The Migration Period, also called the Barbarian Invasions or German: Völkerwanderung (wandering of the peoples), was a period of human migration that occurred roughly between 300 to 700 CE in Europe, marking the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. These movements were catalyzed by profound changes within both the Roman Empire and the so-called 'barbarian frontier'. Migrating peoples during this period included the Huns, Goths, Vandals, Bulgars, Alans, Suebi, Frisians, and Franks, among other Germanic and Slavic tribes.

The migration movement may be divided into two phases: The first phase, between 300 and 500 CE, put Germanic peoples in control of most areas of the former Western Roman Empire. The first to formally enter Roman territory — as refugees from the Huns — were the Visigoths in 376. Tolerated by the Romans on condition that they defend the Danube frontier, they rebelled, eventually invading Italy and sacking Rome itself in 410 CE, before settling in Iberia and founding a kingdom there that endured 300 years. They were followed into Roman territory by the Ostrogoths led by Theodoric the Great, who settled in Italy itself. In Gaul, the Franks, a fusion of western Germanic tribes whose leaders had been strongly aligned with Rome, entered Roman lands more gradually and peacefully during the 5th century, and were generally accepted as rulers by the Roman-Gaulish population. Fending off challenges from the Allemanni, Burgundians and Visigoths, the Frankish kingdom became the nucleus of the future states of France and Germany. Meanwhile, Roman Britain was more slowly invaded and settled by Angles and Saxons.

The second phase, between 500 and 700 CE, saw Slavic tribes settling in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly in eastern Magna Germania, and gradually making it predominantly Slavic. The Bulgars, a now-Slavicized people possibly of Turkic origin who had been present in far Eastern Europe since the 2nd century CE, conquered the eastern Balkan territory of the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century CE. The Lombards, a Germanic people, settled northern Italy in the region now known as Lombardy. Migrations of peoples, although not strictly part of the 'Migration Age', continued beyond AD 1000, marked by Viking, Magyar, Moorish, Turkic and Mongol invasions, and these also had significant effects, especially in Central and Eastern Europe.

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  • hexaflexagonbear [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Lol I love how during the George Floyd protests people tried to dismiss the unrest as "it's external agitators" (??), but everytime a crowd of like 30 people gathers in China a change of government is inevitable.

    • PorkrollPosadist [he/him, they/them]
      ·
      2 years ago

      That was one of the funniest fucking things. They pulled that "outside agitators" shit HARD all over the news, then within 1-2 days there were simultaneous protests in every single state. I think at a fundamental level, the left realized, "We can't just let them send all the national guard resources to Minneapolis and crush this thing. We need to start fucking shit up all over and keep their resources spread." It wasn't enough this time around, but this kind of solidarity is what it is going to take.

    • SorosFootSoldier [he/him, they/them]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Yeah I remember it happening when that undercover cop came in and tried to pull some shit early on, anyone else remember that? Then the media went bonkers over "oh these are peaceful protests EXCEPT"

      • PorkrollPosadist [he/him, they/them]
        ·
        2 years ago

        I think an important threshold was crossed this time around. Normally, all the feds need to do is send in some fucking goon to start setting fires. Then the protest is de-legitimized and it can be swiftly crushed. While this still works on a lot of naive people, an unprecedented number of people rejected this premise and embraced the cool zone.