

from the Vandals and the Huns.• When Rome's Western Empire fell apart the Franks invaded

Northern Gaul.• At this time the first Frankish king arose: Clovis

o  Made the shrewd move of converting to Catholicismo  This allied him with his Roman subjects in Gaul.o Allowed rapid expansion of the Kingdom over many Catholic

peoples.o becomes largest kingdom in Europe at the expense of other

Germanic tribes who often persecuted the Catholics.

RISE OF THE FRANKISH KINGDOM cont.

• The Kingdom was split into three kingdoms by Clovis's sonso Frankish kings believed that the state was the kings propertyo Split into three kingdoms: Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy.

• After a series of ineffective rulers, new officials know as mayors came into place, and one mayor named Pepin of Heristal reunited the kingdom and began one of the greatest dynasties of the middle ages, the Carolingians.o Carolingians became great because of degenerating

Germanic neighbors, alliance with the Roman Catholic Church, and adoption of the stirrup for war

CONFLICTS WITH ISLAM

• The Frankish Kingdom was becoming one of the first great imperial powers since the Roman Empire.

• The Franks' quick rise to power made it so that their only rival was the expanding Arabs, who had made their way up through Northern Africa and Spain, were beginning to raid Southern Gaul.

• By 731 all of Septimania was under Islamic control (see arrow)• The Arabs then continued to invade more of Gaul, and defeated

Duke Odo of Aquitaine.• They were finally defeated by Charles Martel, Duke and Prince of

the Franks, at the Battle of Tours, and soon after Martel began to take back Southern Gaul (see Fig. 1)

       Fig. 1) Limit of Islamic  expansion

     Fig. 2) Islamic territory in 731

BATTLE OF THE RIVER GARONNE

• 732• Fought between Umayyad forces under Abdul Rahman Al

Ghafiqi , and Frankish forces under Duke Odo of Aquitaine

• After the death of an ally to Odo in Arab territory in Spain, Abdul Rahman proceeded through Aquitaine to Bordeaux 

• Bordeaux was captured quickly• Odo engaged Abdul Rahman's forces near the river

Garonne• Odo and his forces were quickly wiped out, and the Arabs

looted Northern Aquitaine and then continued northward.

BATTLE OF TOURS

• October 732• Took place in between Poitiers and Tours• Fought between Frankish forces under the command of Charles Martel

and Arab forces from the Umayyad Caliphate led by Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi.

• This battle was significant in the time because it halted the Muslim conquest of Europe and confirmed the Franks as the dominant military power in Europe.

• Charles Martel led the Frankish defence • It was viewed by the Franks as an act to save Christianity

CHARLEMANGE• 768–814• Son of Pepin the Short• Physically a large man, an "energetic king" which was needed to

maintain a large Kingdom in the conditions of the Middle Ages.• Spent much of his reign campaigning out from his empire's borders

against:o  The Lombards in Italyo  The Muslims (Moors) in Spaino  The Avars in the Easto  The Saxons in Germany

Were forcibly converted to Christianity by sword point by Charlemagne.

•  By the end of his reign, his empire contained France, Germany, Austria, half of Italy, the Low Countries (The Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium), and Denmark.

CHARLEMANGE cont.• He patronized culture and arts in what became known as the Carolingian

Renaissanceo Was supposed to bring back the "pinnacle of civilization" by imitating

Roman Cultureo Schools createdo Some of Europe's greatest scholars were attracted to Charlemagne's

court.o Standardized form of Latin was createdo Set the stage for Romanesque and Gothic Arto Illuminated manuscripts, metalwork, small-

scale sculpture, mosaics and frescos createdo First musical notation created in 800o Standardized currency

• Most significant contribution from this period was the unification of the culture and realm known as Europe. After Charlemagne, Europe wasn't simply an imitation of the Roman Empire, it was it's own entity. The Carolingian Renaissance set the stage for Western Civilization.

• Set up too weak of an administration of his empire, and consequently it fell apart after his death.

THE FALL OF THE FRANKS - End of the Carolingian Empire• Trade from Baghdad halted - weakened Frankish economy• Less Frankish trade hurt the Vikings in the North and the North African

Arabs in the South - those two groups reverted to raiding and piracy, causing chaos around the empire.

• Dependence on Knights for defense put gave power to Nobles, who were given land instead of money because the Kings couldn't payo Nobles became rebellious as they gained more power

• Charlemagne's successor, Louis the Pious, used the Germanic custom of dividing his property, the Empire, among his sons, and this sparked multiple civil wars between three new kingdoms: West Frankland, East Frankland, and Lorraine.

• Civil wars increased dependency on the Knights provided by the nobles, and these nobles obtained more land, and soon the lands were independent states

• The weakened state tempted external invaders to take over the Empire

THE FALL OF THE FRANKS cont.• External invaders:

o Arabs from the Southo Magyars from the East

Horsemen related to the Huns

o Vikings from the North Nearly completely overtook

England Established 

•  By 1,000 C.E., the King was only really the ruler of one state, and the entire Empire, through this series of problems, had become primarily feudalist.

• France would be this way for the next 200 years

WORKS CITED

Picture Citations:http://www.uncp.edu/home/rwb/lecture_mid_civ.htmhttp://www.emersonkent.com/royal_and_ruling_families/merovingian_dynasty.htmhttp://energeticprocession.wordpress.com/author/acolyte/page/2/http://voyagesphotosmanu.com/medieval_germany.htmlhttp://clio.missouristate.edu/chuchiak/ceasarConquests.htmhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/historyfiles/4198819980/lightbox/http://www.historyofinformation.com/index.php?category=Social+/+Political++http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Islamic_expansion_in_France_in_the_8th_century.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_Ier_le_Grand_ou_Charlemagne.jpghttp://www.bethisad.com/maps.htm

WORKS CITED cont.

Information Citations:http://www.flowofhistory.com/units/birth/5/FC40http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tourshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_River_Garonnehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_invasion_of_Gaulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odo_of_Aquitainehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munuza