The Goths Are Believed to Have Originated on the Island of Gotland, Off the Eastern Coast

The Goths

The Goths are believed to have originated on the Island of Gotland, off the eastern coast of Sweden in the Baltic Sea. They began to migrate southwards, across the Baltic Sea and up the Vistula river in modern day Poland and East Germany. They eventually settled the region to the North and West of the Black Sea. Here they split into two distinct groups, the Visigoths (or western Goths) and the Ostrogoths (or eastern Goths).

Due to the westward push of the Huns, the Visigoths crossed the Danube River and sought refuge in the frontier of the Eastern Roman Empire. The Romans however, began to take advantage of the Goths, in some cases trading them dog meat in exchange for enslaving their children. The Goths eventually rebelled against the Eastern Roman Empire and won a crushing victory at the battle of Adrianople in 378, killing the Emperor Valens as he fled the field of battle.

In 410, led by their king Alaric, the Visigoths besieged the city of Rome for two years before sacking it. The Romans resettled the Goths in Aquitaine (what is now southern France) to get them out of the Italian peninsula. The Visigoths then pushed southwards into the Iberian peninsula (Modern day Spain) defeating the Alans and displacing the Vandals who moved into Northern Africa. They would remain in the Iberian peninsula until 711 when they were defeated by the Umayyads, an Islamic force from North Africa.

In 488, the Ostrogoths broke away from their Hun overlords and invaded the Western Roman Empire. Within 15 years they controlled the entire Italian peninsula. They would rule their kingdom for 50 years before being defeated by the Eastern Roman Empire, who would then shortly be defeated by yet another Barbarian tribe, the Lombards (or Long Beards).

The Franks

The Franks are first mentioned as being one of the Germanic tribes along the Rhine River frontier in the late third and early fourth centuries. They eventually migrated north and west, to occupy the lands that today comprise Belgium and the Netherlands. Here, a particular sub-group of Franks, known as the Salians (or Salic Franks) became one of the foederati tribes tasked by the Romans with defending the borders against other Germanic Tribes.

In 486, one of the Frankish chieftains, Clovis, turned against the Romans and began to attack settlements in Northeastern Gaul. He also began a campaign to consolidate power amongst the Franks, defeating and absorbing competing bands of Franks. By 509 AD, Clovis had conquered nearly all of Gaul (Modern day France) and pushed the Visigoths into the Iberian Peninsula (Modern day Spain). Clovis would be the first medieval European “King” and his descendants would be known as the Merovingians.

Clovis’ kingdom was divided amongst his four sons, who began infighting and feuding that would last several generations. During this period, the true power in the Frankish kingdom shifted from the Kings to the Mayors of the palace. One such Mayor, Charles Martel, rose up to defeat the Moors (Islamic invaders from Spain) at the battle of Tours in 732. This would halt the Islamic armies spread into Western Europe and mark the beginning of the Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula.

Charles Martel’s son, Pepin the short, finally usurped the Frankish throne from the Merovingian kings with the support of the Pope. This would mark the beginning of the Carolingian line of Frankish kings. When Pepin died he divided his kingdom between his two sons, Carloman and Carolus (Charlemagne). Charlemagne quickly convinced Carloman to forfeit his crown and he became the sole king of the Franks. He expanded his territory East into Germany, South into Spain and Italy, eventually being crowned the Emperor of the Romans on Christmas day, 800 AD.