Tuesday, June 2, 2020

German Goths History and Their Contribution To The Downfall of Western Rome - Free Essay Example

There are many reasons historians say caused the downfall of the Roman Empire, but I believe the main cause of the downfall in the Western Empire was the brutal attacks of the Barbarians. Now, although many groups attacked the Roman Empire, the German Goths were the most successful at doing so. They went through the cities of Rome and other countries burning them to the ground. They were known negatively as brutal uncivilized beings. The word Goth used in modern times comes from the Gothic tide and the word is now applied to describe something dark and gloomy. Which is what they brought to the Roman Empire. They were a very large tribe that started off small and grew to become massive. The Goths were a German tribe and they are believed to have originated from Scandinavia. Historians such as Peter Heather have identified them with Gdansk in modern Poland. This is supported by archaeological evidence although many historians dont accept this theory. Michael Kulikowski suggest that because Jordanes is the only source of early Gothic history the theory of Goths originating from Scandinavia or Poland must be rejected. (www.ancient.eu/Goths/) The Goths were described as fierce fighters and they were destructible people. Their religion before Christianity was noted to be Nordic Paganism which focused in on the close presence of the spirits of the land, ancestors and the Norse gods. The Old Norse were known as Gutar or Gotars and in latin this means Gothi. (Goths. Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Dec. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goths. Mark, Joshua J. The Goths. Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 18) They went to great lengths to prevent Chri stian missionaries from doing their work among their tribe. They spoke the Gothic language which was the extinct East Germanic language and was carried for a long while. The Gothic language and culture disappeared in a large amount in the Middle Ages and only continued on in small groups in European states. The Goths had invaded, dominated and took control over a vast majority of territory. Their kingdom extended from the Black sea to the Baltic sea. They fought many Gothic Wars and emerged as a power in Medieval Europe. (Goths. Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Dec. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goths.Mark, Joshua J. The Goths. Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 18). By 275 the Goths launched their last major attack on Asia Minor. They were defeated around a year later. Around 100,000 Goths were killed and the son of Agaricus the son of the king was captured in battle. (Goths. Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Dec. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goths.Mark, Joshua J. The Goths. Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 18). The Goths had split into two distinct tribes separated by the Dniester River. They branched into the Visigoth and the Ostrogoths who joined with the tribe the Huns. (Goths. Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Dec. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goths.Mark, Joshua J. The Goths. Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 18). They continued to stay divided and settled in different regions. The Visigoths settled in the West and the Ostrogoths settled in the East. The Visigoths never became completely Romanized they adapted new cultures and didnt keep much of their old cultures. They kept their military customs and family traditions. In modern Spain the visigoths are believed to be the origin of their cultures nobility. The Ostrogoths attacked the Huns and invaded now Italy expanding in Italy. But after Totila their leader was killed in battle the Ostrogoths resistance in Italy ended and the remaining people of this tribe were assimilated. (Goths. Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Dec. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goths.Mark, Joshua J. The Goths. Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 18). The Goths were known for their barbaric invasions and for invading Ancient Rome. The first Gothic invasion of Rome wa in 238 CE (www.ancient.eu/Goths/) when they attacked the city of Histia (now Hungary). There is no known reason for their attack on the city but it is believed to be because the weakness of the empire made provincial cities such as Histia a great target. But not only did the Goths tribe invade the cities, this vulnerability and weakness was taken advantage of by many other tribes like the Visigoths, Vandals, Angles, Saxons, Franks, Ostrogoths and Lombards. They took turns attacking the empire. (www.ushistory.org/civ/6f.asp) Regardless of their motivation for invading the Roman territories they will continue to invade and attack for the next few decades. They raided coastal regions as well. The Gothic Tribe was known as inhuman dangerous people. The goths resided along the Roman borders and were not friends or enemies with each other. Many Goths served as Roman soldiers and eventually took on the Roman life and they began to trade with each other. Around 375 CE the new group the Huns started to pop up in the North pushing the Goths further into Rome and the tension between the Goths and and Romans exploded in the fifth century. The Goths would rather be allied with or against the Huns. As the Goths were beginning to be pushed further into the Roman territory the Goths tribe leader Alaric ransacked the city in 410 (www.history.com/news/who-were-the-goths-and-vandals) . The Eastern Goths known as the Ostrogoths started to establish dominance by the end of the fifth century but eventually fell to the Byzantine empire after a few decades. And the Gothic leader who ransacked the city Alaric his descendants were known as the Visigoths which were the Western Goths settled in Gaul and Liberia and the last kingdom was in Spain. (www.ushistory.org/civ/6f.asp) There were many different barbaric tribes that contributed to the downfall of Rome but the Gothic Tribe from Germany contributed greatly. They ransacked and burned down towns. They were known to be inhuman, dangerous and uncivilized beings. Although their reasoning for attacking Rome for the first time is still unknown til this day they continued to attack Rome but they also were civil with the Romans for a time being joining them in war as their soldiers.