Ripuarian Franks: Map & History
Ripuarian Franks is mapped in the atlas for 238 CE – 509 CE, with a peak mapped extent of about 44,276 km².
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Ripuarian Franks, also known as Rhenish or Rhineland Franks, and also commonly referred to using the Latin plurals Ripuarii or Ribuarii, were the Franks who established themselves in and around the formerly Roman city of Cologne, on the Rhine river in what is now Germany.
Modern Countries Once Part of Ripuarian Franks
At its mapped extent, Ripuarian Franks covered territory in 2 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Ripuarian Franks's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Ripuarian Franks in Depth
History of the term "Ripuarii"
Before the Lex Ripuaria there is a possible mention of the Ripuarii in the 6th-century Byzantine writer Jordanes. In his account of the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451 AD he referred to the Riparii among the units fighting as auxiliaries under the Roman Aetius, against Attila. They are listed together with forces with ethnic designations including Franks, Sarmatians, Armoricans, Burgundians, Saxons. Eugen Ewig argued that these Riparii are not from Cologne, but rather a military unit mentioned in the Notitia Dignitatum, who based on the Rhône river in what is now southern France. Springer however argues against this interpretation, noting that at least three of those four units were naval units, the classis fluminis Rhodani, the classis barcariorum, and the milites musculariorum.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Ripuarian Franks (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Ripuarian Franks Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Ripuarian Franks appears, with the other states of the time.
Ripuarian Franks Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 44,276 km² in 504 CE.
Ripuarian Franks: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Ripuarian Franks exist?
Ripuarian Franks is dated to 238 CE – 509 CE, in the Classical Antiquity era.
How large was Ripuarian Franks at its peak?
At its peak in 504 AD Ripuarian Franks covered about 44,276 km².
How did the map of Ripuarian Franks change over time?
Ripuarian Franks appears on 3 dated world maps in the atlas, from 300 CE to 500 CE. Each shows its borders in that year next to the other states of the time.