Kingdom of Soissons

[Mrld]

Does anyone know anything about the Kingdom of Soissons ruled by Syagrius, last Roman enclave in Gaul?

Edited July 7, 2007 by Mrld

[ASCLEPIADES]

Does anyone know anything about the Kingdom of Soissons ruled by Syagrius, last Roman enclave in Gaul?

Sorry for the last (failed) post. Afranius Syagrius was the last of at least three rulers (his father Aegydius, one Paulus and himself) of the remanents of the Gallic provinces left by the emergence of the Germanic Kingdoms between the rivers Somme and Loire, around the city of Noviodunum (Soissons), at least from 464 to 486, in both geographical and political isolation. They ruled with various titles, including Comes, Dux and specially magister militum per Gallias, a direct opposition to the Suebian Ricimer and his successors after the death of Majorian, probably the last western emperor that deserves such title. They were apparently ignored by both Ravenna and Constantinople and survived mainly exploiting the conflicts between Visigoths and Salian Franks, who called them "rex romanorum" (this is how the domain of Soissons became known as a "Kingdom"). It is an almost unknown period, but the conquest of Soissons and the death of Syagrius by the Frankish king Clovis are well attested in French legends, as they are frequently considered the beginning of the Merovingian rule and, subsequently, of the Kingdom of France. By outliving the western empire for a decade, Syagrius became the last roman ruler north of the Alps. Here is an (imaginary) depiction of the demise of Soissons. Here