Course: The Fall and Decline of Rome
Lecture 3
Barbarians A’ Coming:
Northern Barbarians,
Huns & Vandals
Official Title of the Lecture:
‘How the Roman Empire Fizzles Out’
Lecture by:
Dr. M. (Martijn) Icks
INDEX:
The symbol ‘✤’ means invasion, attack, plundering and/or a battle.
W.R.E. = Western Roman Empire
E.R.E. = Eastern Roman Empire
Lecture 3
, Chapter 1.
Invading Northern
Barbarians
406+ Northern Barbarians Invade Gaul ✤
In 406 Roman troops pulled back from northern parts and borders of the Empire, to go
south, to deal with the Visigoths in Italy causing trouble in the period of 402-418.
As the Northern borders were now left undefended Barbarians tribes (Vandals, Alans
and Suebi) could enter the Empire and invade Gaul.
Gibbon says about this “crossing of the Rhine” in his book ‘Decline and Fall (Chapter 30):
“The victorious confederates pursued their march, and on the last day of the
year [406], in a season when the waters of the Rhine were most probably frozen,
they entered without opposition the defenceless provinces of Gaul. (...) and the
barriers, which had so long separated the savage and the civilised nations of the
earth, were from the fatal moment levelled with the ground.”
Note: This idea of ‘civilized-’ and ‘uncivilized savage nations’ is typical 1800s.
Vandals, Alans and Suebi enter Gaul.
The 407-409 CE sack of Gaul, based on Peter Heather
Lecture 3
, Who actually were these Northern Barbarians?
These Northern Barbarians were mainly the Suebi, Vandals and Alans:
More than savages
Modern historians discredit the idea that they were merely savages.
Smaller groups (warrior bands)
Historians think that these groups of incoming Barbarians were not huge
masses, but rather small groups of warrior bands.
Fluid Identity
The name ‘Vandal’ for example suggests that the Vandals were one ethnic group.
However, that is not really true. The identities of these Barbarian groups were
constructed and fluid. If you would roam around as a band of warriors, other local
people (that felt the need to join) would join. Over time these people would fuse and
identify as one group. The same thing happened to the Visigoths with whom Alaric
sacked Rome. They were at first NOT one ethnic group, but they were various ethnic
groups fused together (some of gothic descend, some unsatisfied Romans, slaves,
etc.), all sharing a goal or feeling, and after some time fusing, they would identify
(or be identified) as one ethnic group.
! This process is called: ‘Ethnogenesis’ = is the formation and development of
an ethnic group. This can originate by group self-identification or by outside
identification. In short: it is the creation of ethnic identity.
✤ Northern Barbarians INVADE Iberia
The Northern Barbarians tribes move further southwards and INVADE IBERIA.
Bishop Hydatius (400 – 469) gives a dramatic description of this in his Chronicon 40:
“As the barbarians ran wild through Spain and the deadly pestilence continued on its savage course, the wealth and
goods stored in the cities were plundered by the tyrannical tax-collector and consumed by the soldiers. A famine ran
riot, so dire that driven by hunger human beings devoured human flesh; mothers too feasted upon the bodies of their
own children whom they had killed and cooked with their own hands; wild beasts, habituated to feeding on the bodies
of those slain by sword, famine, or pestilence, killed all the braver individuals and feasting on their flesh everywhere
became brutally set upon the destruction of the human race. And thus with the four plagues of sword, famine,
pestilence, and wild beasts raging everywhere throughout the world, the annunciations foretold by the Lord through
his prophets came to fulfilment.” –Hydatius
H. basically says: “Apocalypse is coming!” (Interprets it in the most pessimistic way). On the
one hand, he exaggerates, as he really beliefs in the apocalypse, but on the other hand, well,
Iberia (peaceful for a long time) was not very nice place anymore in the 5th Century.
Lecture 3
, 418 Settlement of the Visigoths in Gaul
In the period of 402 to 418 the Visigoths (402-410 under Alaric) were causing trouble in Italy.
But as new Barbarian tribes were invading from the north (since 406 invading Gaul and
Iberia), Romans came with a plan, a solution: A DEAL with Visigoths: ‘the ‘Settlement of 418’:
• They finally give the Visigoths their land (in Gaul) and accept them as foederati
• In return the Visigoths have to get rid of the Barbarians in Gaul and Iberia.
! ✤ Visigoths do so effectively: they reconquer most of Gaul and Iberia!
(blue area). These areas then become part of the Western Empire again! ☺
With this 418 deal, the Visigoths become foederati of the Western Roman Empire, official
allies, meaning the land they own is still officially part of the WRE. However, even though,
as foederati, they should heed all the Emperors’ orders, in reality, they do not really follow
the will of the Western Roman Emperor as much, and over time (more and more) the
Visigoths (who now rule Gaul and Spain) become their own (basically independent)
kingdom. The Emperor is still a figurehead, but the Visigoths don’t really listen to him.
Galla Placidia
After Honorius dies in 423, his sister Galla Placidia, mother the then 4-years-old heir
Valentinian III, becomes regent of W.R.E. for a few years until her son is fit to rule.
She was regent from 423 until her son Valentinian III turned 18 in 437.
Galla Placidia was one of the world’s most powerful women of the 5th Century.
This may or may not be her. We suspect so because it is an elite object depicting a
woman with two children, and we know that G.P. had one daughter and a son and
was a elite woman. But this may just as much not be her. Also: Galla Placidia’s
Mausoleum in Ravenna is beautiful and has beautiful mosaics. Look up image online.
Lecture 3
, General Flavius Aëtius
As a child, Flavius Aëtius (of Roman-Germanic origin) grew up at the Hunnic Court. He
knew Hunnic language/culture/warfare. The Huns probably considered him to be a Hun.
+- 430, Aëtius shows up in Italy with an army of Hunnic warriors. He could’ve taken
Valentinian III’s place, but Galla Placidia was smart and stroke a deal with Aëtius. In
433, she gives Aetius the most powerful position in the Empire –similar to what Stilicho
had before him– making him the Imperial General of the Western Roman Army.
Wikipedia: From 433 to 450, Aetius was the dominant figure in the Western Roman Empire,
obtaining the rank of magnificus vir parens patriusque noster in 435 and playing the role
of "protector" of Galla Placidia and Valentinian III (while the Emperor was still young).
This had been a good decision as Aëtius was a very capable war general AND he
also already had a Hunnic Troops that followed him. Aëtius manages again and again
to protect the Roman Western Empire. ✤ He won many battles (such as the Battle
of the Catalaunian Plains), often with support of his Hunnic followers and
mercenaries. (So you also see: not black/white: there are pro- and anti-Roman Huns)
More Details: Wikipedia: Who was Aetius?
Aetius was a Roman general and statesman during the closing period of the Western Roman Empire. He was a
military commander and the most influential man in the Empire for two decades (433–454). He managed policy
in regard to the attacks of barbarian federates settled throughout the West. Notably, he mustered a large Roman and
allied (foederati) army in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, with this ending a devastating invasion of Gaul by Attila
in 451, though the Hun and his subjugated allies still managed to invade Italy the following year, an incursion best
remembered for the ruthless Sack of Aquileia and the intercession of Pope Leo I.
Details: Why was he called “the last of the Romans?”
Flavius Aetius was one of the most fascinating characters in the Roman Empire’s history. A general, a politician and a
statesman, Aetius struggled to defend the Roman West against numerous threats, external and internal. His most
famous triumph was over no one other than Attila the Hun at the Battle of Chalons. Many consider him the “Last of
the Romans,” as the Western Roman Empire ceased to exist a few decades after Aetius’ assassination.
A Pattern…..
Just to note, in the meantime… do you recognize this pattern? Weak child emperors on the
throne (Honorius with Stilicho, Valentinian III with Aetius) who, even when they grow up, never
have a lot of responsibility, as powerful generals (such as Stilicho and Aëtius) loomed over them……
Lecture 3
, 2. Hunnic Wars in the
Eastern Roman Empire
First of All, Who were the Huns?
The Huns came from Eurasian steppe belts. No writings left, but Hunnic materials tell
us things. Like large amounts of precious horse gear: show importance of hordes. We
also know that Huns weren’t a united people. They were many loose warrior bands,
had kettle (grazing the Eurasian steppes), and pillaged and plundered for a living.
Starting from the 4th century, for whatever reason (maybe climate change), Huns
started to move westwards. ✤ Since +- 375 small Hunnic war bands started small
attacks near the eastern borders of the Eastern Roman Empire.
! Probably causing Gothic tribes living in Eastern-Europe to flee from the Huns
and asking permission to live inside in the Roman Empire as foederati (for safety).
The Roman Primary source ‘Res Gestae’ by Ammianus M (a work finished +- in 390), describes the Huns
(who had already, in small war bands, been attacking the Eastern Roman Empire since 375) as “beastlike
creatures from the east.”
Attila (406 – 453)
Atilla has been nicknamed the “scourge of god” (send to punish the Romans). We don’t
have any portraits of Attila left. (All portraits that exist of him are therefore fantasy).
Attila becomes King of the Huns in 434. Initially the Huns were NOT A UNITED
PEOPLE, BUT Attila’s brother managed to bring all these tribes together. They
banded together under Atilla. – Why follow Attila? ! Because Attila offered a good
deal. The deal was that as long as they’d follow Atilla, Attila would make sure that they’d
get good plunder and booty. If at some point Atilla would fail to do so, they would stop
following him. So this motivates Atilla to keep delivering.
✤ Attila’s Attacks Eastern Empire
✤ Since 434 Attila’s Huns will attack and plunder the Eastern Roman Empire in bigger
groups. (And other areas just outside the empire) (The Huns do know how to besiege
cities). Hungary becomes the station from where the Huns administer attacks.
(However, they never managed to take Constantinople. Its city walls are so
good, that the city cannot be besieged; so even Atilla has to turn back.
Lecture 3
Lecture 3
Barbarians A’ Coming:
Northern Barbarians,
Huns & Vandals
Official Title of the Lecture:
‘How the Roman Empire Fizzles Out’
Lecture by:
Dr. M. (Martijn) Icks
INDEX:
The symbol ‘✤’ means invasion, attack, plundering and/or a battle.
W.R.E. = Western Roman Empire
E.R.E. = Eastern Roman Empire
Lecture 3
, Chapter 1.
Invading Northern
Barbarians
406+ Northern Barbarians Invade Gaul ✤
In 406 Roman troops pulled back from northern parts and borders of the Empire, to go
south, to deal with the Visigoths in Italy causing trouble in the period of 402-418.
As the Northern borders were now left undefended Barbarians tribes (Vandals, Alans
and Suebi) could enter the Empire and invade Gaul.
Gibbon says about this “crossing of the Rhine” in his book ‘Decline and Fall (Chapter 30):
“The victorious confederates pursued their march, and on the last day of the
year [406], in a season when the waters of the Rhine were most probably frozen,
they entered without opposition the defenceless provinces of Gaul. (...) and the
barriers, which had so long separated the savage and the civilised nations of the
earth, were from the fatal moment levelled with the ground.”
Note: This idea of ‘civilized-’ and ‘uncivilized savage nations’ is typical 1800s.
Vandals, Alans and Suebi enter Gaul.
The 407-409 CE sack of Gaul, based on Peter Heather
Lecture 3
, Who actually were these Northern Barbarians?
These Northern Barbarians were mainly the Suebi, Vandals and Alans:
More than savages
Modern historians discredit the idea that they were merely savages.
Smaller groups (warrior bands)
Historians think that these groups of incoming Barbarians were not huge
masses, but rather small groups of warrior bands.
Fluid Identity
The name ‘Vandal’ for example suggests that the Vandals were one ethnic group.
However, that is not really true. The identities of these Barbarian groups were
constructed and fluid. If you would roam around as a band of warriors, other local
people (that felt the need to join) would join. Over time these people would fuse and
identify as one group. The same thing happened to the Visigoths with whom Alaric
sacked Rome. They were at first NOT one ethnic group, but they were various ethnic
groups fused together (some of gothic descend, some unsatisfied Romans, slaves,
etc.), all sharing a goal or feeling, and after some time fusing, they would identify
(or be identified) as one ethnic group.
! This process is called: ‘Ethnogenesis’ = is the formation and development of
an ethnic group. This can originate by group self-identification or by outside
identification. In short: it is the creation of ethnic identity.
✤ Northern Barbarians INVADE Iberia
The Northern Barbarians tribes move further southwards and INVADE IBERIA.
Bishop Hydatius (400 – 469) gives a dramatic description of this in his Chronicon 40:
“As the barbarians ran wild through Spain and the deadly pestilence continued on its savage course, the wealth and
goods stored in the cities were plundered by the tyrannical tax-collector and consumed by the soldiers. A famine ran
riot, so dire that driven by hunger human beings devoured human flesh; mothers too feasted upon the bodies of their
own children whom they had killed and cooked with their own hands; wild beasts, habituated to feeding on the bodies
of those slain by sword, famine, or pestilence, killed all the braver individuals and feasting on their flesh everywhere
became brutally set upon the destruction of the human race. And thus with the four plagues of sword, famine,
pestilence, and wild beasts raging everywhere throughout the world, the annunciations foretold by the Lord through
his prophets came to fulfilment.” –Hydatius
H. basically says: “Apocalypse is coming!” (Interprets it in the most pessimistic way). On the
one hand, he exaggerates, as he really beliefs in the apocalypse, but on the other hand, well,
Iberia (peaceful for a long time) was not very nice place anymore in the 5th Century.
Lecture 3
, 418 Settlement of the Visigoths in Gaul
In the period of 402 to 418 the Visigoths (402-410 under Alaric) were causing trouble in Italy.
But as new Barbarian tribes were invading from the north (since 406 invading Gaul and
Iberia), Romans came with a plan, a solution: A DEAL with Visigoths: ‘the ‘Settlement of 418’:
• They finally give the Visigoths their land (in Gaul) and accept them as foederati
• In return the Visigoths have to get rid of the Barbarians in Gaul and Iberia.
! ✤ Visigoths do so effectively: they reconquer most of Gaul and Iberia!
(blue area). These areas then become part of the Western Empire again! ☺
With this 418 deal, the Visigoths become foederati of the Western Roman Empire, official
allies, meaning the land they own is still officially part of the WRE. However, even though,
as foederati, they should heed all the Emperors’ orders, in reality, they do not really follow
the will of the Western Roman Emperor as much, and over time (more and more) the
Visigoths (who now rule Gaul and Spain) become their own (basically independent)
kingdom. The Emperor is still a figurehead, but the Visigoths don’t really listen to him.
Galla Placidia
After Honorius dies in 423, his sister Galla Placidia, mother the then 4-years-old heir
Valentinian III, becomes regent of W.R.E. for a few years until her son is fit to rule.
She was regent from 423 until her son Valentinian III turned 18 in 437.
Galla Placidia was one of the world’s most powerful women of the 5th Century.
This may or may not be her. We suspect so because it is an elite object depicting a
woman with two children, and we know that G.P. had one daughter and a son and
was a elite woman. But this may just as much not be her. Also: Galla Placidia’s
Mausoleum in Ravenna is beautiful and has beautiful mosaics. Look up image online.
Lecture 3
, General Flavius Aëtius
As a child, Flavius Aëtius (of Roman-Germanic origin) grew up at the Hunnic Court. He
knew Hunnic language/culture/warfare. The Huns probably considered him to be a Hun.
+- 430, Aëtius shows up in Italy with an army of Hunnic warriors. He could’ve taken
Valentinian III’s place, but Galla Placidia was smart and stroke a deal with Aëtius. In
433, she gives Aetius the most powerful position in the Empire –similar to what Stilicho
had before him– making him the Imperial General of the Western Roman Army.
Wikipedia: From 433 to 450, Aetius was the dominant figure in the Western Roman Empire,
obtaining the rank of magnificus vir parens patriusque noster in 435 and playing the role
of "protector" of Galla Placidia and Valentinian III (while the Emperor was still young).
This had been a good decision as Aëtius was a very capable war general AND he
also already had a Hunnic Troops that followed him. Aëtius manages again and again
to protect the Roman Western Empire. ✤ He won many battles (such as the Battle
of the Catalaunian Plains), often with support of his Hunnic followers and
mercenaries. (So you also see: not black/white: there are pro- and anti-Roman Huns)
More Details: Wikipedia: Who was Aetius?
Aetius was a Roman general and statesman during the closing period of the Western Roman Empire. He was a
military commander and the most influential man in the Empire for two decades (433–454). He managed policy
in regard to the attacks of barbarian federates settled throughout the West. Notably, he mustered a large Roman and
allied (foederati) army in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, with this ending a devastating invasion of Gaul by Attila
in 451, though the Hun and his subjugated allies still managed to invade Italy the following year, an incursion best
remembered for the ruthless Sack of Aquileia and the intercession of Pope Leo I.
Details: Why was he called “the last of the Romans?”
Flavius Aetius was one of the most fascinating characters in the Roman Empire’s history. A general, a politician and a
statesman, Aetius struggled to defend the Roman West against numerous threats, external and internal. His most
famous triumph was over no one other than Attila the Hun at the Battle of Chalons. Many consider him the “Last of
the Romans,” as the Western Roman Empire ceased to exist a few decades after Aetius’ assassination.
A Pattern…..
Just to note, in the meantime… do you recognize this pattern? Weak child emperors on the
throne (Honorius with Stilicho, Valentinian III with Aetius) who, even when they grow up, never
have a lot of responsibility, as powerful generals (such as Stilicho and Aëtius) loomed over them……
Lecture 3
, 2. Hunnic Wars in the
Eastern Roman Empire
First of All, Who were the Huns?
The Huns came from Eurasian steppe belts. No writings left, but Hunnic materials tell
us things. Like large amounts of precious horse gear: show importance of hordes. We
also know that Huns weren’t a united people. They were many loose warrior bands,
had kettle (grazing the Eurasian steppes), and pillaged and plundered for a living.
Starting from the 4th century, for whatever reason (maybe climate change), Huns
started to move westwards. ✤ Since +- 375 small Hunnic war bands started small
attacks near the eastern borders of the Eastern Roman Empire.
! Probably causing Gothic tribes living in Eastern-Europe to flee from the Huns
and asking permission to live inside in the Roman Empire as foederati (for safety).
The Roman Primary source ‘Res Gestae’ by Ammianus M (a work finished +- in 390), describes the Huns
(who had already, in small war bands, been attacking the Eastern Roman Empire since 375) as “beastlike
creatures from the east.”
Attila (406 – 453)
Atilla has been nicknamed the “scourge of god” (send to punish the Romans). We don’t
have any portraits of Attila left. (All portraits that exist of him are therefore fantasy).
Attila becomes King of the Huns in 434. Initially the Huns were NOT A UNITED
PEOPLE, BUT Attila’s brother managed to bring all these tribes together. They
banded together under Atilla. – Why follow Attila? ! Because Attila offered a good
deal. The deal was that as long as they’d follow Atilla, Attila would make sure that they’d
get good plunder and booty. If at some point Atilla would fail to do so, they would stop
following him. So this motivates Atilla to keep delivering.
✤ Attila’s Attacks Eastern Empire
✤ Since 434 Attila’s Huns will attack and plunder the Eastern Roman Empire in bigger
groups. (And other areas just outside the empire) (The Huns do know how to besiege
cities). Hungary becomes the station from where the Huns administer attacks.
(However, they never managed to take Constantinople. Its city walls are so
good, that the city cannot be besieged; so even Atilla has to turn back.
Lecture 3
