Theodemer (Frankish king)
Theodemer was a Frankish king. He was the son of Richomeres and his wife Ascyla. His father is to be identified with the Roman commander of that name, in which case Theodemer would have been a cousin of Arbogastes.
Origin
Theodemer's family belonged to the Frankish elite who were closely intertwined with the Roman military and political system in the late Roman period. He was the son of Richomer and Alsyla. His father was under Emperor Theodosius I magister militum praesentalis and consul in 384. Nothing is known of his mother, but her name points to a Greek descent. As the son of a high-ranking officer in the eastern part of the empire, Theodemer probably grew up in Constantinople and returned to his tribal relatives in North Gaul after his father's death in 493.Political situation at the time of Theudemer
Theodemer's performance in history took place during an extremely unstable period of the Roman Empire. The western part of the empire was ruled by Honorius, known as a weak emperor. During his reign, rival generals made up the service. Claudianus tells us that magister militum Stilicho withdrew all Rhine troops to northern Italy in the winter of 401/402 to repel the rebel army of Alaric. According to Roymans and Heijnen, he then granted Allied Frankish groups access to the area south of the Rhine and made them responsible for the defense of the border line.The Rhine crossing by barbarian peoples in 406 initiated a process that led to a weakening of Roman power in Gaul which gave usurpers such as Constantine III of Rome and Jovinus the opportunity to seize power. They received the support of Gallic elites and Frankish or Alanic foederati. Leaders like Theodemer were active in this fragmented force field and considered to be a threat for the central government. Constantius III eventually made an end to the chaos, but many areas along the Rhine still remained semi-autonomous for a long time. It was not until 421 that Castinus campaign against the Franks and pacified the north of Gaul and a few years later Aetius returned tot the north and waged war in 428.