Goths

The Goths were a Germanic people who significantly shaped the history of Europe.

They played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Their migrations helped lead to the emergence of medieval Europe. In modern scholarship, they are classified as an East Germanic group. This group also includes other peoples like the Vandals and the Burgundians. While they spoke a Germanic language, Roman authors often called them by other names. Some writers referred to them as Scythians instead of Germani.

Historians use several methods to understand where the Goths came from. A primary source is the *Getica*, written by a historian named Jordanes around AD 550.

Jordanes was of Gothic descent and used Gothic oral traditions. He claimed the Goths originated in a place called Scandza, which is Scandinavia. According to this account, they migrated to the Vistula delta many centuries earlier. Archaeologists look for physical evidence to test these stories. They find the Wielbark culture in Poland, which is linked to early Goths. They also find the Chernyakhov culture near the Black Sea.

This culture flourished during the 3rd and 4th centuries AD.

By the 3rd century AD, the Goths lived north of the Danube River.

This region includes parts of modern Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania. During this time, they conducted raids into Roman territory. Many Goths also chose to join the Roman military. In the late 4th century, a major change occurred in the east. A westward movement of the Alans and the Huns overwhelmed Gothic lands.

This pressure forced large numbers of Goths toward the Roman border. They sought refuge within the Roman Empire near the Lower Danube.

This movement into Roman lands led to intense conflict. In 378 AD, Gothic-led forces won a devastating victory at the Battle of Adrianople. Although Roman forces regained some control, many Goths and other eastern peoples settled near the empire. This period saw the rise of distinct Gothic groups. One group was the Visigoths, who were led by King Alaric I.

In 410 AD, Alaric led his forces to sack the city of Rome. This event was a major moment in the history of the empire.

The Visigoths eventually moved to establish a kingdom in Spain. Their capital was located at Toledo.

Meanwhile, other Goths gained independence from Hunnic rule during the 5th century. The most notable of these were the Ostrogoths. Under their king, Theodoric the Great, they built the Ostrogothic Kingdom.

This kingdom was centered in Italy at Ravenna. Theodoric's rule represented a major period of Gothic power in the Mediterranean.

These kingdoms eventually faced destruction from other powers. The Byzantines, or the Eastern Roman Empire, destroyed the Ostrogothic Kingdom in the 6th century.

The Visigothic Kingdom in Spain lasted longer, but it was largely conquered by the Umayyad Caliphate in the early 8th century. A small remnant of the Visigoths survived in Asturias. Under a leader named Pelagius, this group would later initiate the Reconquista. In a different region, the Crimean Goths lived in Crimea. They maintained a distinct culture for more than a thousand years.

The legacy of the Goths lives on through their name. Even though the ancient Goths did not create these things, we use their name today. Gothic architecture and Gothic literature both derive their names from them. The modern-day Goth subculture also uses the term. While the Goths eventually ceased to exist as a distinct people, their impact on the map of Europe remains clear. Their migrations helped define the boundaries and cultures of the medieval world.