Barbarians at the Gates
- Barbarian was a term used to denote people not born of Greek and Latin descent
Surrounded. Besieged. Invaded. Dismantled. The Western Roman Empire finds itself in financial ruin, conflict from an outside enemy, and with the rise of Christianity, Rome as we knew it faced oblivion. The Thervingi was the first Gothic tribe to invade the Roman Empire led by Fritigern. In 378 CE, Fritigern led the Thervingi, the Greuthungi, and the Alans in the Battle of Adrianople. The battle ended in victory for the Gothic rebellion and the death of the then roman emperor, Valens. This event marks the beginning of the fall of the roman empire.
With the death of Theodosius in 395 CE, Visigoth King Alaric considered the peace treaty with the empire ended. Alaric marched upon the empire and Roman General Flavius Stilicho came to a truce with the Visigoths by naming Alaric a military commander. However tensions between Alaric and the empire grew to a point that Alaric would decide to march on and in three sieges, sack Rome. The Sack of Rome (410 CE) was the point in time where Rome was shown to be vulnerable.
- Visigoth meant Western Goths and Ostrogoth meant Eastern Goths
King Godigisel and the Vandals have been pushed westward 406 CE due to Hunnic raids and after Godigisel passed King Gunderic led them across The Rhine River to conquer roman-ruled North Africa. In 455 CE, King Gaiseric (Genseric) would lead the Vandal invasion and second sack of Rome across the Mediterranean Sea after seizing control of Carthage.
The Huns would be united under Atilla in the year 451 CE. He would receive a message from the Roman Emperor’s sister, Honoria, who wanted him to save her from an arranged marriage. Atilla accepted her offer and decided that half of the Western Roman Empire would be his dowry. However, Attila’s invasion into Gaul would be stopped by Roman forces in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451 CE. Atilla would die within the same year.
In 350 CE, The Franks were a barbarian people that the Romans let stay in their borders under oath to fight for the empire. (They resided in what is now Northern Belgium / Southern Netherlands). A 15 year old Clovis would become the leader of his Frankish tribe in 451 CE. He would then consolidate and assimilate all other Frankish tribes under his rule in 5 years. With this army, he would revolt against the roman empire by pushing further into Gaul and forcing the Visigoths to relocate. In 507 CE, Clovis would take what is now modern day France. King Clovis is regarded as the first King of France.
Here is some info in video form.
Sources
- Heather, Peter. The Fall of the Roman Empire : A New History of Rome and the Barbarians, Oxford University Press USA – OSO, 2005. ProQuest Ebook Central
- Rome Part Two: Late Republic To The Fall Of The Roman Empire. Dir. Phil Sheppard. Phil Sheppard Video Production, 2010. Kanopy. Web. 25 Sep. 2019.
- https://www.britannica.com/place/ancient-Rome
- Migration Art, A.D. 300-800, Parts 300-800 By Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.), Katharine Reynolds Brown