State · 843 – 987
West Francia
A state of 843 – 987 — 144 years in Europe. It replaced Carolingian Empire and followed Francia. It was replaced by Kingdom of France. The atlas records 26 things within it — wars and battles 8 · treaties 3 · people 15. Its line of rulers holds 12 people.
For the full story, the article on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); this page holds what the record says of the state.
- Stood
- 144 years
- 843 – 987
- Rulers
- 12
- the King of West Francia
- Most ground
- 1.18 million km²
- in 886
- Within it
- 26
- recorded rows
886 · at its largest · 1.18 million km²
960 · last mapped · 353,000 km²
Where it sits in time
Five thousand years, 3000 BCE to 2026; the state in gold, what it replaced or followed and what replaced or followed it in grey.
Before and after
The states the record files it as replacing or following, and those that replaced or followed it - Wikidata's own statements, each read from this state's side.
Before it
- Francia · follows · 481 – 843
- Carolingian Empire · replaces · 800 – 887
After it
- Kingdom of France · replaced by · 987 – 1791
Rulers
The line of King of West Francia - the office this state names as its head of state.
| Ruler | Reign | Length | How it ended · source | To the ruler before |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles the Bald | 843 – 877 | 34 years | died in office of natural causesWikidata's manner of death | |
| Louis the Stammerer | 877 – 879 | 2 years | died in office, manner not recordedread off the dates alone | child |
| Louis III of France | 879 – 882 | 3 years | died by accidentWikidata's manner of death | child |
| Carloman II | 879 – 884 | 5 years | died by accidentWikidata's manner of death | sibling |
| Charles the Fat | 885 – 887 | 2 years | left office aliveread off the dates alone | |
| Odo of France | 888 – 898 | 10 years | died in office, manner not recordedread off the dates alone | |
| Charles the Simple | 898 – 922 | 24 years | left office aliveread off the dates alone | |
| Robert I of France | 922 – 923 | 1 year | died in office, manner not recordedread off the dates alone | |
| Rudolph of France | 923 – 936 | 13 years | died in office of natural causesWikidata's manner of death | in-law |
| Louis IV of France | 936 – 954 | 18 years | died by accidentWikidata's manner of death | |
| Lothair of France | 954 – 986 | 32 years | died in office, manner not recordedread off the dates alone | child |
| Louis V of France | 986 – 987 | 1 year | died by accidentWikidata's manner of death | child |
12 rulers, 12 with terms dated as terms, covering 843 – 987. Median reign 7.5 years. 1 of 11 handovers irregular - a killing, a deposition, a rival claimant, a rising or a coup beside it. A blank in the last column means no kin on record, which is coverage, never “unrelated”.
Ground held, by year
km² inside its borders as the borders dataset draws them, measured on an equal-area grid; a step series, held between the years the dataset maps.
424,800 km² in 853, 353,000 km² in 987; at its largest 1.17 million km² in 883. Cliopatria, CC BY 4.0.
What happened within it, by century
Every row the atlas hosts under this state, by the century it began in: wars and battles in red, risings, regime changes and massacres beside them, everything else in grey. A tall bar is a century the record is full for, which is partly a fact about Wikipedia.
800 – 89917 rows · 6 wars and battles
- Charles the Bald · ruler · 823 – 877
- Treaty of Verdun · treaty · 843
- Charles the Simple · ruler · 879 – 929
- Robert I of France · ruler · 860 – 923
- Louis the Stammerer · ruler · 846 – 879
- Louis III of France · ruler · 863 – 882
- Carloman II · ruler · 866 – 884
- Rudolph of France · ruler · 890 – 936
and 9 more in the atlas.
900 – 9999 rows · 2 wars and battles
- Hugh Capet · person · 940 – 996
- Robert II of France · politician · 972 – 1031
- Louis IV of France · ruler · 920 – 954
- Louis V of France · ruler · 966 – 987
- Lothair of France · ruler · 941 – 986
- Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine · ruler · 953 – 992
- Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte · treaty · 911
- Battle of Soissons · battle · 923
and 1 more in the atlas.
Among all states
Each measure against the states that carry it, never against all of them: a bar is the share of those states below this one.
- How long it stood144 years
stood longer than 54% of 3,187 states with a recorded end or still standing.
- The most ground it held1,184,300 km²
held more ground at its peak than 86% of 1,465 states with a border in Cliopatria.
- Wars recorded per centurynone
had more wars on record per century than 44% of 3,187 states, counting the wars the atlas hosts under each.
- How long a reign lasted, at the median10 years
had longer reigns, at the median, than 35% of 967 states whose dated line can carry a median.
- Rulers on record12
has more rulers on record than 84% of 1,968 states with a line of rulers.
What led to it, and what came of it
The investigation's own picture: 3 causes the record names and 2 results, the strongest six of each at their own years, joined to the state by the kind of claim - a recorded statement solid, the article's sentence dashed, a theory dash-dot.
Open the investigation: every row with its evidence, the conditions at the time, the theories condition by condition, and the succession analysed.
Theories that apply to its ending
Of 3 theories of why states fall, 2 have every condition present at this ending; each is applied by its own logic, condition by condition, and whether its authors named this case is a footnote.
Dynastic cycle and the decay of group feeling
Ibn Khaldun 1377 · Turchin & Nefedov 2009
Applies by its own logic: the condition it names held here, and this is the kind of outcome it predicts — adverse regime change or the state's ending.
- the state 90 to 160 years old — ageBand 144
Challenge, failed response and dissolution
Toynbee 1934 · Toynbee & Somervell 1946
Applies by its own logic: 2 of its 2 conditions held here (it needs all of them), and this is the kind of outcome it predicts — the state's ending.
- territory shrank by 25% over the 100 y ending 25 y before — territory -38
- unrest, adverse regime change or atrocity within 100 y in the state, or a war the state is fighting, still under way, or a war the state fought, ended within 50 y, or battle within 50 y in the state — prior
Open in the atlas
- On the timeline, 829 – 1001, with everything that stood beside it.
- On the map in 886, live: scrub the year and watch its borders move.
- Investigate it: what led to it, what came of it, and its succession analysed.
Wikidata Q46370 (CC0) · borders Cliopatria, CC BY 4.0 · coast and rivers Natural Earth · data built 2026-10-06 · Pastlas v2.9.1, by Oleh Voronko. The published atlas and its data are for non-commercial use.