Clovis I was a military and political leader who was the King of the Salian Franks from 481 to 509, and the King of the Franks from 509, until his death in November 511. As the first King of the Franks, he brought all the Frankish tribes together under his rule, revolutionized the government by discarding the leadership of a group of royal chieftains and adopting the rule of a single king, and made sure that he would be succeeded by his heirs as kings of the Frankish people. He is widely regarded as the founder of the Merovingian dynasty, which reigned over the Frankish kingdom for the ensuing two hundred years. As a result, in the historiography of France, he is considered to be "the first king of what would become France". He is also important because of his adoption of the Catholic faith. He was prompted to do so by his wife, Clotilde, who would later become a saint for this deed. The conversion of their king eventually resulted in the widespread adoption of Catholicism by the Frankish people and the religious unification across what has since become modern-day France, Belgium and Germany.