Merovingian Kingdoms 450 - 751

Of all Rome's western successors, the Frankish kingdom that emerged in France, Belgium, the Rhineland and Switzerland was the longest lasting and most powerful; yet the Merovingians, who ruled it for nearly 300 years (481-751), have been harshly treated by posterity. This is partly through the hostility of the Carolingians who usurped and succee