Pipin Gerystalskiy In 679, ruler of Austrasia. Date of Birth: 01.01.0635 Country: Germany

1. Rise to Power
2. Battle of Tertry and Consolidation of Power
3. Restoration of Order
4. Division of Power and Conquest
5. Campaigns and Expansion
6. Succession and Death

Rise to Power

In 679, Pippin of Heristal emerged as the leader of the Austrasian nobility, who opposed Ebroin, the mayor of the palace of Burgundy and Neustria, and refused to acknowledge his authority over Austrasia. The struggle with Neustria, interrupted by Ebroin's victory over Pippin near Laon in 680, resumed under one of Ebroin's successors, Berchaire.

Battle of Tertry and Consolidation of Power

In 687, after his victory at Tertry (near Saint-Quentin) over the Neustrians, Pippin captured King Theuderic III and forced him to recognize Pippin as mayor of the entire Frankish kingdom. Following his victory at Tertry, the authority in Neustria and Burgundy passed into Pippin's hands. The position of mayor of the palace became hereditary, and Pippin adopted the title "dux et princeps Francorum." The king's role became insignificant, and he was essentially removed from affairs of state.

Restoration of Order

Pippin restored order to Neustrian society, which had been disrupted for a long time. He suppressed the abuses committed by officials, dukes, and counts and compelled them to act justly towards the populace. He also restored order to the church, which had been in a state of disarray due to its involvement in the civil wars. Pippin convened a council of bishops and forced them to adopt his beneficial decrees.

Division of Power and Conquest

Pippin did not attempt to unify the two kingdoms and consented to delegating at least some of his ruling prerogatives to his closest associates. In Neustria, the office of mayor of the palace was restored, first held by Pippin's loyalist Norbert and later, from around 701, by Pippin's younger son Grimoald. In Burgundy, Pippin entrusted the command of the autonomous Burgundian army to his eldest son, Drago.

Meanwhile, in Aquitaine, Eudo, the successor of Lupus, established his authority over most of the territory between the Loire and the Pyrenees. He earned the title "Primus Aquitanorum" (the first in Aquitaine), becoming a rival to Pippin's power. This process also affected Provence, which came under the authority of the governor-patrician Antenor. Pippin lost control over southern Gaul but gained influence in the northern and eastern parts, in the Germanic regions of Gaul.

Campaigns and Expansion

Pippin mobilized his servants and raised a popular levy, allowing him to contain the Saxons who were raiding Thuringia and the Frankish homeland along the Rur valley. After a campaign against the Alemanni in 709, who had broken away from Frankish control after the death of Dagobert I, Pippin led several expeditions to bring them back into the fold. However, the autonomy of the Alemannic dukedom was not challenged.

Pippin also reconquered the Rhine-Meuse area of Frisia, which had become independent during the Merovingian crisis. To achieve this, Pippin conducted several yearly campaigns (between 690 and 695) aimed at conquering the city of Dorestad, the center of Frisian trade. This involved systematic military settlement of the region, followed by a major campaign of evangelization. To further consolidate his power, Pippin married his son to Radbod's daughter, Tedesinda.

Succession and Death

Pippin asserted his authority by appointing Merovingian kings. When King Theuderic III died in 691, Pippin installed his son, Clovis IV, as king, who reigned for only four years and died in 695. The deceased's brother, Childebert III, died in 711, and Pippin again unilaterally appointed Childebert's son, Dagobert III, as king.

Pippin hesitated to claim the throne himself, fearing the direct and public offense to both the aristocracy and the common people, who continued to hold feelings of loyalty towards the Merovingian dynasty. However, he had two sons from his wife, Plectrude: Drago, who died in 708, and Grimoald, who was assassinated near Liège in 714 while traveling to visit his ailing father, who was eighty years old. From his concubine, Alpaida, the aged mayor had a son, Charles.

As his successor, Pippin presented the state dignitaries with his grandson Theudoald, Grimoald's son, who was only six years old at the time. This choice was clearly influenced by his ambitious grandmother, Plectrude, who hoped to sideline Alpaida's son. Immediately after Pippin's death on December 16, 714, she had Charles imprisoned, intending to rule alone as regent for her grandson.