Battle of Tolbiac The Battle of Tolbiac was fought between the Franks , who were fighting under Clovis I , and the Alamanni , whose leader is not known . The date of the battle has traditionally been given as 496 , though other accounts suggest it may have been fought in 506 . The site of " Tolbiac " , or " Tulpiacum " , is usually given as Zülpich , North Rhine - Westphalia , about 60 km east of what is now the German - Belgian frontier . The Franks were successful at Tolbiac and established their dominance over the Alamanni . Background . The Franks were two neighboring peoples , and allies : the Salian Franks , whose king was Clovis , and the Ripuarian Franks , whose capital was Cologne and whose king was Sigebert the Lame . Bordering on Sigebert ' s kingdom were the Alemanni , a confederation of Germanic tribes . Border incidents , looting and punitive raids multiplied between the Alemanni and Ripuarian Franks , but in 496 Sigebert suffered a real invasion and called on Clovis for help . Clovis responded favorably to his ally and raised an army . It is generally accepted that in defending Tolbiac , Sigebert and his army suffered heavy losses . There were two battles of Tolbiac . The battle . Little is known about the battle , except that the Ripuarian Franks were probably of no help after the first battle . Clovis saw his warriors being killed and felt the battle was getting out of hand . Moved to tears , he called upon the God of his wife Clotilde , the God that she had preached to him since their marriage in 493 , asking for his help . Gregory of Tours records Clovis ' s prayer in chapter II of the " History of the Franks " : " O Jesus Christ , you who as Clotilde tells me are the son of the Living God , you who give succor to those who are in danger , and victory to those accorded who hope in Thee , I seek the glory of devotion with your assistance : If you give me victory over these enemies , and if I experience the miracles that the people committed to your name say they have had , I believe in you , and I will be baptized in your name . Indeed , I invoked my gods , and , as I am experiencing , they failed to help me , which makes me believe that they are endowed with no powers , that they do not come to the aid of those who serve . It ' s to you I cry now , I want to believe in you if only I may be saved from my opponents . " At these words , the Alemanni began to flee , as their leader had been killed with an axe . The Franks subdued or killed the remaining Alemanni . Account by Gregory of Tours . Gregory of Tours was the first to have mentioned the element that has shaped subsequent interpretations of Tolbiac as a climactic in European history : Clovis is said to have attributed his success to a vow that he had made : if he won , he would convert to the religion of the Christian God who had aided him . He became a Christian in a ceremony at Reims at Christmas 496 . The traditional date of the battle of Tolbiac has been established to accord with this firmly attested baptismal date , by accepting Gregory ' s account . A surviving letter from Avitus of Vienne , congratulating Clovis on his baptism , makes no mention of the supposed recent battlefield conversion . " Historia Francorum " ii . 30 - 31 directly affirms a parallel Gregory establishes with the conversion of Constantine the Great before the Battle of Milvian Bridge : Consequences . The Alemanni abandoned the Upper Rhine and left the Ripuarian Franks alone . Clovis , who profited only a little , and allowed his ally to retain the territory . Clovis later relied on Sigebert ' s assistance during the conquest of the French part of the Visigothic kingdom . Another consequence was the conversion of Clovis to Catholicism , after a long period of reflection ( most historians believe his conversion dates to 498 or 499 ) , which brought him the support of neighbouring Christians , along with that of the influential clergy . In addition , it allowed Clovis to undertake conquests and crusades to Christianise his new territories or expunge Arianism , considered heretics by the clergy . Date . The traditional date of the battle in 496 was challenged by Augustine Van de Vyver , whose revised chronology placed the battle in 506 . This was extensively debated and is followed in some modern accounts . The date of 506 also follows Gregory ' s chronology , which places the death of Childeric around the same time as that of St . Pertpetuus , who died in 491 . Hence 15 years from 491 would be 506 . Childeric ' s grave contained coins of Emperor Zeno , who died in 491 , but none after .