Gepids

The Gepids (Latin: Gepidae, Gipedae; Ancient Greek: Γήπαιδες, romanized: Gḗpaides) were an East Germanic tribe who lived in the area of modern Romania, Hungary, and Serbia. They lived near the Tisza, Sava, and Carpathian Mountains. They shared the religion and language of the Goths and Vandals.

Roman sources first wrote about them in the third century. In the fourth century, they joined the Hunnic Empire. After the death of Attila, the Gepids, led by their leader Ardaric, helped defeat Attila’s sons at the Battle of Nedao in 454. After this, the Gepids and their allies created kingdoms near the Middle Danube, close to the Roman Empire.

Later, in 567, the Gepids were defeated by the Lombards and Avars. Constantinople did not help them. Some Gepids went with the Lombards to Italy, some moved into Roman lands, and others stayed in their old homes.

Name

See also: Name of the Goths

The Gepids were called different things in old books, like Gepidae or Gipidae. Some people thought their name might mean "slow." Others thought it meant they fought on foot, not on horses. Historians wonder if an old map showing a group called "Piti" near Porolissum might be the Gepids.

Language

We do not know much about the original language of the Gepids. During the time the Romans wrote about them, the Gepids shared a culture similar to the Goths. It is likely that the Gepids spoke a language very similar to the Goths, but perhaps with some differences. The Byzantine writer Procopius, who lived in the 6th century, described the Gepids as part of the "Gothic peoples." He said they shared the same language, had light skin, blond hair, and practiced a form of Christianity called Arian. After the 7th century, the Gepids' language was no longer recorded, and it probably disappeared around that time. The Gepids had difficult political relationships with other related groups, the Goths and Vandals.

History

The Gepids were an East Germanic tribe who lived in areas of modern-day Romania, Hungary, and Serbia, between the Tisza, Sava, and Carpathian Mountains. They shared religion and language with the Goths and Vandals. Roman sources first mentioned them in the third century.

Stories about the Gepids' beginnings come from old Gothic tales written down by Jordanes after 550. These tales say the Gepids and Goths started from the northern island of "Scandza" (linked to Sweden today). They left in three boats led by Berig, with the Gepids in the slowest boat, earning their name "Gepids" meaning "slow." They settled near the Baltic Sea at the mouth of the Vistula River.

For a long time, the Gepids were not well known. They first appear in history in the late third century, already living near where they stayed for the rest of their known history. They were part of groups that fought against the Roman Empire and later joined forces with the Huns. After the Huns fell, the Gepids became powerful, ruling a kingdom in the Carpathian Basin. Their kingdom grew strong but was later defeated by the Lombards and Avars. Some Gepids moved to Italy, while others stayed behind.

Archaeological sites

Many places show evidence of the Gepids, an ancient group of people. Scientists first studied one of these places at Band in 1906 and 1907. It can be hard to know exactly which group of people used these old items.

Burial places show that important people with valuable items were first found in northwestern Transylvania in the fifth century, and later in the sixth century in areas of the Hungarian Plain. These important Gepids had special items like brooches, amber beads, and belt buckles, especially in the graves of women. This shows they had connections with places like Scandinavia, Thuringia, Crimea, and the Baltic coast.

In Vlaha, Cluj County, Romania, scientists found a large group of graves from the sixth century AD in 2004. Most of these graves had been opened long ago, but some items like pottery, bronze objects, and weapons were still there. Another rich group of graves was found in Miercurea Sibiului, Romania.

Other important grave sites in Romania include:

• Morești, Mureș County
• Noșlac, Alba County
• Brateiu, Sibiu County
• Șeica Mică, Sibiu County
• Timișoara Freidorf site
• Apahida necropolis
• Turda: here is the richest Germanic tomb found in Romania, called the “Franziska” tomb, from a Roman site dated to the fifth century AD.

Gepid treasures were also found at Someșeni and Șimleu Silvaniei.

Genetic research

Further information: Goths § Genetics, Lombards § Genetics, Baiuvarii § Genetics, Visigoths § Genetics, and Alemanni § Genetics

In 2022, scientists studied DNA from old Gepidian people found in three places in Transylvania, Romania. They found that most of these people came from families in Northwestern Europe. They were also very similar to people from the Wielbark Culture and to early Anglo-Saxon and Lombard people. Only one out of forty-six people had DNA from Asia, showing that very few people from places like the Huns mixed with the Gepids.

Another study in December 2023 looked at the DNA of four people from a place in Serbia that was thought to be a Gepid burial site. Two of these people seemed to come from the Balkans, while the other two had mixed DNA from Europe and people from Sarmatian and Scythian backgrounds. This mixing likely happened before these groups moved into the Roman Empire. The DNA tests showed different family lines that these people belonged to.