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The Frank Civilization first comes into contact with the Romans while moving to the Lower Rhine River Valley, marking the beginning of the Frank Civilization.--- This is important as it is the first known contact between a Frankish tribe and another group, as it also marks the beginning of the creation of the Franks.
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Clovis becomes the king of one of the Frankish tribes, who then leads them and conquers the majority of the other Frankish tribes, uniting them. This also begins the Merovingian family line of rulers. This is important because it gives the opportunity for the Franks to grow as a civilization because they are now united. Picture of King Clovis.
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When Clovis became the leader of the Frankish tribes, he was a Christian.--- This caused many of the Franks to change to practicing Christianity in the future. This also gave the Franks the support of the Christian Church, forming a promising relationship between the two. Picture of a cross, a symbol of Christianity.
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Clovis dies, and his sons split the land owned into different kingdoms. The Merovingian kings after Clovis were usually weak. After a while, the chief of the royal household, "mayor of the palace," became the leader of each kingdom.--- This is important as it changes the ruling system slightly, and a strong military leader passes away somewhere in these times.
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Pépin II becomes one of the mayors of the palace, and rules between these times.--- This is important because Pépin II and his successors united the Frankish kingdoms.
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Charles Martel "the Hammer" becomes the new mayor of the palace.--- This is important as during his rule, his cavalry defeated the Spanish moors in 732 when they invaded France. This led to the Muslim advance in Europe stopping, but not their raids. Picture of Charles Martel.
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Charles Martel dies, and Pépin III "the short" becomes the Merovingian kingdom's joint mayor of the palace, sharing the position with his brother Carloman. Pépin III overthrew Childeric III, the last Merovingian ruler.--- These events brought the end of the Merovingian family line of rules, paving the way for a new of Frankish rulers.
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After Pépin III claims the Frankish throne for his own, he was anointed the king of the Frankish Kingdom. This established the Carolingians, the new line of Frankish rulers.--- The pope's confirmation strengthened the look of this new dynasty, as people believed that the pope's blessings were directly from God Picture of Pépin III.
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Somewhere during this time, the pope went to Pépin for help against a Germanic tribe, the Lombards, who were threatening Rome. Pépin defeated them and gave the land around Rome that he captured to the Pope as a gift, called the Donation of Pépin.--- This was very important as it strengthened the two sides' alliance, strengthening both sides.
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Pépin III dies, and his son, Charlemagne, inherits the throne and becomes the king of the Frankish kingdom.--- This is important as it marks the beginning of the greatest of Frankish kings. Picture of Charlemagne.
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Charlemagne helped spread Church teachings and Christian beliefs during this time as he was a firm believer himself. Charlemagne brought order and teaching to the chaotic Europe in the 800's. Charlemagne also fought many battles during his rule, as he defeated the Lombards, Saxons, the Avars, and failed to conquer the entire area of Muslim Spain.
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On Christmas day, Pope Leo III placed a crown on Charlemagne's head, declaring him the "Emperor of Romans," even though the Romans were long gone. This title was given however as Charlemagne had united a good amount of Western Europe, and this title showed his importance. This act also showed the close relationship that the Franks had with the Christian Church.
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Like the title says, Charlemagne passes away, and begins the decline of the Frankish Empire as his descendants did not have the same skills and abilities that he did.
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Louis the Pious was Charlemagne's only surviving son, so naturally he became king. However, he wasn't as strong and smart of a leader as Charlemagne. To make matters worse, his death would lead to the splitting up of the Frankish civilization.
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Louis' sons, Lothair, Charles the Bald and Louis the German, agreed to divide the empire. They signed the Treaty of Verdun in 843, which finished the agreement in dividing it. Afterwards, they ended up fighting each other instead of helping each other, and the Franks died out soon after.
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Somewhere after 870, the Franks eventually died out.
