Campaign Overview

With the further collapse of Roman power upon the death of Flavius Aetius and Emperor Valentinian III in 454 C.E. and 455 C.E., respectively, Roman Gaul was slowly separated from Rome itself. Due to the depredations of the Visigoths, Burgundians, and civil strife internally within the Empire, imperial authority dissolved in Southern Gaul. While these areas were eventually restored to a Foederati status under Emperor Majoran, Northern Gaul remained under the direct control of the Roman authorities in the form of Magister Militum per Gallias Aegidius. Southern Gaul was administered by Foederati client states. However, with the death of Majoran at the hands of the scheming general Ricimer these Foederati states starting acting upon their ambitions once again, completely separating Northern Gaul from the rest of the Western Empire.

During the tumultuous years that followed Aegidius, and his son Syagrius upon his death, defended what rapidly became the last vestiges of the Western Roman Empire on the continent. Aegidius refused to recognize the new puppet-emperor Libius Severus, who was elevated so that Ricimer could retain the true power. Separated from Ricimer and his puppet-emperor by the Visigoths and Burgundians, Aegidius remained independent from Rome while declaring his domain part of the Western Empire.

Due to its isolation, the Domain of Soissons, as it would later be called, was constantly under threat from its ambitious neighbors and internal strife. Aegidius was able to fend off outright invasion of his lands by the Visigoths with the assistance of the Bretons and Childeric, the King of the Salian Franks. Upon Aegidius’ death, his son Syagrius took control of the Domain of Soissons. However, he refused to accept Odoacer’s authority as King of Italy, the Eastern Emperor Zeno granted legitimacy to Odoacer, effectively ending the legitimacy of Roman rule in Gaul. Likely due to this increased isolation, relations between the Gallo-Romans and the Franks deteriorated. Syagrius was able to maintain the Domain of Soissons’ pseudo-independent Roman authority for over twenty years until the death of Childeric and the rise of his son Clovis as King of the Salian Franks. Syagrius was defeated in 486 C.E. in the Battle of Soissons and Clovis seized control of Northern Gaul, creating the Kingdom of the Franks, which would later become what we know as France.

While this is all established history, our campaign is set during these tumultuous times from about 464 C.E. to 486 C.E. with the breakdown of the Gallo-Roman-Frankish alliance and the increasing aggression of the Franks and the other Germanic and Gothic enemies surrounding the Domain of Soissons.