{{primary sources, date=August 2017 Genobaud was a leader (dux) of the

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...

. He invaded the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

in the year 388. This invasion is documented by

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...

, who cited the now lost work of

Sulpicius Alexander Sulpicius Alexander (fl. late fourth century) was a Roman historian of Germanic tribes. His work is lost, but his ''Historia'' in at least four books is quoted by Gregory of Tours. It was perhaps a continuation of the ''Res gestae'' by Ammianus Ma ...

. According to this account Genobaud invaded the Roman provinces Germania and Belgia together with

Marcomer Marcomer (died after 392), also spelled Marcomeres, Marchomer, Marchomir, was a Frankish leader (''dux'') in the late 4th century who invaded the Roman Empire in the year 388, when the usurper and leader of the whole of Roman Gaul, Magnus Maximus ...

and

Sunno Sunno was a leader (dux) of the Franks in the late 4th century who invaded the Roman Empire in the year 388 when the usurper and leader of the whole of Roman Gaul, Magnus Maximus was surrounded in Aquileia by Theodosius I. The invasion is docume ...

. They broke through the

limes Limes may refer to: * the plural form of lime (disambiguation) * the Latin word for ''limit'' which refers to: ** Limes (Roman Empire) (Latin, singular; plural: ) is a modern term used primarily for the Germanic border defence or delimiting ...

, killed many people, destroyed the most fruitful lands and made the city of Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, now

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, panic. After this raid the main body of the Franks moved back over the Rhine with their booty. Some of the Franks remained in the Belgian woods. When the Roman generals Nanninus and Quintinus heard the news in

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

, they attacked those remaining Frankish forces and killed many of them. After this engagement Quintinus crossed the Rhine to punish the Franks in their own country; however, his army was surrounded and beaten. Some Roman soldiers drowned in the marshes, others were killed by Franks, and but few made it back to their Empire. A connection to the 3rd century Frankish warrior Genobaud, is possible, but has not been proven.

Sources

, Historia Francorum, Book II, paragraph 9. Frankish kings Frankish warriors 4th-century Frankish people 4th-century monarchs in Europe

See also

Sources