late barbarians routed at the Battle of Pannonia by an alliance of tribes including the Ostrogoths The Huns were prevented from moving into the Eastern Roman Empire; consequently, they vanished as a tribe THE GOTHS The Goths were originally a group of Teutonic tribes from Scandinavia who had settled between the Vistula and Oder Rivers in present-day Poland The Roman Empire and the Goths met under the rule of Gordian III (238–244 c.e.) The Goths invaded Thrace in 238 c.e The Romans concluded an alliance (foedus) with them in 332 that remained in effect until 350 when Gothic king Ermeric extended his territory from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Black Sea Around 369 divisive internal issues caused a permanent split between the Goths, creating the Teuringi, meaning “forest people,” who eventually became known as the Visigoths (western Goths), and the Greutingi, meaning “shore people,” and known as the Ostrogoths (eastern Goths) Little animosity persisted among the split Gothic tribes; groups would pass from one tribe to the other THE VISIGOTHS The Visigoths first gained power under Emperor Theodosius I (346–395), who used them to help defend the frontier in Moesia, present-day Bulgaria Under elected king Alaric (c 370–410) they left Moeisa, became Arian, and plundered cities in the present-day Balkans and Italy until an pact was made with the eastern emperor in 397 Alaric’s forces grew in strength until ultimately Alaric besieged Rome in 408 and 409 and received a huge ransom Alaric proclaimed the usurper Priscus Attalus as his puppet Western Roman emperor In 410 Alaric occupied Rome, an act that contributed to the final collapse of the Roman Empire THE BURGUNDIANS The Burgundians, who had settled in present-day Poland, moved westward around 260 c.e to the presentday Koblenz area They founded their own nation, were crushed by the Huns, later established a foedus (alliance) with Rome, and rooted themselves in present-day Geneva The Franks eventually vanquished the Burgundians, who converted to Catholicism by 533 and submitted to the Merovingian dynasty in 534, under whom they thrived THE FRANKS The Franks were originally an alliance of numerous German tribes that included the Allemani, Franks, and Sax- 243 ons The Franks moved into present-day Belgium by 357 c.e., converted to Christianity in 360, and were soundly defeated by the Romans at the Battle of Argentoratum In 486 the Franks defeated the Romans in present-day France Around 496 the Allemani component of the Franks were defeated, and they became members of the Ostrogoth tribe then ruled by Theodoric THE VANDALS The Vandals first raided the Roman Empire around 275 c.e As they fled from the Huns they settled in Gaul and then Spain from 409 to 411 They moved to North Africa ultimately conquering Algeria and Morocco The Vandals destroyed Hippo and finally settled in Carthage in 439, raided Sicily and Italy, then sacked Rome in 455 The Western Roman Empire, suffering from population decline, decaying cities, and a poor economy, finally collapsed in 476 Their vicious methods made their name synonymous with wanton destruction Byzantine emperor Justinian I conquered the Vandals in 533 THE SUEVI The Suevi were a Germanic tribe that resided in presentday Czech Republic They were pressured by the Huns to relocate, and in 407 c.e they crossed the Rhine, eventually settling in Galicia, present-day Spain They were vanquished by the Visigoths in 456 and disappeared from the written record THE LOMBARDS The Lombards were from present-day northwest Germany They migrated south and by the sixth century c.e moved into present-day northern Italy The Franks besieged the Lombards in 773 Emperor Charlemagne (742–814) intervened and captured Lombard king Desiderius in 767, effectively ending Lombard rule in Italy THE AVARS The Avars were mounted nomads from Central Asia who settled on the present-day Hungarian plain An 80,000-strong expedition of Avars, Huns, Gepids, and Bulgars laid siege to Constantinople in 626 c.e., but the attempt was unsuccessful The Avars successfully pushed the Croats and the Serbs southward and fought the Merovingians in present-day France However, Charlemagne destroyed their capital in 796 Shortly thereafter the Avars disappeared as a tribe because they incorporated themselves into the Carolingian dynasty