Germanic Tribes In Ancient Rome

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The Germanic tribes to the north and east of the Roman domain, principally the Goths and Visigoths, but also including others like the Ostrogoths and the Vandals. While these groups did massively enter into Roman territory in the 4th century, it could hardly be called an “invasion,” let alone a hostile one. If anything, these Germanic tribes were pushed into Roman territory by the Huns, another tribe originating in the Ural Mountains area dividing Europe and Asia. Already pushing west during the late 3rd and early 4th centuries, they intensified their push after Constantine died in 337, and yet again in 370. In the wake of these Hun westward drives, especially in the latter date, the Germanic tribes retreated west, and many entered the …show more content…
But once inside Roman borders, they were grossly abused: they were, for example, given land they couldn’t farm, their women were frequently raped, and they were also often forced to sell their children into slavery in return for food. Sooner rather than later they were bound to strike back! In other instances, Goths and Visigoths in Rome were provoked into acts of hostility by Roman officials who abrogated agreements and broke promises. “sacking” of Rome of 410, when Visigoths under King Alaric marched into the great city and allegedly “ sacked and plundered” it In 410 C.E., the Visigoths, led by Alaric, breached the walls of Rome and sacked the capital of the Roman Empire. , who for the most part followed the lead of the famous Church father Augustine of Hippo who around 420 wrote The City of God, one long lamentation about this “sacking’ in which he simultaneously condemns the pagan “barbarian hordes” who perpetrated the attack and pronounce divine judgment on the city’s professing Christians for their lapses. The Visigoths looted, burned, and pillaged their way through the city, leaving a wake of destruction wherever they went. The plundering CONTINUED for three days. For the first time in nearly a millennium, the city of Rome was in the hands of someone other than the Romans. This was the first