Migration Period

Migration Period

The Migration Period (around 300 to 600 AD), also called the Barbarian Invasions, was a time when many groups of people moved across Europe. This movement helped end the Western Roman Empire and led to new kingdoms being formed in its place. Tribes such as the Burgundians, Vandals, Goths, and Huns moved into areas that were once part of the Roman Empire.

These migrations happened for many reasons. One big event was when the Huns, a group from Asia, moved into Europe around 375 AD. This caused other groups, like the Goths, to move into Roman lands. Over time, more and more groups found new homes in Europe.

Some of these moving groups were quite large. For example, when the Goths crossed a river into the Roman Empire in 376, they were a very big group. Later, groups like the Vandals and the Lombards also moved into new lands. These movements changed the face of Europe forever, leading to the rise of new cultures and nations.

Chronology

See also: Pre-modern human migration

Germanic tribes prior to migration

Further information: Proto-Germanic language, Pre-Roman Iron Age (Northern Europe), and Marcomannic Wars

Germanic peoples moved from southern Scandinavia and northern Germany to nearby lands between the Elbe and Oder after 1000 BC. Some groups went west and south, pushing Celts to the Rhine. They entered southern Germany and even reached Roman areas like Gaul and Cisalpine Gaul. Later groups moved east and south from Scandinavia, settling along the Baltic Sea near the Vistula and Carpathian Mountains. Tribes such as the Tencteri, Cherusci, Hermunduri, and Chatti lived there. Over time, these groups merged into larger ones like the Alemanni, Franks, Saxons, Frisians, and Thuringians.

First wave

Further information: Roman Iron Age (Northern Europe)

See also: Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Burgundians, Alans, Lombards, Angles (tribe), Saxons, Jutes, Suebi, Alemanni, Gepids, Vandals, and Huns

The first big movements of people happened between AD 300 and 500. During this time, Germanic groups took control of most parts of the former Western Roman Empire.

The Tervingi moved into Roman lands in 376, fleeing attacks by the Huns. Later, the Visigoths marched into Italy and took over Rome in 410. They later set up the Visigothic Kingdom in Iberia around 460. After them came a group of warriors led by Odoacer, who removed the last Roman ruler in 476. Then the Ostrogoths, under Theodoric the Great, settled in Italy.

In Gaul, the Franks slowly moved into Roman lands during the 5th century. After a big win in 486, they became the rulers of northern Roman Gaul. By fighting off other groups, the Frankish kingdom grew into what would become France and Germany.

During the 5th century, groups known as the Anglo-Saxons began settling in Britain. The Burgundians also moved to areas in northwest Italy, Switzerland, and eastern France.

Second wave

See also: Early Slavs, Slavic migrations to the Balkans, Pannonian Avars, Magyars, and Bulgars

From AD 500 to 700, Slavic tribes moved into more parts of central Europe and pushed into southern and eastern Europe. This made the eastern part of Europe mostly Slavic-speaking. Also, Turkic tribes like the Avars and later Ugric-speaking Magyars took part in this movement. In AD 567, the Avars and the Lombards broke up the Gepid Kingdom. The Lombards settled in Italy together with allies from several other tribes in the 6th century. Later, the Bavarians and the Franks came and took control of most of Italy.

The Bulgars, who were originally nomads from Central Asia, lived north of the Caucasus from the 2nd century. Pushed by the Khazars, most of them moved west and took over areas along the lower Danube in the 7th century. This changed the population of the Balkans forever.

After the Alans left, three groups settled south of the Danube. By the mid-7th century, Serbs were moving into northern Albania. By the 9th century, Bulgars had settled in the central Haemus Peninsula and Epirus.

During fights between the Byzantines and Arabs, Arab armies tried to attack southeast Europe through Asia Minor but were stopped. At the same time, groups known as the Moors came into Europe through Gibraltar and took over Hispania from the Visigoths in 711. They were later stopped by the Franks.

The Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin began around AD 895. The Viking expansion starting in the late 8th century is generally seen as the final big movement of people in this period.

Christian missionaries from Rome and from Byzantium slowly brought the new groups into the Christian faith.

Discussions

Barbarian identity

Scholars have talked about how the idea of "barbarians" was created during the time known as the Barbarian Invasions. Some believe that tribes were seen as large, connected groups that shared roots, like speaking the same language. Others think these groups formed because of shared interests or politics, not just because they were from the same place.

Over time, ideas about what made a group special changed. Some say that tribes formed around small groups of leaders who brought others together, sharing stories and traditions. These small groups helped create bigger communities.

Viewpoints

The word “Völkerwanderung” comes from German history and means the early movements of Germanic tribes. Some say these movements were more like migrations, while others call them invasions. Historians have different ideas about why these tribes moved toward Rome. Some think it was because of changes in climate, food, or too many people. Others believe the fall of the Roman Empire made things weaker, and tribes moved in because of this.

In places like Gaul and Aquitaine, local leaders often worked with new groups, like the Ostrogoths, to keep things running. In other areas, like Hispania and England, there were conflicts as new groups tried to take control.

Ethnicity

Some historians used to think that certain kinds of objects found in graves could tell us about a person’s ethnicity. Now, many believe that changes in culture can happen because of trade or politics, not just because new people moved in. This means that how people lived and what they made could change for many reasons, not only because of new groups taking over.

Depiction in media

The Migration Period has been shown in some TV shows and video games. A TV series called Terry Jones' Barbarians aired on BBC 2 in 2006. There are also strategy video games like Rome: Total War: Barbarian Invasion and Total War: Attila made by The Creative Assembly. Another documentary miniseries named Barbarians was shown on The History Channel in 2004.