After the Fall — The Kingdom of SoissonsAfter the official fall of the Western Roman Empire in
After the Fall — The Kingdom of SoissonsAfter the official fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, the Roman Imperial tradition continued with the Eastern Roman Empire with Constantinople as its capital. However in the West there were a few Roman rump states (remnant states) that continued to hang on after the dissolution of the empire. One of those rump states was the Kingdom of Soissons, which was mostly located in what is now Northern France.The Kingdom of Soissons was founded in 457 by Aegidius, then the supreme military commander of Roman forces in the region. Aegidius realized that the Roman Emperor no longer had any real power, rather being a puppet of the Gothic warlord Ricimer. Thus Aegidius decided to separate from the Empire, carving out his own domain which he ruled over using the legions he commanded. Over the years, Germanic tribes conquered most of Gaul (France), leaving Soissons isolated from Italy.Aegidius died in 464, and the kingdom was inherited by his son Syagrius. Even after Emperor Romulus Augustulus was deposed in 476, Syagrius claimed he was merely the governor of a Roman Province. In truth, Soissons was entirely independent of Rome, and Syagrius held the powers of a military dictator. The Germanic kingdoms and tribes that surrounded Soissons even referred to him as “King of the Romans”.For almost three decades the Kingdom of Soissons was able to successfully fend of invasion after invasion. Then in 486 it was invaded by an army led by Clovis I, King of the Franks. The Franks overwhelmed the Romans, defeating Syagrius’ army at the Battle of Soissons. Syagrius fled to the Visigothic King Alaric II, but Alaric II turned him over to the Franks, where he was promptly executed. -- source link
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