Chlothar I family Merovingian dynasty
Accession & Campaigns
Accession to the throne
Upon his father's death on 27 November 511, he received as his share of the kingdom: the town of Soissons, which he made his capital; the cities of Laon, Noyon, Cambrai, and Maastricht; and the lower course of the river Meuse. He was very ambitious and sought to extend his domain.Because of the rights of mothers, queens were granted a portion of their son's kingdom. Clovis I, who had two wives, divided his kingdom into two for each of his wives, then parceled out pieces to his respective sons. The eldest, Theuderic, son of the first wife, had the benefit of receiving one half of the kingdom of Francia, Reims. Chlothar shared the second half of the kingdom with his brothers Childebert and Chlodomer. Chlothar received the northern portion, Childebert the central kingdom of Paris, and Chlodomer the southern Kingdom of Orléans. The domain inherited by Chlothar consisted of two distinct parts: one in Gaulic Belgium, corresponding to the kingdom of the Salian Franks, where he established his capital at Soissons and included the dioceses of Amiens, Arras, Saint-Quentin and Tournai; and the other in Aquitane including the dioceses of Agen, Bazas, and Périgueux.
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