Frankish (Civ5)/Civilopedia

The Franks were a tenuous confederation of Germanic tribes settled in a strip of land along the right bank of the Lower Rhine, the border of Rome in Germania. In the 3rd Century AD, some Franks raided Roman territories along the river, while others migrated into the empire and settled in Gaul. This brought a split in the Franks into the Ripuarian Franks (the first group) and the Salian Franks (the second).
Primarily a pastoral people, the Ripuarian Franks lived in small settlements and homesteads along the west bank of the Rhine, supporting themselves by fishing and hunting along with the occasional raid on Roman holdings. Beyond being an annoyance, the Ripuarians were among the most peaceful of Rome's neighbors. In 310 AD, the Emperor Constantine had a bridge built across the Rhine at Cologne to facilitate trade with them. The Ripuarians, given an impetus towards social unity by the Roman-administered city, were increasingly relied upon to provide protection for the empire, serving as a buffer against the more warlike tribes to the east. The last chieftain of the Ripuarian Franks, Sigobert the Lame, joined forces with Clovis I, who rallied the Franks against the Alemanni and reunited the Frankish tribes.
The Salian Franks meanwhile, displaced by the onslaught of barbarians from the north, migrated into the Roman territory of Toxandria (the region of modern-day Antwerp). This "insolent" settlement of Roman lands was rejected by Emperor Julian the Apostate, who attacked. In 358 AD, the Salians surrendered to Roman forces in exchange for citizenship. Under the emperor Honorius's patronage, the Salian Franks expanded their holdings considerably under Chlodio beginning in the 420. The Salians proved loyal friends of Rome. In 451, Flavius Aetius called upon his Germanic allies to fight off the invasion by Attila's Huns. The Salians fought alongside the Romans at the Battle of Chalons, which effectively ended the Hunnic threat to Western Europe. As a reward, the Romans allowed further Salian expansion. In 486, Clovis became absolute ruler of a mixed Roman-Germanic kingdom. He unified the Franks and defeated the Visigoths and Alemanni. Clovis established his new capital at Paris, laying the foundation for the nation of France.