found: Britannica Online, 30 Oct. 2012:Austrasia page (Austrasia, the eastern Frankish kingdom in the Merovingian period (6th-8th century AD) of early medieval Europe, as distinct from Neustria, the western kingdom; covering present northeastern France, Belgium, and areas of western and central Germany, the kingdom included the old homeland of the Ripuarian (Rhineland) Franks; under the Carolingians, Austrasia and Neustria were incorporated into the greater Frankish empire and gradually disappeared as distinct entities)
