Ascaric or Ascarich () was an early Frankish war leader, who, along with his co-leader,

Merogais Merogais (, ) was an early Frankish king, who, along with his co-ruler Ascaric, is the earliest Frankish ruler known. He was an enemy of the Roman Empire. Merogais is mentioned in the '' Panegyrici latini'' (anonymous VI and VII) and by Eutropius ...

, are the earliest known leaders explicitly called Frankish, although the name of the Franks is earlier. The

Germanic name Germanic given names are traditionally dithematic; that is, they are formed from two elements ( stems), by joining a prefix and a suffix. For example, King Æþelred's name was derived from ', meaning "noble", and ', meaning "counsel". The i ...

is a compound of two elements, clearly identified as ''asca-'' "

ash tree ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae, and comprises 45–65 species of usually medium-to-large trees, most of which are deciduous trees, although some subtropical species are evergr ...

" and -''

riks The Sweden Democrats ( , SD ) is a Nationalism, nationalist and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in Sweden founded in 1988. As of 2024, it is the largest member of Sweden's Right-wing politics, right-wing bloc and the sec ...

'' "ruler".

Historical incident involving Ascaric and Merogais

Sources

The sources for the appearance of Ascaric and

in history are few, but were written within a few years of their deaths in contemporary times. They are considered reliable. They are mentioned in a collection of recorded speeches from the period called the ''

Panegyrici latini ' or ''Twelve Latin Panegyrics'' is the conventional title of a collection of twelve ancient Roman and late antique prose panegyric orations written in Latin. The authors of most of the speeches in the collection are anonymous, but appear to hav ...

''. These were numbered more or less at random. Only three of the twelve are concerned with the Frankish invasions of Gaul in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries: numbers IX, VI and VII. Only VI provides any significant detail. The authors of VI and VII, conventionally entitled "Panegyric of Constantine" and "Panegyric of Maximian and Constantine" respectively, remain unknown and are therefore typically called "anonymous." Number IX, the earliest, which precedes any of the events involving the two war leaders, is termed "Eumenius for the Restoration of the Schools" because in it the orator quotes a letter from

Constantius Chlorus Flavius Valerius Constantius ( – 25 July 306), also called Constantius I, was a Roman emperor from 305 to 306. He was one of the four original members of the Tetrarchy established by Diocletian, first serving as Caesar (title), ''caesar'' ...

identifying him as

Eumenius Eumenius (Greek: Εύμένιος; born c. 260 CE at the latest, more probably between 230 and 240 CE), was one of the Ancient Roman panegyrists and author of a speech transmitted in the collection of the '' Panegyrici Latini'' (Pan. Lat. IX). Li ...

. In addition Eutropius makes some mention of the period. The earliest of the three panegyrics, IX, delivered at

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

Autun Autun () is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the e ...

by Eumenius to the governor of the province, which was probably Lugdunensis II between the Seine and the Loire, on the occasion of a visit, begs the governor to restore the Maenianae school of Autun, and contributes his own salary to the effort. Only background information about the Franks is given. They assisted the pretender

Carausius Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Carausius (died 293) was a military commander of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century. He was a Menapian from Belgic Gaul, who usurped power in 286, during the Carausian Revolt, declaring himself emperor in Britain and ...

, the temporary ruler of Britain and parts of Gaul. When the imperial government stabilized after a dynastic struggle,

reconquered northwestern Gaul, ejected the Franks from there and proceeded to the liberation of Britain. The speech, made in 297 or 298, immediately after the reconquest, in the ruins of the city, presented a letter from Constantius expressing his desire to do something for the children of Gaul and appointing Eumenius, a member of the imperial staff, whose grandfather had been headmaster, to rebuild the school. Panegyric VII is a speech delivered to

Constantine I Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

on the occasion of his taking the senior emperor's,

Maximian Maximian (; ), nicknamed Herculius, was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar (title), Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocleti ...

's, daughter in marriage in 307. By then the Franks have been cleared out of Gaul a second time. The two chiefs have just been executed. The mood is festive. The speaker brags of the treatment meted out to the treacherous Franks. The mood did not last, as once again the emperors became embroiled in conflict. By 310

is dead, his daughter repudiated, and Constantine is senior emperor. An uneasy peace has been restored in Gaul. In Panegryric VI, on the anniversary of the foundation of

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

a middle-aged school-teacher from

and former member of the imperial court addresses the emperor, guest of the celebration, at the beginning of August. He could be Eumenius, but there is no proof that he is. The emperor has just successfully struck a blow against the Bructeri. The speaker reveals the details but a note of fear manages to pervade the speech. Let the Franks retaliate, he says. We know they can cross the Rhine anywhere at any time they choose. Our defense is such terror that they will fear even to approach the bank. There are forts and ships on every landing place. We don't fear them. Eutropius has only the summary statement that Constantine, having defeated the Franks and the Alamanni, had their kings torn to pieces by wild beasts in the arena.

Accession of Constantine

According to Panegyric VI, the young

began his reign by suppressing Frankish raids across the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

in the country of the later

Ripuarian Franks The Rhineland or Ripuarian Franks, also often referred to using the Latin plurals ''Ribuarii'', or ''Ripuarii'', were the Franks who established themselves in and around the formerly Roman city of Cologne, on the Rhine river in what is now Germa ...

(who may well have been known by that name, but more likely only after they had settled in

Lower Germany ''Germania Inferior'' ("Lower Germania") was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed ''Germania Secunda'' in the 4th century AD, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Clau ...

). Motivated by the desire to restore the peace by quelling "some contemptible band of barbarians who tested the very beginnings of your isreign with a sudden attack and unexpected brigandage," he brought an army back from Britain, where his father,

, Augustus of the empire, had been conducting a punitive campaign against the

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples in what is now Scotland north of the Firth of Forth, in the Scotland in the early Middle Ages, Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and details of their culture can be gleaned from early medieval texts and Pic ...

in 305. Chlorus died at York of natural causes in 306 after a successful campaign. On his deathbed he asked that the troops proclaim his son Augustus in his place. After a quick voice vote shouted throughout the camp they "threw the purple" (an imperial robe) over him as he wept. He attempted to escape by horse but the empire pursued and brought him back. Accepting the command he proceeded "to punish with the ultimate penalty the kings of Francia themselves, who took the opportunity of your isfather's absence to violate the peace." The command was subsequently confirmed by the senior emperor,

Galerius Galerius Valerius Maximianus (; Greek: Γαλέριος; 258 – May 311) was Roman emperor from 305 to 311. He participated in the system of government later known as the Tetrarchy, first acting as '' caesar'' under Emperor Diocletian. In th ...

, who insisted he take the role of Caesar, or junior emperor. Rome had been sharing the burdensome and dangerous highest office between multiple emperors for some time, at that time two, junior and senior. Dynastic struggles were a frequent distraction, which the Franks could always be counted on to exploit to the fullest, from which they acquired the reputation of being ''mobile'', "treacherous," a serious character flaw in the Roman ethic, and one always punished severely.

The Frankish expedition

In 306 Ascaric and Merogais led a Frankish raid across the

into southern

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

while

was campaigning against the

Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...

. Apparently the Franks or the

Bructeri The Bructeri were a Germanic people, who lived in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, just outside what was then the Roman Empire. The Romans originally reported them living east of the lower Rhine river, in a large area centred around present day ...

(their tribe) had made a previous agreement with Rome, since Chlorus' successor, his son

, sought to punish them as traitors upon his return. The two chieftains were defeated, captured, and executed "for their past crimes", an act which "bound with fear the slippery loyalty of the whole race," according to one of the emperor's anonymous panegyrists. The execution took place in one of the chief cities of Gaul, probably

, Constantine's capital in Gaul, and the two Franks and their followers were torn apart by animals in the

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...

before a large crowd. Their defeat was followed by a punitive expedition against the tribe from which they had conducted the raid, the

Retaliation against the Bructeri

Having made an example of the two war leaders, Constantine judged that it was not enough of an object lesson. In addition, "so that the enemy should not merely grieve over the punishment of their kings,"''Panegyric'' VI.12.1-3. he determined to conduct a punitive raid on the Bructeri, presumably the tribe of the two leaders. The Romans viewed them as important kings of the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

. They were probably not that, as the term

Francia The Kingdom of the Franks (), also known as the Frankish Kingdom, or just Francia, was the largest History of the Roman Empire, post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks, Frankish Merovingian dynasty, Merovingi ...

comprised all the tribes on the right bank of the Rhine. They had undoubtedly followed the Frankish custom of proposing an expedition, which the subsequent action of the Romans supports, and therefore their status could have been any of respect and import. As war chiefs, they were commanders of the expedition. Constantine was going to hold responsible all the villages that had supported the expedition. The Bructeri were located in the vicinity of

Wuppertal Wuppertal (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, with a population of 355,000. Wuppertal is the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and List of cities in Germany by population, 17th-largest in Germany. It ...

, opposite the site of the future

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, not far downstream from the Frankish city of

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, later the capital city of the

.. They were relative newcomers to the area, having been allowed to settle there from further downstream by the

Ubii 350px, The Ubii around AD 30 The Ubii were a Germanic tribe first encountered dwelling on the east bank of the Rhine in the time of Julius Caesar, who formed an alliance with them in 55 BC in order to launch attacks across the river. They were ...

. Constantine struck the Bructeri in 308 by surprise to prevent them from escaping through the woods and marshes. He killed or captured the target population with their herds and burned several villages. He then made a selection:

"The adults who were captured, those whose untrustworthiness made them unfit for military service and whose ferocity for slavery, were given over to the amphitheater for punishment, and their great numbers wore out the raging beasts."

He did not depopulate the tribe or the region, as they remained to participate in subsequent historical events, nor did he subject them. The limits of the empire remained the Rhine river. Moreover, the Panegyric implies that, not only were Franks serving in the Roman military, but that Frankish prisoners of war might be given that option as well.

Notes

References

* * * Landriot, Jean-François-Anne, and Rochet, Benoît Joseph (1854). ''Traduction des discours d'Eumène: accompagnée du texte''. Autun: Michel Dejussieu et Louis Villedry. * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ascaric Year of death unknown Frankish kings Frankish warriors 4th-century Frankish people 4th-century monarchs in Europe Year of birth unknown