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Wilcox, Peter
R ome's enem ies. - (M en-at-arms series; 129)
1. Barba ria n invasions of Rom e
2. Germanic tribes 2. D acians
I. Ti tie II . Series
937 '.09 DG5o4
Author's Note :
Clzronology
See Glossary of terms and names on page 38.
3oooB.C.
2ooo B.C.
T h e s kull of an old man, 1s t century A.D ., found a t E ck e nnfo rd, Schleswig-Hols t ein ; t h e reddis h blonde hair i s combed
and twisted in t o a neat Su e b ian knot. Compare this w ith t h e
carved h ead o f a G erm a n chieftain , possibly of one of the
Danub ian trib es, from the t omb of A. Julius Pompilius, one of
Marcu s Aureliu s's gen erals, 175 A.D . (National Mus eum,
Terme)
6oo B.C.
400 B.C.
350 B.C.
300 B.C.
115 B.C.
A.D. 101.
A.D. 150.
A.D. 181.
A.D. 251 .
A.D. 275.
A.D. 28o.
A.D. 358.
A.D. 36o.
A.D. 372.
u~
A.D . 410.
A.D. 402.
A.D. 406.
A.D. 407.
A.D. 409
A.D . 526.
A.D. 528.
Introduction
In th e report se nt to his king from Acre in I 255 the
Franciscan fri ar William ofRubruck, in reference
to his travels in th e Crimea, says: 'All the way from
the Kh erson to th e mouth of th e Tanais there are
hig h mountain peaks along th e coas t, and there
a re forty villages between Kh erson and Soldaia,
of which a lmost every o ne has its own language.
Dwellin g here were m a ny Goths, whos e language
is German ... ' Three centuries later , in about
1554, Augerois d e Busbec k, a French traveller,
ca me across a people he described as Goths on the
shores of the Black Sea in the Crimea. After
careful analysis of their language from examples
surv ivin g at th e tim e of th eir discovery , philologis ts identifi ed it as Gothic, with some alteration
due to Slavonic influence. This people is now no
longer traceable.
These cha nce references to all that remain ed of
the once num erous and powerful Gothic nation
cannot now be verified by the so phistica ted
a nthropological methods available to us today.
Thankfully, however, ex tensive skeletal evidence,
not only of the Goths but of many other ancient
Germanic peo ples from th e migration period ,
does exist. This fact has allowed anthropologists to
establish th e racial id entity of peoples we would
otherwise know by na m e only - colourless wraiths
of the imagination.
During th e thousa nd years before the Christian
era two g reat Indo-E uropean peoples, the Celts
a nd Scythians, ex pa nd ed into central and north ern
Europe - the Celts to th e wes t, th e Scy ths to th e
east. They were follow ed by two more such
gro ups- the Germans to the west, th e Slavs to the
east. Both the latter Indo-European groups were
to have lastin g effec ts on th eir chosen areas of
T~n e
per iod.
The period ofGermanic migration , th e Volkerwandurung, does not begin properly until the grd
century. However, some see in th e eve ntually
abortive invasion of Roman Italy by a marauding
Celtic horde the first southward probe involving
Germanic warriors. These Cimbri and Teutones
ha d d es troyed several Roman armies in a series of
encounters throughout Gaul between B.C . 1 14
and I02. The series of migrations did not end until
the adoption of Christianity by th e Norw egians in
th e I I th century A.D. Germani c homelands
comprised modern Denmark, southern and central
Norway, the north German coas tal strip from th e
mouth of the Elbe to the Baltic shore, and th e
islands of Gotland and Bornholm . It was from
these breeding grounds that warlike trib es, drive n
by press ures brought about by overpopulation ,
bega n their wanderings. Some have lost th eir
na mes, being quickly absorbed into bigger
Germanic groupings during th e ensuing chaos.
Populating the dank and gloomy forests of
north ern Europe, th e German 'barbarians' who
overran th e western Empire were d escendants of
peasants who had taken up arms; at the tim e
Tacitus wrote his Germania in the late 1st century
A.D., a large proportion of th e mal e population
were warriors, tribal structure was in a state of
flux , and their society was moving toward s a
crisis. Successful war leaders , normally elected
The!Mrrior
An essenti al factor in ea rl y Germanic and Celtic
warfare was th e warrior's own large, powerful
frame. The German proper was a variant of th e
earli er No rdi c type introd uced by the IndoE uropea n in vasion ; he was, in general, larger,
due to racia l mixture with th e great north ern
Uiapons
Eco no mi ca ll y th e G erm a ni c trib es were peasants,
livin g ma inl y fro m stock-rearing (cattl e, sheep
and goa ts) a nd fa rmin g . As tim e went by , isolated
fa rm s beca me g ro ups of fa rm s, d eveloping into
haml ets and , eve ntu all y, villages. The skills of
ea rl y Germ a n cra ftsm en showed unaccountable
limita tions in so m e direc tions. This was always
evident in th e wea ponry of th e early trib es men.
Roma n assess ment of th e G ermani c peoples was,
above all , as wa rri ors. With a few notabl e
exce ptions, R o ma n writers had no personal
co ntac t with th em, a nd so m e of th eir observations
may be suspec t. Archaeology, however, has
suppli ed a la rge a nd d eta il ed a mount of G erma n
weapon history. Beca use of th e relative paucity of
na ti ve innova tion th e G erm a ns, particularly those
in th e wes t, were inA uenced to a large d egree by
the Celtic H a lsta tt a nd La T ene periods of culture.
Afte r th e R o ma n conqu es t of G a ul , Roman
weapons pl ayed a n in creasin g pa rt in the arming
of Ge rm a nic war ba nds, until , in th e late Empire,
a stead y Row of a rm s northwa rd was sustained by
illicit a rm s deals, loo t fro m Rom a n arsenals and
armi es, a nd eq ui pmen t bro ug ht hom e by th e large
num be rs of G erm a ns wh o had se rved in th e
Roma n a rm y. A broad a pproxima tion of phases in
wea ponry a mong th e a ncient G erma ns, based on
rece nt a rchaeo logical ev id ence, is as foll ows:
CeLtic: f-lalstatl culture: 7th cent. B .C. Swords of
bronze a nd iro n, na ti ve iron la nces and axes; a
peri od durin g whi ch ve ry la rge Celti c weapon s
we re in use - heavy sword s, spearh ead s rea ching
75c m in lengt h .
CeLtic: Late J-/aLstatt: earLy 5 th cent . B .C. The importa nce of th e swo rd is ove rta ken by that of th e short,
single-ed ged knife. Ordin a ry wa rri ors are equipped
with a la nce a nd shi eld of sorts. J avelins furnished
with a throwin g th ong a re in use; th e axe is more
co mm on in easte rn Ge rm a n territori es.
Celtic: firs t La Tene cuLture: Late 5th cent. B .C. The
G
but a re prese nt in co mp a ra ti vely few gra ves.
Roma n swo rd s a re represented in the bog fi nds
by the sho rt gladius a nd long cavalry spatlza. One
interestin g hi It, belonging to a R om a n gladius, was
fo un d a t Th orsbj erg, So ut h Jutl a nd . I t is simi la r
to one in th e British Muse u m a nd a no th er fo und
at Pompeii . I ts bronze hil t has littl e bosses on
guard a nd pomm el , with a g rip cove red in fin e
wove n bronze thread bra id ing. An other exa mple,
compiPte with its sca bba rd , was fo und in G o tla nd.
I t has a swelli ng o n either sid e of the bla de, just
above the point. Gladii d a ted to the znd ce ntury
A. D . have po m mels in th e shape of a la rge ring.
Several Roma n cavalry swo rd s have turn ed up in
the bog de posits.
Bes ides th e R o ma n swo rd s, T ho rsbj erg produ ced
swo rd s of native m a nufac ture. All a re do ub leedged , wit h bronze- a nd sil ve r-covered wooden
ha ndles . The wood en sca bba rd s bore metal
m ounts. Also found we n; a thi c k sword be lt;
bronze a nd iro n belt bu ckles; bows, a rrows a nd
shi elds. T hese lat ter we re circula r a nd Aa t,
meas urin g 54cm to I o8c m in di a m eter, with most
g rips a nd fas tenings of bron ze but so m e of iro n .
Axes fo und in th is d eposit were mounted on
wooden sha fts s gc m to 8scm long; spea rs were
mo unted on sha fts 81 cm , zs ocm , 273c m a nd
zgsc m lo ng. Harness for both driving a nd ridin g
was fo und , togeth er with mu ch j ewellery, too ls,
a mbe r di ce, bowls, spoons, jugs a nd kni ves.
G a rm ents includ ed m a il shirts, gold -pla ted bro nze
circu la r pec tora l pla tes, a nd a conve rted R om a n
cavalry pa ra d e helm et covered in silve r. R om a n
coi ns fo und includ ed so me of Septimus Seve ru s,
d ated I94 A. D .
At Vimose in D enm a rk 67 sword s were fo und ;
m os t were double-ed ged , b u t so me were singleed ged saxes. Of I ,000 spears, fiv e were moun ted On
sha fts 1g8c m , z64c m , z8oc m , a nd 302c m lo ng;
so m e of th ese spea rs ha d in lays of go ld , silve r a nd
bronze. M a il was recovered , som e of it gil d ed ,
toge ther with a comple te m ail shirt gzc m long;
th ere we re a lso examp les of scabba rd furniture,
ABOVE
Shields
Th e d o minant articles o n th e pedestal reliefs are
th e large, ri chly d eco rated , oval shields. They arc
th e only type ofbody shi eld show n ; a ll are o f uniform sha pe and style o f d ecoratio n. Th e exceptions
are exa mpl es which a re cove red in a scale pattern.
Anoth er exa mpl e of a n unu sua l D acia n design is
found on an oval shi eld ca rri ed b y a ma n in
D acian cos tum e on another Trajanic reli ef which
was moved to th e Arch of Constantine. r t has
four mon ster-h ead ed trumpets ra di ating from the
cen tral boss, and two Celtic-type torqu es of
twisted metal whi ch , toget her with the mo nste r
trumpe ts shown in g roups all over th e pedestal,
may illust ra te Celtic inAu ence.
With these exce ptions, D ac ia n shi eld s, as
show n o n th e ca rvin gs, a re heavil y deco rated
with Aori a te, bra id ed , geometric a nd pl a ne ta ry
d es ig ns, as well as th e ancient Thracia n shi e ld
. ..
..
..
!Mrfore
Prio r to th e co nqu es t a nd pacifi ca ti o n of Ga ul by
R o m a n fo rces, Ge rm a n tribes pro per began
mov in g so uth- wes t. By th e earl y 1st ce ntury A. D .
they were in th e Rhin ela nd a rea. Th e peo ple
set tled a t thi s tim e betwee n th e Aller in th e east
a nd the Oise in th e wes t a re believed to have bee n
a n a borigina l g ro up of 'old ' Europea ns, neither
the Marcomanni a nd Quadi , were Germans belongin g to th e Suebia n gro up of tribes . These
Germans had become relativel y civilize d a ft er a
long period ofco ntac t with Noricum a nd P a nnonia .
T heir close kn ow ledge of the operationa l syste m
and eage r acq ui sitio n of the technology of th e
Roma n army made these tribes formid a ble
opponents.
The Goths
From their geog ra phical positiOn the Goths, th e
most powerfu l Germanic group , see m to have
bee n th e las t of that fa mily to se ttle in Europe.
They occupied territory in Scandinavia a nd what
is now nor th ern Prussia, und er various nam es
given th em by classical writers, such as Gothon es
and Guttones, Gothini and Getae (Caudae ).
T heir ow n na m e for themselves appears to h ave
been th e Gutthinda. To return mom enta ri ly to th e
Dacian wars: a st ron g compon ent of the D ac ian
arm y (including the Celtic Bastarn ae and t he
Germans), rather than submit to Traj a n , had
withdrawn . They had dispersed or bee n absorbed,
probably by other tribes or even b y th e Goths
during their movements south at a la ter date.
From th e latter yea rs of th e second century A .D .,
the Got hs were in possession of la rge tracts of
country nort h of the Danube, on th e coas t of th e
Euxin e as far eas t as the Tauric Chersonese or
Crim ea, deep in territory once belonging to the
Sarmatian Roxola ni , from whom they learn ed the
use of heavy cavalry, th e kontos (a la rge, heavy
lance), a nd the stirrup .
These shoc k troo ps, heavy ca taphrac t cavalry,
were not co mpletely new. Cataphracts ha d bee n
in existence amo ng Ira nian nom ad s for ce nturi es.
Th e Sarmatians ha d perfec ted th eir use, whi ch
had enab led th em to defeat the Royal Scythians
and move into control of th eir territory. The Goths
see m to have ove rthrown th e Sarmatians by th eir
ferocity in battle , probably ha mst ringing th e
horses (a Ger ma n tactic ) . Thus, equipped with a
heavy cavalry fo rce to support th e masses of
traditiona l infa ntry, they faced th e Roman army
of the 3rd ce ntury, which was now co mposed
largely of Germa ns, lll yrians a nd North Africans.
In th e mid -3rd ce ntur y Goths broke into th e
Balkans , killin g th e Emperor D ec ius (Hostilianus ).
This was fo llowed, in 256, by a cave-in of th e Rhin e
fronti er . Gaul was overrun by th e Fra nks and
West, co mm a nd ed by th e Romano- V a nd a l
ge neral, Sti li cho. Tn 405 Stilicho d efea ted a mixed
army of Ostrogoths. Quadi a nd Astingi Vandals
with a n a rm y which ha d to be reinforced from
units ma nning th e fronti er on the Rhin e, from
Bavaria a nd Britain . On th e last day of 406
anot her coalitio n - of Marcomanni, Qu adi ,
Astingi a nd Si ling Vandals - crossed th e fro ze n
Rhin e into Gau l, accompanied by a clan of
dispossessed Sarmatian Al a ns. Gau l was d efenceless a nd th ey ha rri ed fa r a nd wide. After three
yea rs th ey were a ll owed to cross th e Pyrenees into
Spain , where th ey settled on th e Atlantic sea board.
Angles, Saxons and Jutes
German warriors were used ex tensively in d efence
of th e Empire, a nd Britain was n o exce ption .
Batavian , Frisian , Fra nkish a nd Saxon soldiers
were used in Brita in from th e 2nd ce ntury , a
trad itio n whi c h th e Romano-British continu ed .
In the 3rd a nd 4th ce nturi es a cha in of forts were
bu ilt around the coas ta l areas , ha rri ed by Saxon
raiders , these forts being m a nn ed b y a special force
under the com m a nd of th e 'Count of th e Saxon
Shore'. Archaeological ev id ence from areas previously we ll po pula ted in north G ermany ,
Denm a rk a nd th e orth Sea coas t shows that soo n
after 400 A.D. a n ex tensive mig ration had taken
place, a nd contin enta l se ttl ement sites were
aband oned . No ev id ence of vi ll ages built after th e
4th century ex ists in so m e coas ta l areas . Cremation
sites used for 300 yea rs show very limited usc; th ey
contain only a few late 5th-century urns. In
Danish bogs, votive d eposits stop abruptly. In 410
the Saxons attacked Britain in earn es t.
At so m e stage in Saxo n involv em ent with
Britai n the d ecisio n was tak en - togeth er with
Angles , Frisia ns, Jutes, and a small numb er of
Franks a nd Slavo ni c W ends - to migrate into the
ri ch fa rmland s of so uth ern Britain. Merce naries
and pirates, fi sherm en a nd fa rm ers brought th eir
families ove r fo r perman ent se ttl em ent. Roman
troo ps had bee n withdra wn to reinforce th e Rhin e
armi es fi ghtin g d es pera tely to hold the collapsing
northern fro nti er ; a nd th e Romanized British
were adv ised , in a letter from th e Emperor
Honorius, to o rga ni ze th emse lves in a programm e
of self-h elp , offe rin g freedom to slaves who
responded to th e call. Th e Romano-British did
ind eed organise, in an adm irab le way , in sharp
settling on the Brest Peninsul a, w here they became w ho moved into R o m a n land a ro und Ge neva as
know n as Bretons. R esistance to the Saxo ns was so foederates (settled allies ).
determined in the 6t h cen tu ry th a t man y Ge r man
I n 45I Attil a led a n a rm y com posed of Huns,
migrants ret urn ed to their ho mela nd s o r settled Alans, Goths a nd o th er Germa ns in to Ga ul. In a n
in nort h-wes tern Ga ul , by co urtesy o f th e F ranks 1. in conclusive ba ttl e a t Campus Mauri ac us a
In the mid-6t h century the A nglo-Saxo n a d va nce mi xed a rm y o f R o m a ns, Burgundia ns, Sali a n
began again , in to Wiltshire a nd towa rds the rich F ran ks a nd Visigo th s checked him . Th e followin g
prizes of D evo n a nd Som erse t, th e best fa rmla nd year the Huns ra id ed Italy, but were bo ug ht off.
in Bri tain . T hi s was th e fin al phase ofth e perm a nent Attil a died in Hungary in 453 Afte r his d ea th th e
Ger manising o f a la rge pa rt of th e British m ain- Hunnish Empire split into disunited gro ups led b y
land. As in other parts o f R om a n E u ro pe p re- th e dead Kh a n's sons. Th eir G erm a n subj ec ts
vio usly, the citi es we re g ra du all y d epo pula ted d estroyed th e Huns in a ba ttl e fo ug ht a t Ned ao in
unti l onl y sq uatters occ upi ed sm a ll precin cts. T o D acia; th e remn a nts were absorbed by th e R o m a n
the German wa rrior-fa rm ers, citi es meant no thing a rm y a nd b y o th er no ma d s on th e step pe.
except as places o f wo nd er , built b y gia nts.
Whil e th e R om a ns a nd o th er G erma n tribes
Stili cho, the R omano-Va nd a l, ha d excited th e were occupi ed with th e Huns, th e Astingi V a nd a ls
distrust of the E mpero r H onoriu s beca use of his in vaded No rth Afri ca from Spain in 428 , wh ere
va ul tin g am bition , a nd was consequ entl y mur- they took ove r th e best provin ces a nd , und e r Kin g
dered. O nce removed , Stilicho could no t ba rgain G a ise ri c, buil t a V a nd a l Aee t whi ch turn ed to
with the Ge rm a n lead ers. Ala ric, kin g of th e piracy. In a bo ut 470 th e Visigo th s d esce nd ed in to
Visigot hs, prcse n ted hi s d em a nd s fo r land subsidies Spa in , beco ming its rulin g cas te, w hil e still
and mili tar y co mm a nd a t th e ga tes of R o me. The holding terri to ries in G a ul.
R oma n a uthori ti es, now safely resid ent in De-Gerrnanising the Eastern Arrny
R avenn a , refused hi s req uests: thi s led to a n im- Th e Empero r o f th e Eas t, Z eno (457- 474 ) , used
mediate b ut ha lf- hear ted sac k o f th e city. Th e ! sau ria ns (se mi-civilised A na to lia n mo unt a in ee rs)
po li tica l effec t, however, was d evastating. R o ma n in th e I m peri a l Gu a rd , a nd form ed new regimen ts
prestige plum meted . Th e Visigo th s ma rched of ! sa urians a nd Arm eni a ns. H e also indu ced th e
away to the so uth with so m e id ea of crossing to G o th s re m aining in th e eas tern Empire to mig rate
No r th Afri ca, w here they could control R om a n to I taly, ena bling him to leave his successo r a n
corn-l ands . In so uth ern Ita ly, Al a ri c di ed , thus a r my purged of tru culent G erm a ns.
O n e o f th e fin a l m oves whi ch mu st be m entioned
enablin g un d ivid ed R o m a n a t tentio n to be
directed north wa rd ove r th e Alps. Th e Visigo ths before closin g this survey is th a t o f th e Fra nks,
were fi nall y led out o f Ita ly b y Al a ri c's bro ther who moved into north ern G a ul in 486 , expa nd ing
Atha ul f, to th e Rhin ela nd , w here th ey assisted into Al em a nni c a nd Visigo thic territor y led by
R oma n fo rces in th e pacifi catio n o f th a t a rea. In th eir king, C lovis, w ho di ed in 5 I I A .D .
Whil e th e G o th s climbed to th e ze nith o f
4 14 they tre kked into Spa in , wh ere, by 4 16, they
had exte rmin a ted the Siling V a nd a ls a nd Al a ns. powe r und er their kin g Th eodo ri c the G rea t
T he Asting i V a nd a ls a nd Sue bi a n G erm a ns were (45 1- 526), th e Ger ma n tribes in vo lved in th e
saved by R oman interve nti on . Th e Visigo ths great m ig ra tio ns se ttled d own a mo ng th eir
accepte d ex tensive la nd s in so uth ern Ga ul , north R o m a nised subj ec ts. Th e last m ove was m a d e in the
6 th centu ry b y th e L o mbard s, who, to avoid
of the Pyre nees.
The Empire of Attila
no ma dic press ure, m oved wes t. In 568 th ey
By the 5th cen tury the Huns controlled a vas t a rea se ttled in th e Po V all ey a nd so m e la nd s to the
ofGerma n ter rito ry a nd pas ture, once belo nging so u th . Th e nex t o ut-po urin g o f Ge rm a ni c peop les
to I rani a n no mad s, stre tchin g bac k to th e bega n in th e 8t h ce ntury, wh en th ey we re kn ow n
Caspian . In 436 they a ttac ked th e Burg undia ns, as V ikin gs, Ru s, V a ra ngia ns a nd No rm a ns.
1
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Africa
Arabs
ThePlates
The D acia n triba l warrior, B3 , wears crea mcoloured trousers , sometimes d eco ra ted with
band s of black embroidered patterns. Th e twohand ed weapon is th e murd ero us falx , an iron
battle-scythe with th e cutting edge on th e insid e
of the curve; th e falx , a nd th e similar but onehand ed sica, were th e ethni c weapons of the
Thracian p eoples in general, and were used by
part of the infantry of all Thracia n groups.
C: T he Marcomanni and Quadi, 1st- 2nd centuries A.D.
These fi g ures represent th e most politica ll y
advanced a nd cohesive group of Germanic tribes
of the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. They lived in
close co ntac t with th e Roman Empire and were,
in conseq uen ce, exposed to strong M editerra nea n
influ ences. Th e chieftain , C2, wears a bron ze
helm et which appears in reasonable d etail on th e
sc ulpted sarcophagu s of a late Antonin e ge neral
now in the Museo Nazionale dell e T erm e, R o m e.
W e show it here as a Roman cavalry ba ttl e helm e t
mounted with a fabulou s beast head to suit
Glossary
Alemanni
Alans
Angles
Angon
Britons
Burgundians
Celts
Cimbri
Dacians
Foed erates
Francisca
Franks
Frisians
La T ene
Lomba rds
Ma rcoma nni
Ostrogo th s
Phrygia ns
Quadi
Sali a n Fra nks
Sarm a ti a ns
Sax (Saex )
Saxons
Scythia ns
Slavs
Suebi
Spa ngenh elm
T eutons
T euton es
Thracia ns
Va nd a ls
Visigo th s
Wend s
Sources: