This article will talk about the Goths, but not about the representatives of the youth subculture common in our time, respectable citizens shocking with their appearance, 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. The Goths (a tribe) disappeared into the darkness of centuries as completely and mysteriously as they appeared, leaving historians with wide scope for research and discussion.
Europe of the first centuries of our era
On the historical stage, this people appeared at a time when Europe was going through a kind of transition period. The former ancient civilization was a thing of the past, and new states and nations were only in the process of formation. Huge masses of peoples continuously roamed across its vast expanses, set in motion 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 them is the periodically occurring overpopulation in previously inhabited and developed areas. And besides, the appearance of time forced them to leave their homes.from time to time stronger and more aggressive neighbors, from whom they had to hastily move away, while attacking those who met on the way, and could not give a proper rebuff.
Militant Scandinavians in Europe
A chronicler of the 6th century, whose name is Jordan, tells about how in the 1st-2nd century AD, among other inhabitants of Europe, the Goths appeared - Germanic tribes, in their religion and culture in many respects different from its inhabitants. He says that these stern bearded people, wrapped in animal skins and ready to use their swords at any moment, came from the mysterious island of Skanza, the descriptions of which allow us to easily recognize the Scandinavian Peninsula in it.
So, according to him, the Goths are tribes of Scandinavian origin, moving south across Europe. In 258, they reach the Crimea, and some of them settle in it, changing their nomadic lifestyle to a settled one. According to some data, about fifty thousand families then 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 that time 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 incessant clashes with the inhabitants of the territories along which their path lay. The chronicler Jordan, mentioned above, assures that as a result of this they literally did not have to spend the night twice in one place. Fromgeneration after generation they were born, grew up 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, but the best army of the world at that time was sometimes powerless against the unexpected attacks of these savages wrapped in skins, crushing the legions, fighting against all existing rules, and then disappearing without a trace in the depths of the forest thickets.
Inspired fear and their abundance. On the border of the state, not scattered detachments appeared, but many thousands of people with carts, women, children and cattle. If in the summer their advance was hindered by two natural barriers - the Danube and Rhine rivers, then in winter, when they were covered with ice, the way was open to the barbarians.
By this time, the empire, torn apart by the most severe crisis caused by the corruption and decay of its ruling elite, still resists the Goths, but in general it is no longer able to restrain their advance. In 268, having crossed the ice of the Danube, the Goths - Germanic tribes, replenished at the expense of some other small peoples who joined them, plunder the border province of Pannonia. This territory, which includes part of modern Hungary and Serbia, became the first combat trophy of the Goths in the Roman Empire.
At the same time, the second separation of families took place, breaking with eternal wandering and giving preference to settling down. They settled in the provinces of Moesia and Dacia, which are now part of the borders of Bulgaria andRomania. In general, the Goths, a tribe whose history spanned more than two centuries by that time, became so strong that soon the Roman emperor Valens considered it good to conclude a diplomatic non-aggression agreement with him.
The Huns are the scourge of God
In the second half of the 4th century, a terrible misfortune befell Europe - from the east, countless hordes of Huns invaded its borders, led by the famous Attila. Even by the standards of that cruel and far from humanistic time, they amazed everyone with their unbridled ferocity and cruelty. The threat posed by their invasion affected both the Romans and the Goths in equal measure. No wonder they were called nothing but “the scourge of God.”
Simultaneously with the invasion of the Huns, the Goths - the ancient tribes that previously constituted a single people, were divided into two independent branches, which went down in history as the Visigoths (Western) and the Ostrogoths (Eastern). The latter were utterly defeated by the Huns in 375, and their king Ermanaric committed suicide out of grief and shame. Those who happened to stay alive were forced to fight on the side of their former enemies. On this, the history of the East German tribe of the Goths was almost completed.
Alliance 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 made them pretty happy. 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 agreement, the authorities promised to supply themgroceries and everything you need.
However, in reality, everything was completely different. Extremely corrupt Latin bureaucracy seized the opportunity to commit large-scale and brazen theft. By appropriating the money allocated for the maintenance of the Gothic outposts, they kept their defenders and their families starving, depriving them of the most necessary. The Goths are a tribe accustomed to all sorts of hardships during their wanderings, but, in this case, there was a humiliation of their dignity, and they could not come to terms with this.
Rebellion and capture of Rome
The officials did not take into account that by this time yesterday's barbarians, closely communicating with the Latins, managed to assimilate many concepts of high civilization. Therefore, treating oneself as savages, who can be fused with a dog under the guise of pork with impunity, was considered an insult. In addition, the Goths are ancient tribes, from time immemorial accustomed to solving all disputes with a sword. The result was a riot. The government sent regular troops to suppress it, which in August 378 were utterly defeated in the battle of Adrianople.
Not stopping there, the Visigoths approached Rome, and after a long siege, which put the townspeople on the verge of death from hunger and disease, took possession of it. An interesting detail: having subjected the city to total plunder, they nevertheless did not finally set fire to it, as was customary in those centuries, and did not cause 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 Alaric, revered the pope and those who became the successor of the apostles.
Result of drastic measures
Capturing Rome, the Goths did not claim political power. They sought only to achieve justice, to receive what was underpaid by the officials, and, if possible, to exclude the repetition of lawlessness in the future. Such drastic measures taken by them in the fight against corruption had their due effect.
As compensation for the past, the authorities provided them with new, much better lands, which included Gaul. In addition, the Roman emperor Honorius married his own sister Galla Placidia to the Gothic king Atualf, thus cementing the political union with family ties.
The appearance of 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 just beginning to truly unfold, and reached its climax after he first timidly, and then with his characteristic determination, subjugated the remote Roman province called Spain.
In those years it was the outskirts of the empire forgotten by all. 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 ruled by officials sent from Rome, but in case of military danger, the inhabitants could only rely on their own strength - the state, which was on the verge of collapse, had no time for its subjects.
But at the beginning of the 5th century, when the inhabitants of Spain were attacked simultaneouslywild hordes of Vandals, Alans and Suebi, Emperor Honorius, who did not want to lose this region that regularly paid taxes, suggested that the Visigoths put things in order in it.
At this time, a fairly strong military alliance was formed between the Romans and yesterday's barbarians, which allowed the combined forces in June 451 to completely destroy the Hun troops in the battle on the Catalaunian fields. As a result, Atilla and his hitherto invincible army left the stage of world history forever, leaving the emperor's hands free to solve other pressing problems.
The new owners of Spain
Thus, the appearance of the Visigoths in Spain was the result of their fulfillment of their allied duty, but once there, they began to arrange their affairs with enviable energy and determination. The ill-fated Honorius truly understood who the Goths (tribe) were only a year before the final collapse of the Roman Empire, when they deceitfully and cunningly forced him to sign a document granting them complete independence and removing Spain from his subjugation.
Following this, the new masters of Spain, who created on the basis of the former, weak and politically dependent province, a powerful and self-sufficient Toledo state (under that 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 Tarraconian province, stretching from Barcelona to Cartagena. As a result of this, the Goths (tribe) are barbarians in origin,managed to create the most powerful state of Western Europe at that time.
The power struggle and resulting bloodshed
However, in terms of administration, Spain, under the rule of the Visigoths, had a serious flaw. It had not one capital, but three fortified centers at once that claimed this role - Seville, Merida and Tarragona. In each of these cities sat a major magnate who believed 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 it was the struggle for power that became the cause of the death of this state in the future. However, in world history this is a fairly typical case.
Legislative Issues
Having existed for three centuries, the Kingdom of Toledo was constantly the scene of political conspiracies to physically eliminate the monarchs. One of the reasons for this was the absence of a law on succession to the throne. After the death of the next king, the nobility could nominate any of their henchmen in his place, while ignoring the direct heirs of the deceased. It is quite understandable that such a situation provoked constant unrest.
This legal gap was filled by another 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 the time beingbrought calm to the ranks of court intriguers. In addition, Leovigild became famous as an outstanding commander, subtle diplomat and effective administrator. Two decades of his reign became a "golden age" in the history of the state, when the Goths (a tribe), a people who had previously stood on the same level with other semi-savage nomads, declared themselves as a legislator of European politics.
In the bosom of the Catholic Church
After the death of Leovigild, an important event took place in the religious life of the kingdom - the monarch and all his subjects, who had previously been 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, but it was the Goths (a tribe) who brought to the consciousness of the inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula the concept of Spain as an integral and indivisible homeland. The strengthening of national unity was facilitated by the emergence 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 in Spain until the 15th century.
The collapse of the Visigoth state
But the Kingdom of Toledo, a powerful state that grew out of a seedy Roman province, was destined to last only three centuries. Formed in a long and difficult way, it collapsed in an instant. It happened in the 8th century, when a stream of Arab conquerors poured into it uncontrollably. The people of Toledo were unable to fight back, and historians see inThere are several reasons for this.
One of them is the refusal to fight the invaders of that part of the population, which for various reasons was dissatisfied with the existing government. In addition, just at that time, a plague epidemic swept the country, and many defenders became its victims. 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 8th century. Despite the law of succession that had existed for many years, in the last six years preceding the capture of Spain by the Arabs, six monarchs have changed on its throne. This fact speaks for itself.
There is evidence that after the death of the last king of Vititsa, the throne, which by law belonged to his son Agil, the courtiers, having made another conspiracy, handed it over to their henchman Rodrigo. The heir, offended and unwilling to accept defeat, concluded a secret agreement with the Arabs, according to which, for helping him, he would give them possession of a significant part of the country's territory. This dirty betrayal helped the Arabs easily capture Spain, in which they ruled thereafter for almost six hundred years.
Finishing the conversation about who the Goths (tribe) are in the history of Europe in the first millennium of our era, it should be noted that this name is often used in relation to other ethnic groups that have nothing to do with them. Sometimes it happens by the consonance of names. For example, the Goths are often confused with the Huns, which were discussed in this article, and who were their sworn enemies. Sometimesabsolutely fantastic fabrications appear in which, for example, the Slavic tribes of the Goths appear.
In general, the history of this people, the very name of which is fraught with something epic and heroic, remains largely mysterious and completely unexplored. From the pages of ancient chronicles, the names sound like a spell - Tulga, Wamba, Atanagild. But in this understatement lies that attractive force that beckons us again and again to peer into the mysterious depths of centuries.
