Toxandria

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Toxandria in a map of Central Europe (919-1125).

For the 1994 animated film, see Taxandria (film).

Toxandria is the very old name for a region between the Meuse and the Scheldt rivers in the Netherlands and Belgium. The name is also spelled Taxandria. The name is probably derived from the Latin word Taxus (yew). The region grossly corresponds with the former tribal realm of the Eburones. The Salian Franks that settled the area in the 4th century became known as Toxandrians. These tribes gave rise to the Merovingian dynasty that came to dominate what is now France.

In these ancient times, the many barbarian tribes, given the broad label as Germanic tribes (Latin Germanicus) by the Romans, originated from Scandinavia and had by the 1st century BC spread through vast areas of today's central and western Europe.

Because of their continuous raids, these tribes subdivided into separate clans and moved on to other areas. In the middle of the 3rd century, two members of the tribal confederacy known as the Franks, the Salians and the Ripuarians, began penetrating the Roman frontier around Mainz but were soon driven back by Emperor Probus. Despite the temporary setback, the moves against the ever-weakening Roman masters resulted in Emperor Julian buying peace in 358 by handing over Toxandria to the Salians who then became Roman allies and provided troops for the imperial army. This entente would shape both the Salian language and law, resulting in the 6th century Salic law written in Latin. The Ripuarians took up residence in a strip of territory between the Rhine River and the Meuse and, like all the these wandering tribes, never formed any permanent alliances with the Salian race in Toxandria.

In the ensuing years, the Toxandrians did not continue to collectively wander from one place to another as other Germanic tribes, but instead began to expand their territory outwards. The Romans were soon again under attack with the emergence of the first strong leader Meroveus, after whom the Merovingian dynasty would be named. Notably, his son, Childeric I made further agreements that expanded their territory while aiding the Romans in driving out several invaders from around Orléans and Angers. In the ensuing years, Childeric's son Clovis I emerged as the dominant force who would, through his military might, add parts of present day Germany to his kingdom and shape what was to become modern day France.