Editing Clovis I (section)

===Road to Soissons===
{{See also|Battle of Soissons (486)}}

The [[Childeric I|ruler of Tournai]] died in 481 and was succeeded by his young son, Clovis. His band of warriors probably numbered no more than half a thousand. In 486 he began his efforts to expand the realm by allying himself with his relative [[Ragnachar]], king of [[Cambrai]]{{sfn|Bachrach|1972|pp=3–4}} and another Frankish king, [[Chararic (Frankish king)|Chalaric]]. These rulers are sometimes referred to as ''regulus'' (diminutive of ''[[rex (title)|rex]]''). Together the [[triumvirate]] marched against [[Syagrius]] and met the Gallo-Roman commander at [[Battle of Soissons (486)|Soissons]]. During the battle, Chalaric betrayed his comrades by refusing to take part in the fighting.<ref name="Chararic">[https://books.google.com/books?id=XiuSGrFt32gC&dq=Chararic+%28Frankish+king%29&pg=PA110 ''The Cambridge Medieval History'', Vol. 2, (Henry Melvill Gwatkin et al, eds.), Macmillan, 1913, p. 110]</ref> Despite the betrayal, the Franks landed a [[decisive victory]], forcing Syagrius to flee to the court of [[Alaric II]].{{sfn|Bachrach|1972|pp=3–4}} This battle is viewed as bringing about the end of the [[Domain of Soissons|rump state]] of the [[Western Roman Empire]] outside of Italy.<ref>Frassetto, Michael, ''Encyclopedia of barbarian Europe'', (ABC-CLIO, 2003), p. 126</ref> Following the battle, Clovis invaded the traitor Chalaric's territory and was able to imprison him and his son.<ref name="Chararic"/>