History of France
In the later stages of the Roman Empire, Gaul was subject to barbarian sudden attacks and migration, most importantly by the Germanic Franks. The Frankish king Clovis I united most of Gaul under his rule in the late 5th century, preparing the conditions for Frankish control in the region for hundreds of years. Frankish power reached its fullest extent under Charlemagne. The medieval Kingdom of France came out from the western part of Charlemagne's Carolingian Empire, known as West Francia, and achieved increasing importance under the rule of the House of Capet, founded by Hugh Capet in 987.