This article will talk about the Goths, but not about the representatives of the youth subculture that is widespread in our time, shocking with their appearance respectable citizens, but about those barbarians of antiquity, whose tribes, having passed from north to south through all of Europe, founded one of the most powerful states of the Middle Ages - The Kingdom of Toledo. Goths (tribe) disappeared in the darkness of centuries as tracelessly and mysteriously as they appeared, leaving historians with wide scope for research and discussion.
Europe of the first centuries AD
On the historical stage, this people appeared at a time when Europe was going through a kind of transition period. The former ancient civilization is a thing of the past, and new states and nations were only in the formative stage. Through its vast expanses, huge masses of peoples continuously roamed, driven by constantly changing living conditions.
What was the main reason for such an active migration. According to scientists, two factors contributed to this. The first of these is the periodically arising overpopulation in previously inhabited and developed areas. And besides, stronger and more aggressive neighbors, occasionally appearing, were forced to leave their homes, from which they had to hurry away, attacking those who met along the way, and could not give a proper rebuff.
Militant Scandinavians in Europe
About how in the I-II century of our era, among the other inhabitants of Europe, the Goths appeared - Germanic tribes, in their religion and culture in many respects different from its inhabitants, is narrated by a chronicler of the VI century, whose name is Jordan. He says that these harsh bearded people, wrapped in animal skins and ready to use their swords at any time, came from the mysterious island of Skansa, whose descriptions allow us to easily recognize the Scandinavian Peninsula in it .
So, according to him, the Goths are tribes of Scandinavian origin, moving along the territory of Europe in a southerly direction. In 258, they reach the Crimea, and some of them settle in it, changing the nomadic way of life to a settled one. According to some reports, about fifty thousand families settled in the eastern part of the peninsula. A number of researchers note that until the end of the 18th century the Gothic language continued to sound in those areas, which had completely disappeared by then in other parts of the world.
However, this was only an isolated case, and among other European nomads, the Goths (tribe) still occupied one of the leading places. The history of the people of that period is filled with ongoing clashes with residents of the territories along which their path lay. The aforementioned chronicler Jordan assures that as a result of this they literally did not have to spend the night twice in one place. From generation to generation, they were born, grew and died on the road.
Barbarians on the borders of the Roman Empire
Traveling in this way, at the beginning of the 4th century, they approached the borders of the Great Roman Empire. Oddly enough, the world's best army at that time was sometimes powerless against the unexpected attacks of these savages wrapped in skins, crushing a clear system of legions, fighting against all existing rules, and then disappearing without a trace into the depths of the forest thickets.
Inspired fear and their multiplicity. On the border of the state, not scattered detachments appeared, but thousands of people with carts, women, children and cattle. If during the summer period two natural barriers - the Danube and the Rhine rivers interfered with their advancement, then in winter, when they were covered with ice, the way for the barbarians was open.
By this time, the empire, torn by a brutal crisis, caused by corruption and the corruption of its ruling elite, was still resisting the Goths, but on the whole they were no longer able to restrain their progress. In 268, crossing the ice of the Danube, the Goths - Germanic tribes, replenished by some other small peoples who joined them, robbed the border province of Pannonia. This territory, which includes part of modern Hungary and Serbia, became the first ready trophy in the Roman Empire.
At the same time, the second separation of families occurred, breaking with eternal wandering and giving preference to settled. They settled in the provinces of Moesia and Dacia, now included in the borders of Bulgaria and Romania. On the whole, the Goths, a tribe whose history had by then more than two centuries, had become so strong that soon the Roman emperor Valens considered it good to conclude a non-aggression diplomatic agreement with him.
Huns - the scourge of God
In the second half of the 4th century, Europe suffered a terrible misfortune - countless hordes of Huns led by the famous Attila invaded from the east. Even by the standards of that cruel and far from humanism time, they struck everyone with their unbridled ferocity and cruelty. The threat associated with their invasion equally affected the Romans and the Goths. No wonder they were called only "the scourge of God."
Simultaneously with the invasion of the Huns, the Goths, the ancient tribes that formerly formed a single people, were divided into two independent branches, which went down in history as Visigoths (Western) and Ostrogoths (Eastern). The latter were completely defeated in the year 375 by the Huns, and their king Ermanarich committed suicide from grief and shame. Those who survived were forced to fight on the side of their former enemies. On this, the history of the East German tribe was almost completed.
Union with the Romans
Having witnessed the death of their fellow tribesmen, and fearing to share their fate, the Visigoths turned to the Romans for help, which greatly pleased them. They were given the opportunity to freely settle in the border regions of the empire, provided that they would defend its borders. For this, under the terms of the contract, the authorities promised to supply them with products and everything necessary.
However, in reality everything was completely different. Extremely corrupt Latin bureaucracy took the opportunity to commit massive and brazen thefts. Appropriating the money allocated for the maintenance of Gothic outposts, they kept their defenders and their families starving, depriving the most necessary. The Goths are a tribe accustomed to all kinds of deprivations during their wanderings, but, in this case, there was a humiliation of their dignity, and they could not accept this.
Riot and capture of Rome
Officials did not take into account that by this time yesterday’s barbarians, in close contact with the Latins, managed to learn many concepts of high civilization. Therefore, treating yourself as savages with whom you can rafting a dog with impunity in the guise of pork with impunity was considered an insult. In addition, the Goths are ancient tribes, from time immemorial accustomed to solve all disputes with a sword. As a result, there was a riot. To suppress it, the government sent regular troops, which in August 378 were utterly defeated in the battle of Adrianople.
Without stopping at this, the Visigoths approached Rome, and after a long siege that put the townspeople on the brink of death from starvation and disease, took possession of it. An interesting detail: after having subjected the city to total looting, they nevertheless did not finally set it on fire, as was customary in those centuries, and did not inflict the slightest damage to its temples. The fact is that the Goths (tribe) are atypical barbarians. By this time, they had become Christians and, according to their leader Alarich, venerated the pope and those who became the successors of the apostles.
Result of drastic measures
Capturing Rome, the Goths did not claim to receive political power. They only sought to achieve justice, to receive unpaid bureaucrats and, if possible, to exclude the repetition of lawlessness in the future. Such decisive measures taken by them in the fight against corruption have taken due effect.
In compensation for the past, the authorities placed at their disposal new, much better lands, which included Gaul. In addition, the Roman emperor Honorius married his Gothic King Atualf, his own sister, Gallus Placidia, thus sealing the political union with family ties.
Appearance is ready in Spain
However, this was only the beginning of those events in which the Goths (tribe) were to play a leading role. The history of the great people was only beginning to really reveal itself, and reached its climax after he first, timidly, and then with his inherent decisiveness, subjugated the remote Roman province called Spain.
In those years, it was the outskirts of the empire forgotten by everyone. Its population spoke one of the dialects, the so-called vulgar Latin - the language of the Romanized common people, which absorbed local lexical features. The province was governed by officials sent from Rome, but in the event of a military danger, residents could only rely on their own strength - the state, which was on the verge of collapse, was not up to its subjects.
But at the beginning of the 5th century, when wild hordes of vandals, Alans and Suevs simultaneously fell upon the inhabitants of Spain, the emperor Honorius, who really did not want to lose this region, regularly paying taxes, suggested that the Visigoths bring order to it.
At that time, a fairly strong military alliance was formed between the Romans and yesterday's barbarians, which, by joint forces in June 451, completely destroyed the Huns in the battle on the Catalan fields. As a result of this, Atilla and his hitherto invincible army left the stage of world history forever, untying the emperor’s hands to solve other pressing problems.
New masters of Spain
Thus, the appearance of the Visigoths in Spain was the result of the fulfillment of their allied duty, but, being there, they began to organize their affairs with enviable energy and determination. The ill-fated Honorius really understood who the Goths (tribe) were only a year before the final collapse of the Roman Empire, when they, by treachery and cunning, forced him to sign a document granting them full independence and removing Spain from its submission.
Following this, the new masters of Spain, who created on the basis of the previous, weak and politically dependent province, the powerful and self-sufficient Toledo state (under this name it went down in history) made a series of territorial conquests.
In a short time they subjugated the lands on both sides of the Pyrenees, Provence, as well as the vast Tarracon province, stretching from Barcelona to Cartagena. As a result of this, the Goths (tribe) - barbarians in their origin, managed to create the most powerful state of Western Europe at that time.
The struggle for power and the bloodshed caused by it
However, with regard to administrative management, Spain, which was under the Visigoth rule, had a serious flaw. It was not one capital, but immediately three fortified centers that claimed this role - Seville, Merida and Tarragona. A major tycoon sat in each of these cities, believing that it was he, and no one else, who had the right to sole domination.
Of course, their disputes were resolved through internecine wars and bloodshed. Looking ahead, we can say that the struggle for power in the future became the cause of the death of this state. However, in world history this is a fairly typical case.
Legislation issues
Having existed for three centuries, the Kingdom of Toledo has constantly been the scene of political conspiracies to physically eliminate the monarchs. One reason for this was the lack of a succession law. After the death of the next king, the nobility could put forward any of his proteges in his place, ignoring the direct heirs of the deceased. It is clear that this situation provoked constant unrest.
This legal gap was filled by the next Visigothic monarch Leovigild. He received the throne bloodlessly by marrying the widow of the former king. Having become the ruler of the country, this wise politician began by issuing a law according to which, after the death of the monarch, power passes to his eldest son and no one else.
For a while this brought reassurance to the ranks of the court intriguers. In addition, Leovigild became famous as an outstanding commander, subtle diplomat and effective administrator. Two decades of his reign became the “golden age” in the history of the state, when the Goths (tribe) - the people, formerly standing on the same level with other half-wild nomads, declared himself as the legislator of European politics.
In the bosom of the Catholic Church
After the death of Leovigild, an important event occurred in the religious life of the kingdom - the monarch and all his subjects, formerly followers of Arianism (one of the Christian movements recognized as heresy), swore allegiance to the Pope and converted to Catholicism. This largely served to strengthen the vertical of power and create a clear hierarchy in both spiritual and secular life.
Paradoxical as it may seem, it was the Goths (tribe) who brought the concept of Spain into a consciousness of the inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula as an integral and indivisible homeland. Strengthening of national unity was facilitated by the appearance of its own code of laws, which was formed over the next two centuries. It was he who became the legal basis for all Christians of Spain until the 15th century.
The collapse of the Visigoth state
But, the Toledo kingdom - a powerful state that grew out of a seedy Roman province, fate was allowed to exist only three centuries. Formed in a long and difficult way, it collapsed in an instant. This happened in the VIII century, when a flood of Arab conquerors poured uncontrollably on it. Toledites could not repulse them, and historians see several reasons for this.
One of them is called the refusal to fight the invaders of that part of the population, which for various reasons was unhappy with the existing government. In addition, just at that time, a plague epidemic swept the country, and many defenders fell victim to it. But according to most researchers, the main reason was the extremely aggravated struggle for the throne between the most influential clans by the beginning of the VIII century. Despite the succession law that had existed for many years, in the last six years preceding the capture of Spain by the Arabs, six monarchs were replaced on her throne. This fact speaks for itself.
There is evidence that after the death of the last king of Vitica, the throne, legally owned by his son Agil, the courtiers, having drawn up another conspiracy, handed over to his protege Rodrigo. The heir, insulted and unwilling to put up with defeat, entered into a secret treaty with the Arabs, according to which, for helping him, he would transfer a significant part of the country's territory to his possession. This dirty betrayal helped the Arabs to easily capture Spain, where they had been the boss after that for almost six hundred years.
Concluding the conversation about who the Goths (tribe) are in the history of Europe of the first millennium AD, it should be noted that this name is often used in relation to other ethnic groups that have nothing to do with them. Sometimes this happens according to the names. For example, the Goths are often confused with the Huns, which were discussed in this article, and which were their sworn enemies. Sometimes, absolutely fantastic fabrications appear in which, for example, Slavic tribes are ready.
On the whole, the history of this people, whose very name is fraught with something epic and heroic, remains largely mysterious and completely unexplored. From the pages of ancient chronicles names spell as a spell - Tulga, Wamba, Atanagild. But in this understatement lurks that attractive force that beckons us again and again to peer into the mysterious depth of centuries.