Germanic Invasions and the Fall of the Roman Empire

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Discussion
Conclusion
Works cited

Introduction

Ever since the late Roman state, the Roman world had serious political and social problems that led to the fall of the Roman Empire. The Germanic invasions, especially those that took place in the 5th century contributed significantly to bringing in internal cracks in the Roman Empire. These internal crises led to the collapse of the political unity in the Roman Empire which was replaced by the disintegration of 5th century Europe into various Germanic territories.

Discussion

Regardless of their differences, Romans knew and live well with Germans even before the 2nd century. For these reasons, Romans allowed Germans to cross the border to live and work in the Roman Empire as slaves and farmers as well as soldiers (Geary, 34). This was a kind of mutual relationship whereby the Germans liked the Romanic civilization and on their part, the Romans liked the Germans for their strength and values.

The situation took a different turn at the start of the 3rd century when the Germans invaded the northern Rhine and Danube. The climax was in the 4th century when a German tribe, Huns moved deep into the Roman Empire territory and settled in the Danube. As a result, they forced Visigoths to migrate to the east of the empire. Visigoths were very important to the strength of the Roman Empire’s military.

As a result of unbearable conditions from the Roman administration, the Visigoths revolted and conquered the Romans and killed their emperor Valens in Adrianople in the late 4th century. After their success in their battle, the Visigoths advanced and took control over Greece. Operating from Greece, the Visigoths went on conquered Italy and took over Rome in the early 5th century. Afterward, they advanced and settled in Aquitaine where they formed a Germanic territory in the Roman empires’ soil. They further advanced their rule to Spain where they established another kingdom at Toledo.

Huns on the other hand did not stop at the Danube; they also expanded their rule and took control over central and Eastern Europe. In the period between 451 and 452, the Huns went on and conquered Gaul and Italy with the help of a combined force of Roman and German armies. However, the Huns’ empire collapsed at the hands of Châlons in 453 after their leaders’ death.

The advancement of the Visigoth’s rule in Italy led to the shifting of armies from Britain and the Danube to fight for Italy. This in essence weakened the defenses and as such made it easier for the Germanic tribes to move through the weakly protected frontiers and take control over nearly all the west of the Roman Empire. Overpowered, the Romans were not able to fight their invaders and this led to the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

The Burgundians also invaded southeastern Gaul and ‘Burgundies’ who are currently living there is a clear mark of a Germanic settlement. On the day that marked the collapse of the western part of the Roman Empire in 476, Odovacer who was then the German leader deposed Augustulus, the last emperor, and founded an independent kingdom in Italy. Later, in 493, Odovacer was conquered by the Ostrogoths under the leadership of Theodoric who took control over Italy (Guy, 76).

A German tribe that moved to other territories and founded a long-lasting presence in those territories was the Franks. The reason for their success in moving to new territories was that unlike other Germanic tribes they never abandoned their homeland. After moving into the Lower Rhine, in the late 5th century, the Franks went on and took control over northern Gaul. Under the good leadership of Clovis, they built a strong army that overthrew Roman’s last empire in Gaul. Under continued good leadership they advanced and took control over Western Europe and made it a unity.

In the last part of the 5th century, Roman control over western territory was over as more than half the territory was under the control of the Germanic peoples. There was a shift of power from Romans to Germans who moved into the territory and founded autonomous kingdoms there. The Visigoths settled in Spain, Burgundians occupied Provence, the Ostrogoths took control over Italy and the Franks settled in Gaul.

Although Germanic tribes were comparatively small in numbers, they easily invaded and conquered Western Europe due to several factors. One of these factors was that they had strong armies than the Romans (Geary, 34). Moreover, the roman frontiers were also poor and the Germanic armies received little if any resistance from the Roman people.

Even though the Germanic tribes led to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, imperial rule went on in the East. In 527, under the leadership of Emperor Justinian, the east started a battle from Constantinople aimed at defeating Germanic peoples and as such take back the western territories (Sherman & Salisbury, 44). In 533 the east military took control over the Vandals in Africa from where they went on and took control over Italy. But their success was temporary since a German tribe by the name of Lombards invaded Italy and took over the northern plain and founded Benevento and Spoleto.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Germanic invasions can be attributed to the slow disintegration of social, economical, and political standings of the Rome Empire which led to its fall. In the 5th century, all western territories of the Roman Empire and Italy fell under the control of invading Germanic tribes. Even though the eastern territories survived, as a result of the invasions, the entire Roman Empire started a wide range of political and social changes since the 3rd century. Some of the transformations included rejection of Romanic traditions, a shift toward autocratic governance as well as the adoption of Christianity among others.

Works cited

Greary, Patrick.” Myth of Nations. The Medieval Origins of Europe” New Jersey: Princeton press. 2003, Pg. 34.

Guy, Halsall. “Barbarian migrations and the Roman West, 376–568.” Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2007, Pg. 76.

Sherman, Dennis & Salisbury, Joyce. “The West in the World.” New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities. 2007, pg. 44.

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Germanic Invasions and the Fall of the Roman Empire

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