The Visigoths

The Visigoths (376-378AD)

Headless Statue and
Ceramic Pot, Cumae, Rome

The Visigoths or "wise" Goths were a loose wandering confederation numbering around 100,000. The Visigoths were a threat to the Western Roman empire and they did more than any other Germanic tribe to tap the dwindling resources of Rome. In 376AD, the Visigoths appeared at the border of Rome, driven by the Hunnish invasions in the north. The Visigoths were admitted into Rome as a defeated people and treated unfairly and cruelly. Angered at this treatment, the Visigoth army attacked a Roman army at Adrianople in 378AD and destroyed it, killing Emperor Valens. The Visigoths swept through the Balkans and took what they needed and a great deal more. [RB] {NR}