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The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is now Ukraine, Moldova and Romania. From here they conducted raids into Roman territory, and large numbers of them joined the Roman military. These early Goths lived in the regions where archaeologists find the Chernyakhov culture, which flourished throughout this region during the 3rd and 4th centuries.
Valens was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the eastern half of the Roman Empire to rule. In 378, Valens was defeated and killed at the Battle of Adrianople against the invading Goths, which astonished contemporaries and marked the beginning of barbarian encroachment into Roman territory.
Year 377 (CCCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Syagrius and Eucherius. The denomination 381 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Year 369 (CCCLXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Galates and Victor. The denomination 369 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Year 348 (CCCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Philippus and Salia. The denomination 348 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Fritigern was a Thervingian Gothic chieftain whose decisive victory at Adrianople during the Gothic War (376–382) led to favourable terms for the Goths when peace was made with Gratian and Theodosius I in 382.
The Gothic Wars were a long series of conflicts between the Goths and the Roman Empire between the years 249 and 554. The main wars are detailed below.
The Ring of Pietroassa or Buzău torc is a gold torc-like necklace found in a ring barrow in Pietroassa, Buzău County, southern Romania, in 1837. It formed part of a large gold hoard dated to between 250 and 400 CE. The ring itself is generally assumed to be of Roman-Mediterranean origin, and features a Gothic language inscription in the Elder Futhark runic alphabet.
Sabbas the Goth was a Christian martyr venerated as a saint.
The Thervingi, Tervingi, or Teruingi were a Gothic people of the plains north of the Lower Danube and west of the Dniester River in the 3rd and the 4th centuries.
The Greuthungi were a Gothic people who lived on the Pontic steppe between the Dniester and Don rivers in what is now Ukraine, in the 3rd and the 4th centuries. They had close contacts with the Tervingi, another Gothic people, who lived west of the Dniester River. To the east of the Greuthungi, living near the Don river, were the Alans.
The Taifals or Tayfals were a people group of Germanic or Sarmatian origin, first documented north of the lower Danube in the mid third century AD. They experienced an unsettled and fragmented history, for the most part in association with various Gothic peoples, and alternately fighting against or for the Romans. In the late fourth century some Taifali were settled within the Roman Empire, notably in western Gaul in the modern province of Poitou. They subsequently supplied mounted units to the Roman army and continued to be a significant source of cavalry for early Merovingian armies. By the sixth century their region of western Gaul had acquired a distinct identity as Thifalia.
Nicetas is a Christian martyr of the 4th century, venerated particularly in the Eastern Orthodox Church. His feastday is 15 September. Nicetas was of Gothic origin, living during the 4th century AD. His life spanned the years of Emperor Constantine the Great's sole rule. He belonged to the upper social class of his people. Nicetas was instructed in Christianity by Theophilus of Gothia, a converted bishop, between 325 and 341 AD.
There is a record of Gothic persecution of Christians in the third century. According to Basil of Caesarea, some prisoners taken captive in a Gothic raid on Cappadocia around 260 preached the gospel to their captors and were martyred. One of their names was Eutychus. Bishop Dionysius of Caesarea sent messengers to the Goths to ransom captives and there was still a written record of these attempts in Basil's time.
Gothic paganism or Gothic polytheism was the original religion of the Goths before their conversion to Christianity.
Athanaric or Atanaric was king of several branches of the Thervingian Goths for at least two decades in the 4th century. Throughout his reign, Athanaric was faced with invasions by the Roman Empire, the Huns and a civil war with Christian rebels. He is considered the first king of the Visigoths, who later settled in Iberia, where they founded the Visigothic Kingdom.
Aoric was a Thervingian Gothic king who lived in the 4th century. Aoric was son of Ariaric and father of Athanaric, he was raised in Constantinople, where a statue was erected in his honour. He was recorded by Auxentius of Durostorum leading a persecution of Gothic Christians in 347/348. Herwig Wolfram noted that "alliteration, variation, and rhythm in the line of names Athanaric, Aoric, Ariaric resemble the 'ideal type' of Hadubrand, Hildebrand, Heribrand". He considered the similarities and comparison suggested that all three kings were members of the Balti dynasty.
Winguric or Wingurich, also known as Wingureiks, Wingourichos, also Jungeric was a Gothic ruler (reiks) under the Thervingian chieftain Athanaric who played a prominent role in the Gothic persecution of Christians. Around 375 he burned twenty-six Gothic Christians to death in the Crimea, who were later sanctified as martyrs by the Christian church.
Rothesteus, also known as Rothesteos, Rothestes, also Radistis was a Gothic sub-king under the Thervingian chieftain Athanaric. He was the father of Atharid, who played a leading role in the killing of the Christian martyr Sabbas.
Muderic or Munderichus was a Thervingian Gothic warrior and Roman general. He was a member of the nobility of the Thervingi. In the late 370s, along with Lagarimanus, Muderic fought as a general under Athanaric against the invading Huns. Muderic later joined the Roman army, rising to the rank of Dux of Arabia.
References
- Wolfram, Herwig (1990). History of the Goths. University of California Press. pp. 96, 102, 105. ISBN 9780520069831 . Retrieved 30 November 2014.
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