Grimoald was born around 615 to Pepin and Itta. Not long before Grimoald was born, Pepin and other Frankish nobles had conspired with King Clothaire of Neustria to remove the child King Sigebert of Austrasia and Burgundy and his regent, Queen Brunhild. 1/10
With the help of Pepin and others, King Clothaire reunited the Kingdom of the Franks. Initially, Pepin's associates obtained prominent roles in the Kingdom as Mayor of the Palace, while he retained influence on the King's son, Dagobert. 2/10
In 623, Dagobert was made the King of Austrasia, with Pepin as the Mayor of the Palace, the most important official in the Kingdom. Accompanying Pepin was Arnoul, the Bishop of Metz, who became the young King's advisor. 3/10
In 629, King Clothaire died and Dagobert became King of the Franks with his brother Charibert inheriting Aquitaine. Both Pepin and Arnoul would lose their roles in court. Pepin would return as Mayor in 639 after Dagobert died, while Arnoul would retire and become a hermit. 4/10
When Pepin died in 640, Grimoald was poised to succeed him. But it wasn't to be, since the position went to Otto. But he would prove vital for the King against rebelling Thuringia, saving his life in a defeated battle. By 643, Grimoald had got Otto killed and displaced him. 5/10
Grimoald became the Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia like his father before him. Austrasia was ruled by Dagobert's elder son, Sigebert, while Neustria and Burgundy went to his younger son, Chlodovech. The two brothers were in their teens when they became King. 6/10
By the time Sigebert died in 656, Grimoald had gained a strong footing within Austrasia. He was aided by the support of Ansegisel, husband of his sister Begga and son of Arnoul of Metz. He had Sigebert's son exiled and in his place installed his own son, Childebert, as King. 7/10
But, this interference into royalty proved to be Grimoald's undoing. Neustria intervened and captured Grimoald, Ansegisel and Childebert. The details after this are a bit sketchy but by 661, Grimoald had been executed and Neustria had annexed Austrasia. 8/10
Chlodovech's sons gained control over the entire Frankish Kingdom, bringing to end Grimoald's dynasty but another dynasty would gain prominence in the Frankish Kingdom instead. In 679, Ansegisel's son, Pepin, became the Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia. 9/10
In 687, Pepin led Austrasia to victory against Neustria and Burgundy. He became the Mayor of the Palace of Neustria and Burgundy as well as a result. In 751, Pepin's grandson, also named Pepin, became the King of the Franks, bringing to end the Merovingian dynasty. 10/10
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Clothaire was born in 584 to Chilperich, King of the Franks, and Fredegund. Not long after his birth, his father was killed, making Clothaire the king of the part of the Frankish realm that he ruled. He had inherited the smallest of the three Frankish Kingdoms - Neustria. 1/10
In 561, Clothaire's grandfather and namesake had died dividing the Frankish Kingdom into four. Chilperich, who was the youngest, received a Kingdom around Soissons, which contained the core area that the senior Clothaire had inherited in 511. 2/10
3) Capets - Though Habsburgs tend to get more press, Capets are the most prolific royal dynasty in Europe, lasting over 1,000 years. But they are divided into many dynasties - Valois, Bourbon, Anjou (3 dynasties), Burgundy-Portugal, Courtenay, Evreux
Theudelinda was born around 570 to Garibald of the Baiuvarii (Bavarians) and Waldrada of the Langobard (Lombards). The Bavarians were a Germanic tribe that was associated with the Franks, another Germanic tribe, to their west. 1/10
Around 555, Garibald had been named the Duke of the Bavarians by the Frankish King, Clothaire. It was around the same time Garibald married Waldrada, who had earlier been married to Theodebald, King of Franks at Reims, and later possibly Clothaire as well. 2/10
Alboin was born around 530 to Audoin and Rodelinda. They were part of the Langobards, also knowns as Lombards, one of the many Germanic tribes that lived in the former regions of the Roman Empire in the West, after the Empire collapsed. 1/10
In 547, Audoin was elected King of the Lombards. The Lombards had control of Pannonia and were in alliance with the Roman Empire in the East. But they rarely got along with the Gepids, another Germanic tribe, who controlled the region to their east. 2/10
Stefan Dušan was born in 1308 to Stefan Uroš Dečanski and Princess Teodora of Bulgaria. Stefan Uroš Dečanski was the eldest son of Stefan Uroš Milutin, King of Serbia, and was the governor of Zeta within the Kingdom of Serbia. 1/10
In 1314, Stefan Dečanski rebelled against his father. After defeating his son, King Stefan Milutin exiled his son and family to Constantinople and put his younger son, Stefan Konstantin, in charge of Zeta. Stefan Dušan grew up in Constantinople, learning their culture. 2/10
The uneasy backstory of the Rus' separated by nations - Russia, Ukraine, Belarus & others.🧵
Rus' tribes were once the connection from Constantinople to Scandinavia. They got organized in 10th century, though earlier Rus' nations could have existed. 1/20
By the end of the 10th century, a Rus' state had formed around Kiev. But after every generation, it got divided amongst the Princes, who frequently fought each other. But in 980, Vladimir consolidated the Principalities and expanded his rule. 2/20
In 988, he formed an alliance with Constantinople accepting Christianity in Greek Crimea. Though this was before the split of the Roman Church, this ushered in the presence of the Orthodox Church among Russians. 3/20