View source for Place:Austrasia

{{Short description|Medieval European territory}}
{{Infobox Former Country
|conventional_long_name = Austrasia
|common_name = Austrasia
|p1 = Roman Gaul
|flag_p1 = 
|p2 = Germania inferior
|flag_p2 = 
|s1 = Carolingian Empire
|flag_s1 = 
|era = Early Middle Ages
|status = 
|empire = Frankish Empire
|status_text = 
|government_type = Monarchy
||year_start = 511
|year_end = 751
||image_map = Frankish Empire 481 to 814-en.svg
|image_map_caption = Austrasia, homeland of the [[History:Franks|Franks]] (darkest green), and their subsequent conquests (other shades of green)
||capital = Reims, Metz
|common_languages = Old Frankish, Vulgar Latin (Gallo-Roman), [[Social:Latin|Latin]]
|religion = Christianity
|currency = 
|leader1 = 
|leader2 = 
|title_leader = King
|year_leader1 = 
|year_leader2 = 
}}

'''Austrasia''' was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Kingdom of the Franks from the 6th to 8th centuries, ruled by the [[History:Franks|Frankish]] [[History:Merovingian dynasty|Merovingian]] and Carolingian dynasties during the [[History:Early Middle Ages|Early Middle Ages]]. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine, and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the [[History:Franks|Franks]], including both the so-called Salian Franks and Ripuarian Franks, which [[History:Clovis I|Clovis I]], King of the Franks (481–511) conquered after first taking control of the bordering part of Roman Gaul (present-day northwestern France), which is sometimes described in this period as [[Place:Neustria|Neustria]].

In 561, Austrasia became a separate kingdom within the Frankish kingdom and was ruled by the [[History:Merovingian dynasty|Merovingian king]] Sigebert I (561–575). In the 7th and 8th centuries, it was the powerbase from which the Carolingians, originally mayors of the palace of Austrasia, took over the rule of all Franks, all of Gaul, most of Germany, and northern Italy. After this period of unification, the now larger Frankish Empire was once again divided between eastern, central, and western sub-kingdoms ([[History:West Francia|West Francia]], [[Place:Middle Francia|Middle Francia]], and [[Place:East Francia|East Francia]]), with the new version of the eastern kingdom eventually becoming the foundation of the [[History:Kingdom of Germany|Kingdom of Germany]].

==Etymology==
The name ''Austrasia'' is not well attested in the [[History:Merovingian dynasty|Merovingian period]]. It is recorded first by Gregory of Tours in {{c.}} 580 and then by Aimoin of Fleury in c. 1000.
It is presumably the [[Social:Latinisation of names|latinization]] of an Old Frankish name, reconstructed as ''*Oster-rike'' ("Eastern Kingdom").<ref>{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=William Cooke |title=A Manual of Ancient and Modern History |date=1848 |publisher=D. Appleton |location=New York Public Library |page=[https://archive.org/details/manualofancientm00tayluoft/page/342 342] |url=https://archive.org/details/manualofancientm00tayluoft|quote=Oster-rike. }}</ref>
As with the name ''Austria'', it contains the word for "east", i.e. meaning "eastern land" to designate the original territory of the [[History:Franks|Franks]] in contrast to [[Place:Neustria|Neustria]], the "(new) western land" in northern [[Place:Gaul|Gaul]] conquered by Clovis I in the wake of the Battle of Soissons of 486.

==Geography==
Austrasia was centered on the Middle Rhine, including the basins of the Moselle, Main, and Meuse rivers. It bordered on [[Place:Frisia|Frisia]] and Saxony to the north, Thuringia to the east, [[History:Alamannia|Swabia]] and Burgundy to the south and to [[Place:Neustria|Neustria]] to the southwest. The exact boundary between Merovingian Neustria and Austrasia is unclear with respect to areas such as the medieval counties of Flanders, Brabant and Hainaut, and areas immediately to the south of these.

Metz served as the Austrasian capital, although some Austrasian kings ruled from Reims, Trier and Cologne. Other important cities included Verdun, Worms and Speyer. Fulda monastery, an important royal monastery, was founded in eastern Austrasia in the final decade of the Merovingian period.

In the [[History:High Middle Ages|High Middle Ages]], its territory became divided among the duchies of Lotharingia and Franconia in [[History:Kingdom of Germany|Germany]], with some western portions including Reims and Rethel passing to [[History:Kingdom of France|France]].

Its exact boundaries were somewhat fluid over the history of the Frankish sub-kingdoms, but Austrasia can be taken to correspond roughly to the territory of present-day Luxembourg, parts of eastern Belgium, north-eastern {{wipe|France}} (Lorraine and Champagne-Ardenne), west-central {{wipe|Germany}} (the Rhineland, Hesse and Franconia) and the southern Netherlands (Limburg, North Brabant, with a salient north of the Rhine including Utrecht and parts of Gelderland).

== History ==
[[File:Metz_st_pierre_nonnains.jpg|thumb|Ancient Basilica of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains from the 4th century in Metz, capital of the kingdom of Austrasia]]

After the death of the Frankish king [[History:Clovis I|Clovis I]] in 511, his four sons partitioned his kingdom amongst themselves, with Theuderic I receiving the lands that were to become Austrasia. Descended from Theuderic, a line of kings ruled Austrasia until 555, when it was united with the other Frankish kingdoms of Chlothar I, who inherited all the Frankish realms by 558. He redivided the Frankish territory amongst his four sons, but the four kingdoms coalesced into three on the death of Charibert I in 567: Austrasia under Sigebert I, [[Place:Neustria|Neustria]] under Chilperic I, and Burgundy under Guntram. These three kingdoms defined the political division of Francia until the rise of the Carolingians and even thereafter.

From 567 to the death of Sigebert II in 613, Neustria and Austrasia fought each other almost constantly, with Burgundy playing the peacemaker between them. These struggles reached their climax in the wars between Brunhilda and Fredegund, queens respectively of Austrasia and Neustria. Finally, in 613, a rebellion by the nobility against Brunhilda saw her betrayed and handed over to her nephew and foe in Neustria, Chlothar II. Chlothar then took control of the other two kingdoms and set up a united Frankish kingdom with its capital in [[Place:Paris|Paris]]. During this period the first ''majores domus'' or mayors of the palace appeared. These officials acted as mediators between the king and the people in each realm. The first Austrasian mayors came from the Pippinid family, which experienced a slow but steady ascent until it eventually displaced the Merovingians on the throne.

[[File:Francia 714.png|thumb|Map of Francia in 714 (Austrasia shown in green)]]
In 623, the Austrasians asked Chlothar II for a king of their own and he appointed his son Dagobert I to rule over them with Pepin of Landen as regent. Dagobert's government in Austrasia was widely admired. In 629, he inherited Neustria and Burgundy. Austrasia was again neglected until, in 633, the people demanded the king's son as their own king again. Dagobert complied and sent his elder son Sigebert III to Austrasia. Historians often categorise Sigebert as the first ''roi fainéant'', or do-nothing king, of the Merovingian dynasty. His court was dominated by the mayors. In 657, the mayor Grimoald the Elder succeeded in putting his son Childebert the Adopted on the throne, where he remained until 662. Thereafter, Austrasia was predominantly the kingdom of the Arnulfing mayors of the palace and their base of power. With the Battle of Tertry in 687, Pepin of Heristal defeated the Neustrian king Theuderic III and established his mayoralty over all the Frankish kingdoms. This was even regarded by contemporaries as the beginning of his "reign". It also signalled the dominance of Austrasia over Neustria, which would last until the end of the Merovingian era.

In 718, Charles Martel had Austrasian support in his war against Neustria for control of all the Francian realms. He was not king himself, but appointed Chlothar IV to rule in Austrasia. In 719, Francia was united by Martel's family, the Carolingian dynasty, under Austrasian hegemony. While the Frankish kings continued to divide up the Frankish realm in different ways over subsequent generations, the term Austrasia was only used occasionally after the Carolingian dynasty.
{{-}}

== Rulers ==
=== Merovingian kings ===
{{see|List of Frankish kings}}
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
* Theuderic I, 511–533
* Theudebert I, 533–548
* Theudebald, 548–555
* Chlothar I, 555–561
* Sigebert I, 561–575
* Childebert II, 575–595
* Theudebert II, 595–612
* Theuderic II, 612–613
* Sigebert II, 613
* Chlothar II, 613–623
* Dagobert I, 623–634
* Sigebert III, 634–656
* Childebert the Adopted, 656–661
* Chlothar III, 661–662
* Childeric II, 662–675
* Dagobert II, 675–679
* Theuderic III, 679–691
* Clovis IV, 691–695
* Childebert III, 695–711
* Dagobert III, 711–715
* Chilperic II, 715–717
* Chlothar IV, 717–720
* Chilperic II, 720–721 (again)
* Theuderic IV, 721–737
* Childeric III, 743–751
}}

=== Mayors of the palace ===
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
* Parthemius, until 548
* Gogo, {{c.}}567–581
* Wandalenus, from 581
* Gundulf, from 600
* Landric, until 612
* Warnachar, 612–617
* Hugh, 617–623
* Pepin I, 623–629
* Adalgisel, 633–639
* Pepin I, 639–640 (again)
* Otto, 640–643
* Grimoald I, 643–656
* Wulfoald, 656–680
* Pepin II, 680–714
* Theudoald, 714–715
* Charles Martel, 715–741
* Carloman, 741–747
* Pepin III, 747–751
}}

==See also==
*[[Place:Francia|Francia]]
*[[Place:East Francia|East Francia]]
*Duchy of Franconia
*[[Organization:Benelux|Benelux]]
*[[Earth:Continental Europe|Continental Europe]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* Charles Oman. ''The Dark Ages 476–918''. London: Rivingtons, 1914.
* Thomas Hodgkin. ''Italy and Her Invaders''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1895.


[[Category:Former countries in Europe]]

{{Sourceattribution|Austrasia}}