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TheGoths,Gepids,Vandals, andBurgundians wereEast Germanic groups who appear in Roman records inlate antiquity. At times these groups warred against or allied with theRoman Empire, theHuns, and variousGermanic tribes.
The size and social composition of their armies remains controversial.
In the3rd century, some Germanic people of the Baltic Sea (associated with theWielbark culture) followed theVistula,Bug, andDnestr rivers and settled among theDacians,Sarmatians,Bastarnae, and other peoples of the Black Sea steppes. These Germanic people brought their name and language to the Gothic people who emerged in the 3rd century (associated with theChernyakhov Culture).
At the same time, other Germanic people of the Baltic Sea (associated with thePrzeworsk culture) followed other trade routes to the middle-Danubian plains (Vandals) or theMain river (Burgundians).
Horse nomads withbow-armed cavalry armies, including the Sarmatians (orIazyges,Roxolanni,Taifali, andAlans) had long ruled the plains north of the Danube and the steppes north of the Black Sea (since about 1200 BC). (The Goths and Vandals were mainly farmers with infantry armies). In some areas, the Sarmatians, Taifali, and Alans preserved their dominance until the Huns arrived.
The Gothic people had divided into two or more groups by the end of the 3rd century. These groups lasted from the late 3rd century to the late 4th century. TheThervingi lived between the Danube and the Carpathians west of theDniester River; theGreuthungi, and possibly other groups, lived east of the Dniester River.
Jordanes, a mid 6th-century historian, describes a large Greuthung kingdom in the late 4th century, butAmmianus Marcellinus, a late 4th-century historian, does not record this. Many modern historians, includingPeter Heather andMichael Kulikowski, doubt that it was ever particularly extensive (and suggest one or more smaller kingdoms).[1][2]
Gothic armies were primarily composed of heavy infantry equipped with a shield,spatha orscramasax and the occasionalfrancisca andpike formed in wedge formation, with a supporting heavy cavalry force equipped with lance and sword.[3] Although Goths were the first of the Germanic tribes to place more honour in fighting on horse than on foot, equipping cavalrymen was expensive and infantry remained the larger force.[4] Visigoths had fewer cavalry, Ostrogoths had more cavalry than the Roman army, while Vandals were dominated by cavalry.[5]
Cavalry mainly took the form of heavy, close combat cavalry armed with sword and lance.[4] Goths and likely Vandals as well favoured a long heavy lance of Sarmatian origin, thecontus, which stood at 3.74m long. The Goths also recruited mounted archers from theAlans andSarmatians, and light sword cavalry from theHeruli andTaifali, although all of these also fielded lancers.[6] For a Gothic or Vandal nobleman the most common form of armour was a mail shirt, often reaching down to the knees, and an iron or steel helmet, often in aRoman Ridge helm style. Some of the wealthiest warriors may have a worn alamellar cuirass over mail, andsplinted greaves and vambraces on the forearms and forelegs.
This Gothic society faced internal strife andHunnish attacks in the late 4th century. As a result, several groups sought refuge in the Roman Empire; two of the more successful groups, theThervings andGreuthungs, absorbed smaller groups and gained independence within the Roman Empire. Another group, theCrimean Goths, survived on the Black Sea. TheVandals andBurgundians shared similar histories.
The Visigothic and Burgundian kingdoms in Gaul fell toClovis' Frankish invasions in the early 6th century;[7] the Vandal kingdom in north Africa and the Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy and Illyria fell toJustinian I's Byzantine invasions by the mid 6th century.[8] The Visigothic kingdom in Hispania survived (despite losing most of their old Gallic territory) until the Islamic conquest of Hispania in the early 8th century.
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The Gothic tribes did not have long-term standing armies but relied on short-term levies or volunteers. Most would return to their farms after some time. Most came on foot and fought as infantry, though some brought horses and fought as cavalry. Like their Roman opponents, most soldiers had thrusting spears, throwing spears, and shields, though swords and bows were also used. Unlike their Roman opponents, few could afford metal armor.[9][10]
The 3rd- and 4th-century Gothic tribes could not match the population or extent of the Roman Empire. The 4th-centuryThervingi settled over about 100,000 km2 between the Carpathian mountains, Olt river, Danube river, and Pruth river. (The Eastern Roman Empire held about 1,500,000 km2 in round numbers). The destruction of one Gothic army would leave its tribe vulnerable to Roman attacks; the destruction of one Roman army could be countered by other Roman armies moving into the war zone (as happened after Adrianople). Therefore, 3rd- and 4th-century Gothic armies could not take as many risks as Roman armies could.
TheGothic people generally settled in unwalled farming settlements along the main rivers. These settlements were vulnerable to Roman, Hunnish, or other attacks, even by small raiding parties.[42]
Valens and theRoman army invaded Therving lands in 367 and 369.Athanaric and his supporters avoided battle; his army abandoned the Danubian plains and retreated into the Carpathian Mountains. The Goths could not defeat the Romans in battle and defend their homes.[25][43]
Alan andHunnic raiders attacked various Gothic lands in the 370s; they attacked Therving lands c. 375.Athanaric and his supporters sought battle; the main Gothic army assembled on theDnestr river, with forward units scouted 30 km ahead. The Hunnic raiders avoided the scouts and attacked the main army at night.[27]
TheRoman Empire fortified most of its cities and frontier garrisons in the 3rd and 4th centuries. Fortified settlements were relatively safe from Gothic attacks.[44]
Gothic attackers could choose unfortified targets; these included many cities in the 3rd century, but were generally restricted to smaller towns andvillae by the 4th century, as more cities were fortified. Alternatively, they could attack fortified targets, relying on surprise, on treachery, or on siege warfare.
In the 3rd century, several Gothic campaigns went by sea. In the 4th century, few, if any, Gothic campaigns went by sea.
As soon as large Gothic groups settled on Roman territory, they faced military conflicts with the Roman government (as in theGothic War (376–382)).
TheLate Roman army (orEast Roman army for the east) often recruited non-Roman soldiers into regular military units, as well as separate allied contingents (oflaeti andfoederati). Most soldiers were probably Romans, many were probably non-Roman.[45]
By the early 5th century,Hunnic elites established their hegemony in Eastern and Central Europe by subduing or dislodging the local elites. The Hunnic rulers had thus an empire at their disposal with the resources of subject people who were required to supply additional forces for their ongoing raids and conquests. The most memorable of their rulers becameAttila, who eventually challenged the Roman Empire for supremacy.
After the death of Attila, one of his subject rulers,Ardaric, waged a successful civil war against the heirs of Attila, helping several tribes to break apart and regain their independence.
During theGothic revolt of 376, a mixed Gothic group settled inMoesia. By the 390sAlaric had become the client king of theVisigoths under theRoman Empire.
Between 395 and 418,Alaric, Athawulf, and their immediate successors fought several campaigns, seeking offices for themselves and support for their followers. They transferred their base of operations from the eastern Balkans (395) to the western Balkans (397), Italy (408), and Aquitaine (c. 415).
These successive movements may have divided the army from much of its population base.
Ostrogothic armies may have had the same organizational structure (with separate field armies and frontier armies) as contemporary Byzantine armies.
Ostrogothic Italy, like the Late Roman Empire, fortified its cities and military bases.[46]
The Italian-Ostrogothic army, like the Late Roman and Byzantine army, could transport food and other military supplies from secure areas to war zones. This allowed the Ostrogothic army to assemble more troops in one place (than earlier Gothic armies) without consuming as much of the local food supply.[47]
There is little direct evidence for Gothic military equipment. There is more evidence for Vandal, Roman, and West Germanic military equipment, which provides the base for inferences about Gothic military equipment.
Generally speaking, there was little difference between well-armed Germanic and Roman soldiers; furthermore, many Germanic soldiers served in the Roman forces. The Roman army was better able to equip its soldiers than the Germanic armies.
Late Roman representational evidence, including propaganda monuments, gravestones, tombs, and the Exodus fresco, often shows Late Roman soldiers with one or two spears; one tombstone shows a soldier with five shorter javelins.[48][49] Archaeological evidence, from Roman burials and Scandinavian bog-deposits, shows similar spearheads, though the shafts are rarely preserved.[50][51]
Aside from the traditional mail and scale armour of Roman armies, it also known from archaeological finds that the Goths and Vandals commonly usedlamellar armour. Constructed of overlapping metal plates laced together, lamellar was more rigid than mail or scale armour and offered considerably greater protection against blunt force trauma from weapons such as maces or axes, commonly used by heavy cavalry of the time.
Late Roman representational evidence sometimes still shows Roman swords.[52][53] Archaeological evidence shows that the gladius has disappeared; various shortsemispathae supplement the olderpugiones[54][55] while medium-longspathae replace the medium-shortgladii.[52][56] These have the same straight double-edged blades as older Roman swords.[57][58]
Representational evidence and recovered laths, as well as arrowheads and bracers, show Roman use of composite bows.[59][60]
Representational evidence, recovered bosses, and some complete shields from Dara, show that most Roman infantry and some Roman cavalry carried shields.[61][62]
Although the representational evidence, including gravestones and tombs, usually shows soldiers without armor, the archaeological evidence includes remains of scale armor, mail armor, and helmets.[63][64]
Modern blacksmiths, reenactors, and experimental archaeologists can duplicate Roman Age weapons and armor with Roman Age technology.
Basic spearheads (including javelinheads) take about three hours of forging time, while swords can take about 37 hours withoutpattern welding, or about 110 hours with pattern welding (divided over several days or weeks of labor).[65]
Mail armor takes well over 600 hours of forging time.[66]
ViaWulfila'sbible translation we do know 4th-century Gothic military terms he used to describe the 1st-centuryRoman army. These terms reflect the Gothic military organization that grew from its Germanic roots under Roman and Central Asian (Hunnic) influence.
