18 moments

1. Birth at Tournai

   0466-01-01 · Tournai, Belgium

   

   Clovis was born at Tournai, the early center of his Salian Frankish dynasty. The year of birth is approximate; coordinates represent modern Tournai.

2. Battle of Soissons

   0486-01-01 · Soissons, Aisne, France

   

   Clovis joined allied Frankish rulers in the campaign against Syagrius and met the Gallo-Roman commander at Soissons. The battle is described as occurring near Soissons; coordinates represent the city.

3. Battle of Tolbiac

   0496-01-01 · Zülpich, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

   

   Clovis fought with the Franks against the Alemanni at Tolbiac, traditionally identified with Zülpich. 496 is the traditional date; the battle's dating is disputed, with alternatives proposed from the 480s through 506.

4. Siege of Bordeaux

   0496-01-01 · Bordeaux, Gironde, France

   Clovis's 496 campaign reached Bordeaux, where a Visigothic nobleman was captured during the siege. The source's wording is grammatically compressed but directly attributes the siege to Clovis.

5. Siege of Nantes

   0496-01-01 · Nantes, Loire-Atlantique, France

   During the first Frankish-Visigothic war, Clovis besieged Nantes, the northernmost city then under Visigothic rule.

6. Siege of Poitiers

   0496-01-01 · Poitiers, Vienne, France

   

   Clovis's southern offensive included a siege of Poitiers during the 496 phase of the first Frankish-Visigothic war. The source's wording is grammatically compressed but directly attributes the siege to Clovis.

7. Siege of Saintes

   0496-01-01 · Saintes, Charente-Maritime, France

   Clovis besieged Saintes during his 496 incursion into Visigothic Aquitaine. The source's wording is grammatically compressed but directly attributes the siege to Clovis.

8. Battle near Dijon

   0500-01-01 · Dijon, Côte-d'Or, France

   Clovis intervened in the Burgundian civil war; the opposing armies converged near Dijon and Godegisel joined him against Gundobad. The campaign is dated to 500 in the linked modern historical synthesis; coordinates represent Dijon.

9. Siege of Avignon

   0500-01-01 · Avignon, Vaucluse, France

   After the victory near Dijon, Clovis advanced on Avignon in pursuit of Gundobad and besieged the city before accepting tribute. The cited narrative identifies Gundobad's city immediately before this passage as Avignon; the campaign is dated to 500.

10. Meeting with Alaric II at Amboise

    0502-01-01 · Île Saint-Jean, Amboise, Indre-et-Loire, France

    Clovis met the Visigothic king Alaric II on an island in the Loire near Amboise, where they ate, talked, and pledged friendship. The meeting is generally dated to 502; coordinates are a representative point for the Loire island near Amboise.

11. Battle of Vouillé

    0507-01-01 · Vouillé, Vienne, France

    

    Clovis commanded the Frankish army at Vouillé, where the Visigothic army under Alaric II was defeated. Coordinates are the battle-location coordinates supplied by the source.

12. Entry into Tours

    0507-01-01 · Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France

    Clovis began his final campaign against the Visigoths in spring 507 by taking Tours before crossing the Vienne toward Poitiers.

13. Winter at Bordeaux

    0507-01-01 · Bordeaux, Gironde, France

    Following the victory at Vouillé, Clovis captured Bordeaux and spent the winter there while continuing the conquest of the Visigothic kingdom.

14. Capture of Angoulême

    0508-01-01 · Angoulême, Charente, France

    After the unsuccessful siege of Carcassonne, Clovis turned back and took Angoulême, extending Frankish control in Aquitaine. The source places this event in the year following the end of 507; this is 508.

15. Consular ceremony at Tours

    0508-01-01 · Basilica of Saint Martin, Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France

    

    Clovis appeared at the church of Saint Martin in Tours after receiving an honorary consular appointment from Emperor Anastasius. The ceremony followed the 507 victory and is conventionally placed in 508; coordinates represent the Basilica of Saint-Martin area in modern Tours.

16. Establishment of royal seat at Paris

    0508-01-01 · Paris, France

    After leaving Tours, Clovis went to Paris and established the seat of his kingdom there. This move followed the post-Vouillé ceremony at Tours and is conventionally placed in 508; coordinates represent central Paris.

17. Siege of Carcassonne

    0508-01-01 · Carcassonne, Aude, France

    In the following year, Clovis moved against Carcassonne after taking Toulouse, but Ostrogothic relief forces forced the Franks away. The source gives the year relatively as the year after the end of 507; this is 508.

18. Death at Paris

    0511-11-27 · Paris, France

    

    Clovis died at Paris after a reign of about thirty years; he was buried in the church of the Holy Apostles that he and Clotilde had built. Coordinates represent central Paris; the exact death site is not specified by the source.