Barbarians, Romans, and Migration, c. 370–506

Barbarians, Romans, and Migration, c. 370–506

The Barbarian Invasions

  • The term “Barbarian” was used by Romans to denote non-Romans. It was often used to refer to Germanic tribes.
  • Barbarian invasions significantly contributed to the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD.
  • Key tribes involved in these invasions include the Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Angles, Saxons, and Franks among others.

The Visigoths

  • Under Alaric, the Visigoths sacked Rome in 410, marking a significant step towards the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
  • The Visigoths established a kingdom in Aquitaine (south-west Gaul/France) and later in Iberia (Spain), which lasted until the Moorish conquest in 711.

The Ostrogoths and Theodoric the Great

  • After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Ostrogoths, under Theodoric the Great, established a kingdom in Italy.
  • Theodoric aimed to maintain Roman traditions and gave freedom of religion to his subjects. His reign is often seen as the last phase of Antiquity.

The Vandals

  • The Vandals established a powerful kingdom in North Africa, which included parts of modern-day Tunisia and Algeria.
  • In 455, the Vandals sacked Rome and left a significant impact on the city; the term vandalism is derived from their infamy.

Migration Period

  • The Migration Period (also known as the Barbarian Invasions or Völkerwanderung) was a period of intensified human migration in Europe from AD 400 to 800.
  • This period was characterized by the migration of various Germanic, Slavic, and other tribes and led to significant cultural and political changes in Europe.

End of Roman Rule in Britain

  • Roman rule in Britain effectively ended in 410 when the emperor Honorius told British cities to look to their own defences against invaders.
  • The power vacuum left by the Romans’ withdrawal led to invasions from various groups including the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, marking the start of the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain.

Frankish kingdoms

  • The Franks, a confederation of Germanic tribes, formed one of the most enduring barbarian kingdoms which turned into the state of France.
  • Under Clovis, the Franks became the first barbarian kingdom to convert to Christianity in its Catholic form, aligning himself with the remaining Roman infrastructure in Gaul and gaining support from the Catholic Gallo-Roman aristocracy.

Effects of Barbarian Invasions

  • The Barbarian invasions led to the breakdown of the Western Roman Empire, ushering in the Middle Ages.
  • The Germanic tribes that invaded the empire preserved and transformed many aspects of Roman culture, laying the foundations for the national identities that emerged in the Middle Ages.
  • The conversion of the Franks to Christianity played a significant role in the development of Western Christendom.