The expression arose among the ancient Greeks, who called any foreigner a barbarian. The first to be “gifted” with the term were the Persians, around the 5th century BC For the Greeks, the guttural languages (with most of the sounds produced in the throat) of the Persians had sounds similar to “bar-bar-bar”. – hence the origin of the word. But the expression became famous even around the 1st century BC, when the Romans began to call barbarians all nomadic or semi-nomadic peoples in northern Europe who lived beyond imperial borders.
In the reports of the Roman enemies – few barbarian groups knew how to write –, the barbarians entered history as dirty, bloodthirsty, primitive and uncontrollable. But the fact is, they were relatively civilized, living in small villages, growing grain and raising cattle. These peoples lived on good terms with the Romans until the 4th century, when a horde of Huns from the east invaded Europe, pressing other peoples to enter through the borders of the Roman Empire. The succession of invasions reached its apex in the year 476, when the last emperor was deposed and a barbarian chief assumed the title of king of Rome.
Through contact with the Romans, many barbarian peoples absorbed their culture and their language, Latin. As each of these tribes spoke Latin in a different way, several different languages emerged over time, although related, such as Spanish, French and our Portuguese. The formation of kingdoms and the political division of Europe that we know today also began to be born at the time of the barbarian invasions.
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They gnawed the clothes of the king of Rome
People from the east invaded Europe and destroyed the Roman Empire in the 5th century
ANGLO-SAXONS
who were A people descended from three groups that migrated from present-day Germany and Denmark to present-day England in the 5th century: the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes
heyday In the 5th and 6th centuries, the Anglo-Saxons drove the Britons out of Britain and stayed on the island.
What end did they take The Anglo-Saxons were dominated by the Normans, who invaded the island in the 11th century. But the future name of the country they occupied, England (England), would be derived from the old expression englandor “Land of the Angles”
HUNS
who were Coming from Asia in the 4th century, the Huns were feared warriors who lived in wagons or makeshift tents.
heyday With overwhelming cavalry attacks, they created a vast empire in the 5th century. Their leader Attila twice invaded the Eastern Roman Empire, devastated the Balkans, advanced south into Greece, and pillaged Italy.
What end did they take At Attila’s death in 453, his sons divided the empire and were defeated by a combined force of Ostrogoths and other peoples in 455.
+ Who was Attila the Hun?
GERMANY
who were They were not a single people, but a cluster of tribes without a central government who used to fight together in military battles. The language of these people influenced the formation of the modern German language
heyday From the year 213, the Alemani attacked provinces of the Roman Empire in the western part of Europe. At the end of the 5th century, they invaded part of present-day France and Switzerland.
What end did they take In 496, the Alemanni were defeated by the Franks and incorporated into their domain.
GAULES
who were Original inhabitants of present-day Belgium and Holland since the 5th century BC, the Gauls migrated to southern Europe. The area they came to occupy, called Gaul, encompasses northern modern France, Belgium, and western Germany.
heyday In 390 BC, the Gauls took Rome. In response, the Romans conquered Gaul, an occupation completed in 50 BC.
What end did they take Colonized by the Romans in the 1st century BC Gallic colonies survived until the 4th century, when the region was invaded by barbarians such as the Franks
FRANKS
who were The first records of this people are from the 3rd century, when they dominated areas of present-day Belgium and Holland.
heyday They tried to invade Gaul in the 3rd and 4th centuries, but the Romans won the day. Taking advantage of an invasion of the Huns in the region, they finally dominated the area in the 5th century
What end did they take The Franks controlled Central Europe until the 8th century, when the power of their empire was divided into several kingdoms that would become nations like France.
GOTHS
who were This people of Scandinavian origin was divided into Ostrogoths and Visigoths, who spoke two dialects of the Gothic language, a distant precursor of German
heyday The Ostrogoths created an empire north of the Black Sea in the 3rd century. The Visigoths captured Rome in the year 410
What end did they take The Ostrogoths fell out with the Huns and the Byzantine Empire (the Eastern Roman Empire), ceasing to be a cohesive group in the 5th century. The Visigoths were destroyed by the Muslims who invaded Europe in the 8th century
VANDALS
who were These people originally from Central Europe fled to the west of the continent to get away from the Huns in the 5th century. In 429, the Vandals moved to North Africa and created a kingdom in Tunisia and Algeria
heyday Its pirate fleets controlled most of the western Mediterranean Sea. In 455, the Vandals made a brief takeover of Rome, pilfering a lot of works of art.
What end did they take In 533, the Byzantines invaded North Africa and destroyed the Vandal kingdom.