Tag: German invasions

Breaking of the Rhine barrier – End of the Roman Empire in the West, 476 A.D.

After the departure of the Visigoths Rome and Italy remained undisturbed for nearly forty years. The western provinces were not so fortunate. At the time of Alaric’s first attack on Italy the legions along the Rhine had been withdrawn to meet him, leaving the frontier unguarded. In 406 A.D., four years before Alaric’s sack of Rome, a vast company of Germans crossed the Rhine and swept almost unopposed through Gaul. Some of these peoples succeeded in establishing kingdoms for themselves on the ruins of the empire. Continue reading “Breaking of the Rhine barrier – End of the Roman Empire in the West, 476 A.D.” →

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Beginnings of the dismemberment of the Empire – The rise of usurpers and the invasion of barbarians

Alaric’s brother-in-law Athaulf (Adolphus) succeeded him (410), and the Visigoths remained in Italy for two years longer, spoiling the land. In 412 they came to an understanding with Honorius, and Athaulf engaged to suppress the tyrants who had risen up in Gaul. This leads us to record the events which had agitated the Gallic provinces during the preceding six years. Continue reading “Beginnings of the dismemberment of the Empire – The rise of usurpers and the invasion of barbarians” →

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The Germans to 476 A.D. – Battle of Adrianople – The Visigothic kingdom

Our earliest notice of the Germans is found in the “Commentaries” by Julius Caesar, who twice invaded their country. About a century and a half later the Roman historian, Tacitus, wrote a little book called “Germany”, which gives an account of the people as they were before coming under the influence of Rome and Christianity. Continue reading “The Germans to 476 A.D. – Battle of Adrianople – The Visigothic kingdom” →

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The post-Roman Europe

As one looks back over the German invasions it is natural to ask upon what terms the newcomers lived among the old inhabitants of the Empire, how far they adopted the customs of those among whom they settled, and how far they clung to their old habits? These questions cannot be answered very satisfactorily; so little is known of the confused period of which we have been speaking that it is impossible to follow closely the amalgamation of the two races. Continue reading “The post-Roman Europe” →

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The Franks

None of the German peoples of whom we have so far spoken, except the Franks, ever succeeded in establishing a permanent kingdom. Their states were overthrown in turn by some other German nation, by the Eastern Empire, or, in the case of the West-Gothic kingdom in Spain, by the Mohammedans. The Franks, to whom we must now turn, were destined not only to conquer most of the other German tribes but even to extend their boundaries into districts inhabited by the Slavs. Continue reading “The Franks” →

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The German invasions and the break-up of the Roman Empire – Extinction of Latin literature & Roman Culture in the West

While Theodoric had been establishing his kingdom in Italy with such enlightenment and moderation, what is now France was coming under the control of the most powerful of the barbarian peoples, the Franks, who were to play a more important rôle in the formation of modern Europe than any of the other German races. Continue reading “The German invasions and the break-up of the Roman Empire – Extinction of Latin literature & Roman Culture in the West” →

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