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Example research essay topic: 3 Rd Century Roman Empire - 1,011 words

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The last phase of the Western Roman Empire, the period of transition between Romania and the rise of a new medieval world, is marked by successive incursions of Barbarians from the north. In particular, there were the Goths (Visigoths and Ostrogoths), Alans, Suebi, Vandals, Huns, and the Franks. Dominating present-day northern France, Belgium, and western Germany, one of these groups, the Franks, established the most powerful Christian kingdom of early medieval western Europe. The origins of the Franks are obscure.

They seemed to have developed as a distinct people during the 1 st or 3 rd century A. D. as a result of a fusion of many small Germanic tribes living along the east bank of the lower Rhine River. While the tribes were linked by language and institutions, they were not united politically (Malcolm 9) Two large groupings of the Franks, the Salians and the Ripuarians, existed as early as the 3 rd century. Each of these was divided into many petty kingdoms rules by warrior chiefs whose personal ability and success in war determined the fortune of each kingdom (McNeill 75) The turning point in the Franks history came with their movement west of the Rhine into Roman Gaul. (Latouche 216) In the mid- 3 rd century the Franks tried unsuccessfully to expand westward across the Rhine into Roman-held Gaul. In the mid- 4 th century the Franks again attempted to invade Gaul, and in 358 Rome was compelled to abandon the area between the Meuse and Scheldt rivers (now in Belgium) to the Salian Franks.

During the course of these drawn-out struggles, the Franks were gradually influenced by Roman civilization. Some Frankish leaders became Roman allies in the defense of the Roman frontier, and many Franks served as auxiliary soldiers in the Roman army. (Mcneill 76) The Vandals launched a massive invasion of Gaul in 406, and in the ensuing decades, the Franks took advantage of the overstrained Roman defenses. They solidified their hold on what is now Belgium, took permanent control of the lands immediately west of the middle Rhine River, and edged into what is now northeastern France. (Cottingham 29) The firm establishment of the Franks in northeastern Gaul by the year 480 meant that both the former Roman province of Germania and part of the two former Belgic provinces were lost to Roman rule. The small Gallo-Roman population therefore became submerged among the German immigrants, and Latin ceased to be the language of everyday speech. (McManus 46) The extreme limit of Frankish settlement at this time is marked by the linguistic frontier that still divides the Romance-speaking peoples of France and southern Belgium from the Germanic-speaking peoples of northern Belgium, The Netherlands, and Germany. (McNeill 76) Under the Salian king Clovis I, the power and extent of the Frankish kingdom grew considerably. In 481 - 482, Clovis succeeded his father Childeric, as the ruler of the Salian Franks of Tournai.

In 486 Clovis overthrew Syagrius, the last Roman governor in Gaul, and in the following years, compelled the other Salian and Ripuarian tribes to submit to his authority. (Cottingham 31) This marked the first time the Franks had stood united. Clovis then took advantage of the depleted Roman defenses and led the united Franks in a series of campaigns that brought all of northern Gaul under his rule by 494. He stemmed the Alemannic migrations into Gaul from east of the Rhine, and in 507 he drove southward, subduing the Visigoths who had established themselves in southern Gaul. A unified Frankish kingdom was thus established and secured. Clovis converted to Catholicism, and the massive adoption of orthodox Christianity by the Franks only helped to further unite them. (McNeill 77) Clovis belonged to the Merovingian dynasty, so named for his grandfather Merovich. (Latouche 215) After the death of Clovis, the kingdom was divided among his four sons, and for the following century it went through several divisions and reunification's until finally consolidated by Clotaire II in 613. Shortly after his death, however, the kings ceased to exercise any influence, and authority passed into the hands of the great officers of the state, mostly notably, the mayor of the palace (major domus).

In the eastern part, Austrasia, however, a powerful family, the Carolingian, arose which retained exclusive possession of the palace morality for more than 100 years. (Winston 77) In 687 Pepin of Herbal, the Australian mayor of the palace, overthrew the forces of Neustria (the western part) and Bourgogne, setting himself up as major domus of a united Frankish kingdom. His son, Charles Martel, extended the frontiers of the kingdom in the east and in 732 repelled the Moors in a decisive battle fought at a site between Tours and Poitiers. Frankish power attained great development under Charles Martel s grandson, Charlemagne, who in his time was the most powerful monarch of Europe. On December 25, 800, he was crowned Carolus Augustus, emperor of the Romans, by Pop Leo III.

Charlemagne s imperial title was later borne by the Holy Roman emperors until the early 19 th century. His Frankish lands developed into the kingdom of France, which is named for the Franks. (Ibid) The Carolingian decline after Charlemagne, followed the same pattern as the Merovingian's after Clovis. The same type of partition of lands resulted in the area roughly equivalent to medieval France being assigned to the Frankish emperor Charles II. He and his descendants held an ever-weakening grip over the kingdom against invading Vikings and predatory lords. Over the shrunken French state, the Capetian dynasty would achieve kingship by 987, and within the state the feudal system would flower. (McManus 48) Successive Barbarian incursions marked the last phase of the Western Roman Empire.

Among these Barbarian groups were the Goths (Visigoths and Ostrogoths), the Alans, the Suebi, the Vandals, and the Franks. Only one of these, however, was able to establish a great and prosperous kingdom after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Dominating present-day northern France, Belgium, and Western Germany, the Franks established the most powerful Christian kingdom of early medieval Europe.


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Research essay sample on 3 Rd Century Roman Empire

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