Clovis I (466 - 27 November 511) was the founder and king of the Frankish kingdom (481-511).

I am walking among the sea of people like a lonely pilgrim. All my relatives have left. When I encounter disaster, no one will come to help me. -Crovis's lament in his later years; your faith is our victory,... Divine Providence has given you to be the ruler of our time--The Bishop of Vienna wrote to Clovis

The rich and beautiful land of Gaul has attracted countless ethnic groups to live here since ancient times. Caesar had brought it into the rule of Roman civilization, but as this big empire was corrupted in luxury and decay, the vibrant Germanic tribes came here with the tide of the world's great migration to take root. Burgundians, Goths, Franks, etc., all came here to expand their territory. Finally, a small but brave group won the final victory under the leadership of a capable leader, so that the land was written with the name "Frank", and this leader was Clovis.

Open any book that introduces the generations of the French royal family, Clovis is a character written at the beginning of the first dynasty, the Merovingian Dynasty. "Frank" means "bold" in the ancient language, they are all fighters who are not afraid of death, and the Merovingian family is the most noble family among the Franks, with long hair shawls as their "noble" symbol. As a leader who leads a Frankish like a wolf to achieve great deeds, Clovis has the following characteristics: first, he is as brave and aggressive as most Frankish people, and takes fighting as his lifelong hobby and career. Second, he is cruel and can decisively eliminate those who threaten him at the right moment. Third, he is scheming and good at playing power. Fourth, and most importantly, he also has the long-term strategic vision that a politician should have.

In 481 AD, at the age of 15, Clovis succeeded his father as Frankish chief. His first opponent was the self-proclaimed "king of the Romans", Siagrius. Siagrius was originally a general of the Roman Empire stationed in the Paris area and later became king of himself. In 486, Clovis achieved his first major victory in life - the battle of Soissons completely wiped out the main force of Siagrius and put his opponent on the guillotine. His greatest trophy was the land near Paris, which he later moved to Paris.

But when distributing other trophies, Clovis had a dispute with his subordinates. According to Frankish tradition, goods obtained from war should be distributed to all soldiers by drawing lots. Clovis wanted to return one of the jars, which was regarded as the Holy Grail, to the church, but was opposed by one of the soldiers, who believed that Clovis had no right to take the bottle and chopped the "Holy Grail" into pieces in a rage. Clovis couldn't react on the spot, but later he finally used an excuse to kill the soldier. This story is widely circulated. The significance it conveys is that Clovis is no longer the leader of a tribe, but is now a king with the power to kill and kill.

Clovis married a Christian princess of Burgundy at the age of 27. He was once skeptical of the God his wife believed in. When he fought the invading Alemans in 496, he was defeated as never before and was besieged. In a moment of crisis, he thought of God and turned to God for help, vowing that if he could turn defeat into victory, he would lead the Franks to Christianity. So a miraculous scene occurred. Civil strife broke out in the Alemans' army, and his king was killed. All of them surrendered to Clovis. Clovis really experienced the power of God and led 3,000 Franks to be baptized and converted to Christianity on Christmas Day that year.

In fact, Clovis's conversion to Christianity was the wisest decision of his life, which reflects the long-term vision of a statesman. Although the Western Roman Empire had fallen, the Roman Church was still a powerful and influential force, and there were a large number of Christian Romans in Gaul, who urgently needed to find a pillar among the powerful barbarians. Clovis became this pillar, and he has been invincible ever since with the support of the Christian Church and its followers.

In 500 AD, Clovis conquered the Duchy of Burgundy and turned the Rhone River Basin area in present-day southeastern France into his private property. In 507 AD, he attacked the Visigoths in present-day southwestern France under the banner of Christians 'crusading against pagans. He drove the once-invincible Goths south of the Pyrenees. Since then, the Pyrenees has become an almost eternal national border. Because of this battle, he received great honors in the Christian world and was awarded the title of honorary consul by the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. By the time Clovis died, he had outlined the general map of a Frankish kingdom, with the entire Gaul region in his hands except Provence.

One of the great events of the Clovis era was the codification of the Code of Salik, although the role of Clovis himself in the codification process is still unclear. This code mainly records the customary law of the Franks and has a great influence on the later French legal system.

The number of Franks led by Clovis was only a minority of the population of his kingdom, and his personal guards naturally became the pillar of the kingdom's rule. But even if Clovis treats his own people, he is very cruel, and many of his cronies are eventually eradicated by him. In his later years, he lamented a lonely master: "I am like a lonely pilgrim walking among the vast sea of people. All my relatives have left. When I encounter disaster, no one will come to help me." "Clovis was never defeated by an enemy in his life, but he experienced a deep sense of frustration in his loneliness in his later years.

Clovis, of course, was not reduced to the point of not having a single relative. His four sons were all alive and well, and after his death they divided his country. His sons inherited his heroic and ruthless character, and they won many battles against outsiders, but also fought bloodstained among siblings. Later, his Frankish kingdom coincided, but the rulers until the Merovingian dynasty was replaced in 751 were his descendants.

Why can Clovis occupy a place in this list? The Franks were originally only an insignificant group among the barbarians in Gaul in terms of number and civilization. Under the outstanding leadership of Clovis, they became the ruler of Gaul. From then on, the Franks 'characteristics were integrated into the blood of this land. Clovis's campaign laid the territory of the Frankish Kingdom, and the later Charlemagne Empire developed on this basis. Clovis's conversion of Franks to Christianity was a landmark event in the history of Christian development and French history. His strategy and political skills promoted the Franks to transcend military democracy and enter the era of monarchy.

However, in Clovis's era, the kingship was still relatively weak and the country's administrative institutions were still very imperfect. Clovis is basically just a king on horseback, which is why he is not ranked higher in this list. He ranks 85th in this rankings.

Comments: Clovis's era was the era of the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. At this time of "the collapse of rituals and the collapse of music", Clovis established a political pillar in Western Europe with his outstanding martial arts skills, and converted to Christianity to make himself the defender of Roman orthodoxy. Although he has never entered Rome, Clovis, who has a strategic vision, has become an "iron pillar" that supports the stability of the Roman Church and even the whole of Western Europe.

¢Ù Salic means seaside, and Clovis belongs to the Salic branch of the Franks