The Battle of Tolbiac

Tolbiac is the name of a very famous battle, which can be considered as the real date of birth of our country. That’s undoubtedly because of this victory, that it had been named “France”, which etymologically stands for the country of the Francs.
Here are the explanations of the key role of this battle, as far as French history is concerned.
Tolbiac is the name of a small town nearby Köln in the very North of the actual Germany. This town is now named Zülpich. In 496, a battle occurred there, between the Francs under the command of their King Clovis, and the Alamanni. This fight was of a great importance both for the Francs and their King. In case of victory, the Francs were given peace and unity, setting so their domination on the Eastern side of their territory, up to Köln. At that time, Clovis Kingdom is a very large one, covering the northern part of nowadays France and Germany. The Francs wanted to extend then their domination towards the South-West. However, they had first to defeat the Alamanni, in order to get rid of any kind of serious threat.
In 496, Clovis was still young. He was the son of Childeric the first. He was reigning for almost 15 years.
The battle of Tolbiac, began in this historical context.
Clovis’ warriors were much less numerous than their enemies. The two armies were of an equal courage and had roughly the same military experience and skills. The battle engaged and turned logically in favor of the Alamanni. Both Armies were fighting fiercely, but after a few hours, Clovis ‘Army was in real danger of destruction.
Clovis, who had married a Christian princess called Clotilde, quickly understood during the fight that he was to be defeated. He made a vow, promising to Jesus Christ, the son of God, according to his wife, that if he won the battle, he would become a Christian. In distress, he asked very sincerely for the help of God, asking that he granted him the victory, that day in Tolbiac. Immediately, the