Four years afterwards the brothers of Theuderich conquered the kingdom of Burgundy, and annexed it to their territory. About the same time, the Franks living eastward of the Rhine entered into a union with their more powerful brethren. Since both the Alemanni and the Bavarians were already tributary to the latter, the dominion of the united Franks now extended from the Atlantic nearly to the river Elbe, and from the mouth of the Rhine to the Mediterranean, with Friesland and the kingdom of the Saxons between it and the North Sea. To all lying east of the Rhine, the name of Austria (East-kingdom) or Austrasia was given, while Neustria (New-kingdom) was applied to all west of the Rhine. These designations were used in the historical chronicles for some centuries afterwards. While Theuderich lived, his brothers observed a tolerably peaceful conduct towards one another, but his death was followed by a season of war and murder. History gives us no record of another dynasty so steeped in crime as that of the Merovingians: within the compass of a few years we find a father murdering his son, a brother his brother and a wife her husband. We can only account for the fact that the whole land was not constantly convulsed by civil war, by supposing that the people retained enough of power in their national assemblies, to refuse taking part in the fratricidal quarrels. It is not necessary, therefore, to recount all the details of the bloody family history. Their effect upon the people must have been in the highest degree demoralizing, yet the latter possessed enough of prudence--or perhaps of a clannish spirit, in the midst of a much larger Roman and Gallic population--to hold the Frank kingdom together, while its rulers were doing their best to split it to pieces. The result of all the quarrelling and murdering was, that in 558 Clotar, the youngest son of Chlodwig, became the sole monarch. After forty-seven years of divided rule, the kingly power was again in a single hand, and there seemed to be a chance for peace and progress. But Clotar died within three years, and, like his father, left four sons to divide his power. The first thing they did was to fight; then, being perhaps rather equally matched, they agreed to portion the kingdom. Charibert reigned in Paris, Guntram in Orleans, Chilperic in Soissons, and Sigbert in Metz. The boundaries between their territories are uncertain; we only know that all of "Austria," or Germany east of the Rhine, fell to Sigbert's share. [Sidenote: 565.]