The emergence of barbarian kingdoms. General characteristics of the barbarian kingdoms

The movements of barbarian tribes and their attacks on the Roman provinces became commonplace. However, the Roman Empire for the time being managed to contain this onslaught. At the end of the IV century. began mass movements of Germanic and other barbarian tribes, which received the name of the great migration of peoples and ended with the conquest of the entire territory of the Western Roman Empire. What caused them?

The main reason for these movements was the growth of the population of barbarian tribes, caused by an increase in living standards due to the intensification of agriculture and the transition to a stable settled system. The barbarian tribes sought to seize the fertile lands of the Roman Empire and create permanent settlements on them. Numerous German nobility used these campaigns to seize prey and exploit the conquered population.

Huns. The invasion of the Visigoths into the territory of the Roman Empire. The first to move within the empire were the Visigoths. The tribes were ready until the II century. lived in the lower reaches of the Vistula, where, according to ancient legends, they moved from Scandinavia. At the beginning of the III century. most of the Goths moved to the southeast and settled in the Black Sea region (from the lower reaches of the Danube to the Don). Settling in the west in the forest belt, the Goths separated from the eastern steppe. The former were called the Visigoths (Visigoths), the latter Ostrogoths (Ostrogoths). In the Black Sea region, the Goths subjugated the Slavic and Scythian-Sarmatian population living there, as well as the Germanic tribe of Gerul who settled here. Thus, a large multi-tribal union was created, in which the Goths (Ostrogoths) were a minority. They borrowed a lot from local residents, in particular in the military field. East Roman sources often call the Goths Sarmatians.

The Goths undertook military campaigns against the Roman Empire. The Heruls who lived in the Azov region made pirate raids on the Malaysian coast. At the same time, the Goths were involved in trade relations with the empire and were subject to Roman influence. Christianity spread among them in the form of the Arian heresy. His preacher was Bishop Ulfilah (313-383), who compiled the Gothic alphabet and translated, it is believed, the Bible into the Gothic language. This translation is the oldest monument of Germanic writing. The "Gothic state" reached its highest power during the time of the Ostrogothic king Ermanarich, who subdued a number of Slavic tribes and extended the borders of the Ostrogothic union far to the east. The Visigoths were not part of this association. They were drawn into the orbit of Roman influence.

In 375, the Huns invaded the Black Sea region - warlike nomads who moved from the depths of Asia and had already subjugated many peoples by that time. Under their blows the tribal union of the Ostrogoths fell, and its leader. Ermanarich, badly wounded in the battle, committed suicide. Most of the Ostrogoths fell under the rule of the Huns. The Visigoths, fleeing from the Hunnic threat, appealed to the Roman authorities to allow them to settle on the territory of the empire as allies. Emperor Va-lent concluded an agreement with the Visigoths, and they were settled in Moesia. But the Roman authorities did not fulfill their promises, did not provide them with food and treated the Visigoths like slaves. This led to an uprising of the barbarians, which supported the population of Thrace. In the battle of Adrianople (378), the Goths won a victory, Emperor Valens died. The Roman commander Theodosius barely managed to push the Goths away from Constantinople. Theodosius, who soon became emperor, concluded a peace treaty with the Visigoths, allowing them to settle in the best lands of the Balkan Peninsula as allies of the empire. For some time the Goths were in peaceful relations with the Romans, but soon after the death of Theodosius (395), under the leadership of King Allaric, they began to undertake devastating raids and tried to capture Constantinople. The emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, Arcadius, was forced to pay a large ransom to the Visigoths and provide the rich province of Illyria. In 401, Allaric undertook a campaign in Northern Italy, but was defeated by the Roman troops commanded by the military leader Stilicho.

At the beginning of the 5th century. The Western Roman Empire had to repel the unprecedented onslaught of the barbarians. In 404, a mass of Germans under the leadership of Radagais invaded Italy from the upper Danube. They laid siege to Florence. Stilicho mobilized all his forces and defeated them. Many barbarians were captured and enslaved. For the defense of Italy, Stilicho was forced to withdraw the Roman troops from Britain, where the Anglo-Saxons had already begun to invade. The situation in Italy became disastrous after the execution of Stilicho, who was convicted by the Roman Senate on suspicion of treason. Huge hordes of Visigoths, replenished by immigrants from other barbarian tribes, occupied Northern and Central Italy and approached Rome. Emperor Honorius took refuge in Ravenna. Allaric demanded a large ransom and handover of all slaves of barbaric origin. These demands were met, but the emperor refused to provide the barbarians with the provinces of Dalmatia, Norik and Venice, which they sought. Then Rome was subjected to a hunger blockade. On August 24, 410, the city fell. The army of Allaric entered Rome and subjected it to a terrible plunder. These events made an indelible impression on contemporaries. The fall " eternal city"Was considered not only the end of the Roman Empire, but also a representation of light. Supporters of paganism blamed Christians for everything. The well-known figure of the Christian church, the philosopher Augustine the Blessed, in his work "On the City of God" contrasted the perishing "earthly kingdom" with the eternal "kingdom of God", the prototype of which he considered the Christian church.

After robbing Rome and capturing huge booty, Allaric headed for the South of Italy, intending to move to Sicily, and then to North Africa... But here the Visigoths failed. Allaric died shortly thereafter. Having elected a new king, the Visigoths moved back to the north.

Visigothic kingdom. The Visigoths captured the southwestern part of Gaul and established their kingdom there with the capital at Toulouse (419). Formally, they were considered federates of the empire, and their king was a Roman military leader, but in essence it was the first independent barbarian state on Roman territory. The Visigoths took away from the local landowners two-thirds of the arable land and divided it among themselves "by lot." So the barbarian warriors turned into communal peasants. In the second half of the 5th century. the territory of Gaul to the Loire and most of Spain were conquered. After the loss of Aquitaine, conquered by the Franks in 507, the center of the Visigothic kingdom moved to Spain (the capital of Toledo). In 554, Byzantium captured the southeastern coast of Spain. Thus. The Visigothic kingdom owned only part of the Pyrenean Peninsula; the northwestern part belonged to the kingdom of the Suebi.

The conquerors, having settled over a vast territory, constituted a minority of the population. The Visigoths did not create continuous settlements, but lived among the Spanish-Roman population, which was clearly inferior in number and level of development of material and spiritual culture. This, despite their special privileges - the military profession, tax exemption, naturally led to the Romanization of the Goths. At the end of the VI century. the Visigoths abandoned Arianism and adopted the Roman-Christian religion, which further accelerated their assimilation. The mixing of the Visigoths with the local population contributed to the formation of feudal relations in the Visigothic society. The peasants lost their freedom, the nobility turned into large landowners.

With the development of feudal relations in the Visigothic state, internal turmoil began. This facilitated the Arab conquest of Spain.

Kingdom of Vandal. In the III century. vandals moved from the depths of Germany to the Middle Danube. Under the onslaught of the Huns, they moved west along with the Suebs and Allans (a tribe of Sarmatian origin that came from the east), broke through at the beginning of the 5th century. Roman defensive line in the Middle Rhine and invaded Gaul and then Spain. In 428, the Vandals, together with the Allans, crossed the Strait (Gibraltar) to North Africa and began to conquer it. The Vandal king Geyserich skillfully used the current situation - the rebellion of the Roman governor Boniface, the liberation struggle of the local population of the Berbers, the agonistic movement, and within ten years he conquered most of the Roman possessions. So, on the Roman territory a new state was created - the kingdom of the Vandals with the capital in Carthage (439). Like the Visigoths, the Vandals were considered federates of the empire, which did not prevent them from appropriating its territory and plundering its cities. As Arians, the Vandals seized the lands and property of the Roman Church, as well as the wealth of the Roman nobility. They captured the islands of the Mediterranean Sea - Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, the Balearic Islands. In 455, the Vandals sacked Rome. At the same time, many monuments of culture and art were destroyed. Later, the term "vandalism" was used to refer to the senseless destruction of cultural property. The Vandal kingdom lasted until 534 and was conquered by Byzantium.

Kingdom of Burgundy. East Germanic Burgundian tribe in the IV century. moved to the Middle Rhine and founded his kingdom in the area of Worms, which was defeated by the Huns. The remnants of the Burgundians (with the permission of the Roman general Aetius) settled as federates in Sabaudia (Savoy). Later, the Burgundians occupied the entire Upper and Middle Rhone and in 457 founded a new kingdom with the capital in Lyon. Like other barbarians, the Burgundians divided the land with the local population, taking first half, and later two-thirds of the arable land, as well as half of the estates and communal lands and one third of the slaves from the Gallo-Roman landowners. The Burgundians settled in consanguineous groups (headlights), which later turned into territorial communities. Settlement among the Gallo-Romans contributed to the disintegration of communal-clan relations among the Burgundians and the growth of social differentiation. The Burgundian Kingdom remained in touch with the Roman Empire until its fall. In 534 it was conquered by the Franks.

Fighting the Huns. The Huns, having subjugated a number of Germanic tribes - the Ostrogoths, Heruls, Gepids, Quads, Marcomans, Skirs, Thuringians, Eastern Burgundians, created a huge military alliance. At the end of the IV century. they invaded Pannonia and soon turned it into the center of their dominions. The Western Roman Empire and Byzantium used the Huns to fight against barbarian invasions and suppress uprisings in the provinces, which undoubtedly contributed to the strengthening of the Hunnic alliance. In the V century. the Huns already had a hereditary power. They remained nomads, and their conquests were devastating: they destroyed villages and even cities, turning the occupied territories into pastures for livestock. Especially dangerous for European nations the Huns became at the time of Attila (435-453), nicknamed for his cruelty "the scourge of God."

In 451 the Huns invaded Gaul and laid siege to Orleans. The common danger forced the Western Roman Empire and the barbarian peoples to join forces. The decisive battle, nicknamed the "Battle of the Nations", took place on the Catalaun Fields (near Troyes). Allied army, consisting of the Romans, Visigoths, Franks and part of the Burgundians, under the command of the Roman commander Aetius, defeated the Huns, with whom the conquered Germanic tribes fought. Nevertheless, Attila made a trip to Italy in 452 and captured a huge booty there. In 453 he died, and the Hunnic union soon disintegrated. The tribes conquered by the Huns gained independence.

End of the Western Roman Empire. Despite the loss of almost all of their provinces. The Western Roman Empire still formally continued to exist. Imperial court for a long time he was not in Rome, but in Ravenna, and the affairs of the empire were actually in charge of the military leaders-barbarians, who commanded mercenaries from the barbarian tribes. In 476, the commander Odoacer, who came from the Germanic tribe of Skir, deprived the throne of the minor Roman emperor Romulus Augustulus, executed his father Orestes and became the de facto ruler of Italy and Rome. The year 476 is considered to be the date of the fall of the Western Roman Empire, although in fact Rome fell back in 410, when it was conquered by the Visigoths. Odoacer himself did not believe that he was abolishing the empire by this act. He sent the insignia of imperial dignity to Constantinople to the Eastern Roman emperor. But in essence it was a radical upheaval. In Italy, as elsewhere in the former Western Roman Empire, the barbarians became the masters. Odoacer carried out a reform, allotting land to his warriors, for which he took a third of their land property from local landowners. All the barbarian kingdoms in the west, considered to be Roman "allies", gained independence.

Ostrogothic Kingdom. After the collapse of the Hunnic Union, the Ostrogoths settled in the Danube regions as federates of the Byzantine Empire. The leader of the Ostrogoths, Theodoric, from a noble family of Amals, subdued almost all Ostrogoths and began to rule like a king. In 488, with the consent of the Eastern Roman emperor, he organized a campaign to Italy with the aim of conquering it. The Ostrogoths failed to achieve a decisive victory. In 493, Theodoric concluded an agreement with Odoacer on the division of Italy. But soon Odoacer was treacherously killed at a feast at Theodoric, and all of Italy came under the rule of the Ostrogoth king. So a new barbarian state was created - the kingdom of the Ostrogoths. It included, in addition to Italy, areas along the Danube - part of modern Switzerland, Austria and Hungary (Pannonia). The capital was Ravenna.

The Ostrogoths settled mainly in Northern and Central Italy. They took away one third of the land (mainly from the barbarians, endowed at one time by Odoacer) and divided it among themselves. Theodoric also confiscated the possessions of the fiscus and vacant lands and distributed them to the nobility. Italo-Roman landowners, from whom land was not confiscated, had to pay the Goths one third of their income. Thus, large landholdings were not eliminated. Theodoric even endowed some of the Roman aristocrats with new possessions. In general, as a result of the Ostrogothic conquest, small communal land ownership increased slightly, but no radical transformation of agrarian relations took place. Under the influence of the Roman order, the Ostrogoths quickly disintegrated clan ties and social differentiation took place.

Royal power among the Ostrogoths very soon lost its military-democratic character and acquired despotic features. Theodoric considered himself the successor of the Roman emperors and imitated them in every possible way. Theodoric's legislation was based on Roman law. German customary law was not laid down and legislatively formalized, as in other barbarian kingdoms. In Italy, the Roman law and the previous state apparatus have been preserved, according to the old tradition, the Senate functioned. The Roman nobility was attracted to the highest positions. The Roman Church was equalized with the Gothic Arian Church. For the Goths, there was a special German control system headed by counts. Theodoric's policy increased the ethnic disunity in the country, which made it difficult for the Romanization of the Goths and the interaction of the Roman and German social systems.

The Gothic military elite sought to weaken the influence of the Roman nobility and take possession of its wealth. After the death of Theodoric, this led to open confrontations. Queen Amalasunta, who inherited the throne, tried to continue the policy of her father, patronizing the Roman nobility and focusing on Byzantium, which cost her not only the throne, but also her life. A fierce struggle for power began among the Ostrogothic nobility. I took advantage of this Byzantine empire, which has long sought to conquer Italy.

In 534, the Byzantine emperor sent a huge army and navy to Italy under the command of Belisarius. Roman aristocrats and Catholic clergy supported Byzantium. In a short time, the Byzantines took over most of the country, including Rome and Ravenna. However, the war was not over. The restoration policy of Byzantium was opposed not only by the barbarians, but also by the lower strata of the Roman population. Erected to the royal throne, the leader of the Goths, Totila, cruelly dealt with the Byzantine-minded Roman nobility, depriving them of possessions and income, and at the same time eased the position of the colonists and other dependent people, trying to attract them into his army. This made it possible to achieve a turning point in the course of the war and expel the Byzantines from Northern and Central Italy. But Byzantium sent large military reinforcements to Italy and in 552 defeated the Goths. Totila fell on the battlefield, and the Goths fought a liberation war for another three years. In 555, Italy, devastated in a twenty-year war, was completely conquered by Byzantium. Emperor Justinian, in a law specially issued for Italy, prescribed that all lands, slaves and columns should be returned to their former masters. A significant part of the property was taken away from the Ostrogoths. Many Goths left the country, only in the north of Italy the Gothic population was partially preserved. Nevertheless, Byzantium did not succeed in completely restoring the old slaveholding order in Italy.

“Pangobard Kingdom. Thirteen years after the Byzantine conquest, the Lombards invaded Italy from the north. They had already settled in Pannonia earlier, creating a large tribal union there, which included not only Germanic tribes (Saxons, Gepids), but also Sarmatians with Bulgarians. Byzantium at one time used the Lombards as allies in the war against the Ostrogoths. Now the Lombard king Alboin decided to conquer Italy from Byzantium. Compared to other Germanic tribes, the Lombards were the most brutal conquerors: they destroyed cities, exterminated civilians or turned them into slaves. Not content with one or two-thirds of the land, like other barbarians, they took almost all the property from the rich landowners, and they themselves were expelled or made their slaves. The entire local population was taxed and placed under the control of the Lombard dukes.

Gradually, the Lombards conquered most of Italy. They owned all Northern part country. In Central Italy, the Lombard state did not include only the region of Ravenna (the Ravenna Exarchate, which remained under the rule of Byzantium) and a small territory near Rome. In southern Italy, the Duchies of Benevent and Spoleto belonged to the Lombards. The most numerous settlements of the Lombards were in the valley of the Po River, called Lombardy (Lombardy). The Lango-Bardic conquest dealt a final blow to the remnants of slavery in Italy and had a decisive influence on the development of feudalism.

Under the influence of a more developed socio-economic system in the conquered country, the Lombards quickly disintegrated communal-clan ties, established private ownership of land, and increased social differentiation. The old military-democratic system was falling into decay. Instead of the general militia, the royal squad acquired decisive importance. For service, the vigilantes received land plots and turned into feudal landowners.

As a result of the formalization of feudal relations, the position of royal power was weakened. The political struggle intensified in the country. The dukes and other magnates, who kept the mass of the population dependent and had military squads, strove for complete independence. At the same time, the foreign policy position of the Lombard state became more complicated. The popes sought to seize the Lombard lands along the Tiber River and called for help from their allies - the Frankish kings. In 754 and 757. Pepin the Short defeated the Lombard state and took away part of its territory, giving it to the Pope.

Lecture 7. Formation of Western European medieval civilization. The flourishing of Western European medieval civilization.

Basic concepts:

Arianism; feudalism; feud; chivalry; vassals; baron; trade fairs; commune; bishop; archbishop; abbots; inquisition.

Lecture text.

Barbarians and Rome. Causes of the Great Nations Migration.

The death of the Western Roman Empire in 476 is considered the line between history Of the ancient world and the Middle Ages. The fall of the empire is associated with invasions of its territory barbarian dark. The Romans called barbarians everyone who lived outside the Roman state, did not know Latin and was alien to Roman culture.

Warlike tribes lived in Central Europe Germans. At first, the Romans were able to repel their invasions. At the end of the IV century. many other barbarian peoples joined the Germans in their raids. Started Great migration of the people. The Eastern Roman Empire managed to withstand the blows of the barbarians.

Even before the beginning of the widespread penetration of barbarians into the territory of the Roman Empire, Christianity began to penetrate into their midst. To the bishop Ulfile managed to baptize the Germanic tribe ready. For the barbarians, the doctrine of the Trinity was very difficult. Therefore, many of them were baptized in the form Arianism. Arianism was recognized as heresy (a deviation from the dogmas of the orthodox Christian doctrine) at the Council of Nicaea in 325, but in the 4th-6th centuries. it was spread among a significant portion of Christians. The Arians denied the Trinity of God, they believed that God is one, and Jesus Christ is not consubstantial with God the Father, but only similar to him. It was into Arianism that Ulfil was baptized by the Goths. Also became Arians vandals, burgundy, lombards and a number of other tribes.

Formation of barbarian kingdoms.

In 410 g. Visigoths(Western Goths) under the leadership of Alaric took Rome. A few years later, for the settlement of the Visigoths, Rome provided land in the south of Gaul. So in 418, the first barbarian Visigothic kingdom. Soon the Visigoths conquered other territories in Gaul and Spain. In the same years, the Germanic tribes Angles, Saxons, Utes start the invasion of Britain. They defeated the Celtic kingdoms that existed on the island after the withdrawal of the Roman troops and formed 7 barbarian Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. In Gaul, to the east of the Visigoths, the Burgundians created their kingdom. The barbarians also ruled in Italy.

Kingdom of the Franks arose almost simultaneously with the Ostrogothic kingdom. In 486, the king of the Salic (seaside) francs Clovis led their resettlement to Northern Gaul. Clovis generously distributed valuables and lands to bishops and monasteries. Clovis' policy towards local residents was continued by his successors. Of all the barbarian kingdoms, the Frankish proved to be the most stable.

In general, the barbarian kingdoms were states with a weak central power, there were sharp contradictions between barbarians and local residents. This predetermined instability political situation and Pyrope. Much can be learned about the life of the barbarian kingdoms from the records of their laws of the 5th-9th centuries. These laws are called barbaric truths. The most famous document is "Salic truth *, created by order of King Clovis around 500 BC

Under the sons and grandsons of King Clovis, the Franks conquered the Kingdom of Burgundy and subjugated many Germanic tribes east of the Rhine. The bulk of the troops of the Frankish kings were free communal peasants. However, over time, the communities of the Franks began to disintegrate. Under the influence of Roman customs, plots of land became the property of individual families. The number of kings' warriors declined sharply. The royal power weakened, the nobility reckoned with it less and less. From the middle of the 7th century. Frankish rulers began to be called lazy kings. One after another, people who were completely incapable of government ascended to the throne. The courtiers ran everything. A particularly large role was played by majordoms(elders at home).

At the beginning of the VIII century. mayord Karl Marteld(Hammer) managed to curb the willfulness of large landowners. Some of them were executed, and their land went to the mayord. At this time, a formidable danger loomed over Western Europe. The Arabs invaded Gaul. Karl Martell led the fight against the conquerors. Karl Martell took measures to create an efficient and reliable cavalry. He distributed plots of land to warriors from all free strata of the population. The ownership of this land was conditional. Later, such land began to be inherited, but the condition of service was preserved. If the heir did not want to serve the owner of the land, then he did not inherit the plot. This conditional inheritance was called feud or flax.

The beginning of Karl Martell had great consequences for the development of all of Europe. The reflection of the Muslim threat increased the authority of Karl Martell in the eyes of all Christians. At the request of the head of Christians in Western Europe, Pope (Bishop) of Rome, Karl Martell supported the preachers of Christianity in the German lands. Among these preachers, a monk stood out Boniface, the first bishop of Germany. After the death of Karl Martell, his son Pepin the Short became mayord. On Boniface's advice, Pepin overthrew the last "lazy king" and became king himself.

With Pepin's son Carla(768-814) the size of the Frankish state doubled. But not only for his conquests, Charles received the nickname the Great during his lifetime. He became a model for the rulers of European states for many centuries. The very word "king" in the Slavic languages comes from his name.

Period from IV-VII centuries. the era of the Great Migration of Peoples, so named because this is the time of the peak of migration processes that captured almost the entire continent and radically changed the ethnic, cultural and political appearance. This is the era of the death of ancient civilization and the emergence of feudalism. The barbarian society was inclined towards expansion.

VPN reasons

The reason that led to the simultaneous movement of a huge multi-tribal mass of people, most likely, was a sharp climate change. (Approximately from the 2nd century to the 5th century the maximum cooling, drying out of dry and moistening of moist soils with corresponding changes in the vegetation cover).

The deterioration of the climate chronologically coincided with the disintegration of the tribal system among the barbarian tribes.

Limitation natural resources partly forest and forest-steppe zone of the continent.

The pressure of some barbarian tribes (most often nomadic) on others weakening the Roman Empire, which turned out to be no longer able to withstand the onslaught from its strengthened neighbors.

For one Roman there were 10 Germans. The penetration of the Germans into the Roman territory, from them federates begin to form, they accept Roman laws and serve in the army (Not yet equal, but already allies). But one drawback was that the federates had much more in common with the Germans than with the Romans.

TOTAL:

the ruin of the free peasantry,
degradation of agriculture,
the spread of extensive forms of economy,
naturalization,
severing regional ties,
curtailment of market ties,
the decline of cities and the relocation of social life to the countryside,
increase in taxation

Political crisis:

separation of provinces,
the onslaught of the barbarians,
The decline of the army
the collapse of the political consolidation of the ruling class.

The system disintegrates with the growth of private power, the dominate system was an attempt to get out of this crisis (strengthening of the central political power). The Dominate replaces the Principate. An independent power separated from society, independent of the strata that were supposed to support it.

Ideological crisis:

rejection of traditional Roman valor,
pessimism and withdrawal into private life (people leave the cities for the countryside, become isolated in the economy, debauchery and polytheism, the introduction of oriental cults),
the spread of Christianity, the rejection of the system of common Roman values.

The empire, according to Karpov, came out of the crisis. But the solution found took time, which the empire did not have. Reforms are belated, the empire lacked resources. More and more federates were involved, so the Romans themselves turned out to be fewer than the federates! Among these federates, more and more not only Germans, but also barbarians arose. "The cauldron of barbarian peoples overturned on the Roman Empire, when she herself was unable to support its citizens."

In the IV - V centuries. the main role in the Great Migration was played by Germanic and Turkic, later also Slavic and Finno-Ugric tribes.

Germans.... The homeland was the northern, coastal regions of Germany, Jutland and southern Scandinavia. To the south lived the Celts, to the east - the Slavs and Balts.

First wave German expansion resulted in the grandiose movements of the Cimbri and Teutons, in the years 102-101. BC. defeated by Guy Marius in the spurs of the Western Alps. Second wave 60s of the 1st century BC, when the Suevi, led by Ariovistus, tried to gain a foothold in Eastern Gaul. In 58 BC. they were defeated by Caesar

By this time, the Germans had already settled on the middle Rhine, by the end of the century and on the upper Danube, having conquered and for the most part assimilated the local Celtic population. The further advance of the Germans to the south was stopped by the Romans, therefore, from the end of the 1st century. BC. expansion: they are directed mainly to the east and southeast: to the upper Elbe and Oder, to the middle, then the lower Danube. The border was established along the Rhine and Danube, where henceforth most of the legions were concentrated in numerous fortresses.

In the second half of the II century, since that time, German invasions noticeably become more frequent.

In the 50s years III c., taking advantage of the turmoil that gripped the empire, the Germans penetrated into Roman territory in several areas at once, the Romans firmly held the Rhine-Danube rampart: in the West - until 406, in the East - until the last third of the 6th century.

Visigoths... K ser. IV century from the union of the Gothic tribes, the unions of the West and Ostgoths emerged, occupying the lands between the Danube and the Dnieper and between the Dnieper and Don, including the Crimea. The unions included not only Germanic, but also Thracian, Sarmatian, and possibly Slavic tribes. In 375, the Ostrogothic League was defeated by the Huns.

Fleeing from the Hunnic invasion, the Visigoths in 376 appealed to the government of the Eastern Roman Empire with a request for asylum. Literally a year later, the intervention of Roman officials in internal affairs caused the Visigoths to revolt. In the decisive battle at Adrianople in 378, the Roman army was utterly defeated, and Emperor Valens was killed.

Since 412, the Visigoths have fought in Gaul and Spain against the enemies of the empire,

settle - formally as federates - in Southwestern Gaul, in the region of Toulouse, which became the capital of their state - the first barbarian state that arose on the territory of the empire (418)

Vandals. In 406, the Vandals, Alans and Quads (now taking the name of the Suevi) poured into Gaul. The other joined the Ostrogothic alliance, with which they invaded Italy.

Roman rule in North Africa was solid. Already at the end of 435, the Vandals occupied Carthage and began to raid the coast of Sicily and southern Italy. In 442, the Roman government was forced to recognize their complete independence and authority over most of North Africa.

Huns. Rome faced the Huns back in 379, when they, following on the heels of the Visigoths, invaded Moesia. Since then, they have repeatedly attacked the Balkan provinces of the Eastern Roman Empire.

In 436, the Huns, led by Attila (called the Scourge of God by Christian writers for their violence), defeated the kingdom of the Burgundians.

In 451 the Huns invaded Gaul

In 453 he died Attila, and strife began among the Huns. Two years later, the Germanic tribes subordinate to them revolted. The state of the Huns disintegrated, their remnants gradually mixed with the Turkic and Ugric tribes coming from the east.

The collapse of the Western Roman Empire.

In 476 the barbarians demanded land for settlement; The refusal of the Romans to satisfy this demand led to a coup d'etat: the leader of the German mercenaries Odoacer from the Skyrs dismissed the last West Roman emperor Romulus Augustulus and was proclaimed the king of Italy by the soldiers. With the support of the Roman Senate, Odoacer sent the insignia of imperial dignity to Constantinople with assurances of obedience. The East Roman basileus Zeno, forced to admit the current state of affairs, granted him the title of patrician, thereby legitimizing his power over the Italians. So the Western Roman Empire ceased to exist.

Barbarian kingdoms after the fall of the empire.

In the VI century. the Basques set in motion: they begin to colonize the Gallic lands south and west of the Garonne.

The migration to Britain of the Saxons, Angles and their allies continues, and towards the end early middle ages it is already usually called England,

the northwestern tip of Gaul, where part of the Britons who fled from the Germans moved, was named Brittany.

Avars in the 60s of the 6th century created on the middle Danube a powerful state that terrorized all its neighbors - the Avar Khaganate.

invasions of the Slavs in the Balkans and their gradual movement westward to the Elbe and the Alps.

in the middle of the 7th century, when the Arabs settled in the Levant, and then in Egypt and North Africa.

The Visigoths finally established themselves in most of Spain, secured Auvergne and divided Provence with the Burgundians,

vandals took over the Moorish ports.

Longest resisted the Romans of Northern Gaul, who created their own state there. However, in 486, near Soissons, they were defeated by the Salic (seaside) Franks, who then seized all the Gallic lands north of the Loire, except for Armorica.

By the end of the 5th century. on the ruins of the Western Roman Empire, several barbarian kingdoms were formed: Vandal (up to 534), Visigothic (destroyed by the Arabs at the beginning of the 8th century), Svevsky, Burgundy (534 conquered by the Franks), Frankish and Odoacer state (existed until 493) in Italy, Ostrogothic (up to 555)

The tribes that lived in the interior regions of Germany, as well as in Britain, and even more so in Scandinavia, did not yet have their own statehood.

Ticket 7. The barbarian states of Europe in the V-IX centuries. and their socio-economic system.

Foreword: The main reason for the emergence of barbarian kingdoms was the Great Migration of Nations, i.e. movement large masses barbarian tribes (Goths, Vandals, Burgundians, Lagobards, Gepids, etc.), which began by the end of the IV century. The impetus for the UPN was the appearance in Europe of the Mongolian tribe of the Huns. After the defeat of the Chinese Han dynasty in the III century, the nomadic Huns began to look for other fertile lands and some of them moved to India, the other to the Alans. The Alans partially fled to the Caucasus (today's Ossetians), and the Huns crossed the Don and moved further to the Goths, who, in despair, divided into Ostrogoths, who followed further on the Huns (eastern) and Visigoths (western), who fled to the west. Then the Visigoths, united with the Huns and Alans, defeated the Romans at Adrianople (378) and began to live in Thrace, Moesia and Macedonia as federates, allies of Rome. In 395 - the Roman Empire was divided into Western and Eastern (395-1453), then the Visigoths, led by Alaric, sacked Rome in 410. Barbarians began to settle throughout the empire - in northeastern Gaul was established by the Franks who crossed the Rhine; in southeastern Gaul along the river. Ron's burgundy sat down; in addition to Aquitaine (southern Gaul), the Visigoths also occupied the northeastern part of Spain; even earlier, a tribe of Vandals made their way to Spain, which then, having crossed the strait separating Spain from Africa, attacked Carthage (now Tunisia). The era of the Barbarian Kingdoms has come.

Barbarian kingdoms are states created by barbarian peoples on the territory of the Western Roman Empire in the conditions of its collapse in the 5th century (476 - Romulus Augustulus - the last emperor of Rome).

Features of the socio-economic system of barbarian states

A characteristic feature common to all these early medieval political formations was internal instability, resulting from the absence at that time of an established rule of succession to the throne - the sons of the king had a priority right to the throne, but the nobility could well offer another, their own candidacy. Disputes between members of the royal family, between the king and his vassals, disputes between claimants to the throne were common, many kings died a violent death. The borders of the barbarian kingdoms were also unstable, the capitals often changed their locations.
The large buildings of the Romans, city theaters, baths, aqueducts, the roads leading from Italy through the Alps to the Rhine and Danube and through Gaul to the ocean and the North Sea fell into decay, trade weakened, large central institutions disappeared, offices where inventories of property were kept and tax salaries; the state economy, officials disappeared, the state post office and the associated control over the administration and the subordinate population disappeared: in the center at the royal court it was not known what was going on in the provinces.
King(unlike the Roman emperor) looked at the state as his own private property (remember how the sons of Clovis and Clotar shared the kingdom as an inheritance from their father).
From the Roman system, taxes, land and head, were preserved, which were collected from the Romanesque population (remember the Salic truth), as well as through fines, however, all these savings did not constitute the basis of the state economy: it lay without use and circulation in the royal treasury (which also served as the cause of numerous quarrels in the royal house)
State system of barbarian kingdoms (according to A.R. Korsunsky) - "early feudal state"The forms of this statehood stand out vividly in the system of the Frankish kingdom under the Merovingians. The formation of statehood occurs on the basis of a synthesis of the Roman and Germanic principles, which causes active disputes in historiography about the genesis (origin) of the feudal state in ZE. Some historians note the caesura (break ) of these two principles, while other historians adhere to the idea of the continuity of the development / synthesis of the communal system of military democracy of the German tribes with the preserved late Roman slaveholding order (after all, significant shifts towards feudalization have already been outlined in late Roman society). the form of a territorial community of free landowners, popular assemblies and military militias.
Customary law. Following the example of the Romans, the Germans began to compile records of their customs and their judicial order. These compilations, leges barbarorum, were compiled in rough Latin... There are laws of the Salic (Western) and Ripuar (Lower Rhine) Franks, Alemanni, Bavarians, Frisians, Lombards, etc.

States and the history of their formation:

Kingdom of the Visigoths (418 - 718) - Aquitaine (South Gaul). Center - Toulouse. Arose in 418 due to union treaty, concluded by the Visigoth king Valia with the emperor Honorius, who allocated lands to the Visigoths as federates from the foothills of the Pyrenees in the south to the Loire River in the north. Highest development reached in the second half of the 5th century. It ceased to exist in 718, when it was conquered by the Arabs. It lasted longer than all other barbarian kingdoms and achieved the greatest power.
Kingdom of the Vandals and Alans (439-534) - North Africa. Center - Carthage. In 429, the Vandals and Alans, pressed by the Visigoths, left Iberia and moved through Gibraltar to North Africa. By 435, the Vandals had established their rule over much of Roman North Africa. In 435, peace was concluded with the Romans, the Vandals and Alans received the status of federates. In 439, the Vandals violated the treaty and captured Carthage, and in 455 they sacked Rome. The Kingdom of the Vandals was conquered by Byzantium in 534.
Kingdom of Suevia (409 - 585) Center - Brag. The Suevi settled in the northwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula in 409. Their role in the political processes in the region was minimal in comparison with the role of other barbarian kingdoms. In 585, their kingdom was conquered by the Visigoths.
Kingdom of the Burgundians (413 - 534) Center - Worms. In 413 the Burgundians were recognized by Emperor Honorius by the federates and were given a place to settle on the left bank of the Rhine in the Worms region. In 435, the Huns devastated their state, the Burgundian king was killed, and the remainder of the Burgundian people in 443 was resettled by Emperor Aetius to Savoy on the banks of the Rhone. The state reached its greatest development by 485. In 534, the Kingdom of Burgundy was conquered by the Franks and became one of the parts of the Frankish state.
Frankish kingdom(481- 843gg). Center - Aachen. It was founded by King Clovis I in 481 and within three centuries became the most powerful state in Western Europe.
State of Odoacera in Italy. It did not have a solid tribal base, which is why it was destroyed in 493 by the Ostrogoths who came from Noric and Pannonia, under the leadership of Theodoric (493-526).
Ostrogothic Kingdom (489 to 555) Northern and Central Italy. The center of the kingdom is Ravenna. In 488, the emperor Flavius Zeno concluded an agreement with the Ostrogothic king Theodoric, according to which Theodoric, in the event of a victory over Odoacer, became the ruler of Italy as the emperor's representative. In 493, the objectives of the agreement were achieved. In 555, under Emperor Justinian I, the Italian kingdom of the Ostrogoths was conquered by Byzantium.
Kingdom of the Lombards. (568 - 774). Northern Italy. Center - Pavia. The last barbarian kingdom in history in terms of both the emergence and the end of its existence. In 566, the Lombards invaded northern Italy. By the middle of the VIII century, the kingdom of the Lombards occupied almost the entire Apennine Peninsula, Istria, Corsica. In 774 it was conquered by Charlemagne.

The transition from the Ancient World to the Middle Ages was associated with a drop in the level of civilization: the population sharply decreased (from 120 million people during the heyday of the Roman Empire to 50 million people by the beginning of the 6th century), the cities fell into decay, trade stopped , the primitive state system replaced the developed Roman statehood, universal literacy was replaced by the illiteracy of the majority of the population. But at the same time, the Middle Ages cannot be regarded as a certain failure in the development of European civilization.

Western Europe, inhabited by several families of tribes and peoples, in the far west was represented by the Celts (present-day France and the British Isles). The Germans settled on the Scandinavian Peninsula and the territory east of the Rhine, and after the Vistula, settlements of Lithuanians and Slavs began. The southern Celts (or Gauls) and the British were the closest to the centers of ancient civilization. Around the middle of the 1st century. BC. they were conquered by Caesar and then became part of the Roman Empire, and there they were romanized, i.e. adopted the city structure, schools and partly the language of the Romans.

Barbarian kingdoms

vandals - the first of the Germanic tribes invaded the territory of today's Spain, then ceded to the Visigoths and were forced to move to North Africa (429). From their stay, the name of the city of Andalusia, known at first as Vandalusia, remained.
Visigoths settled in Aquitaine, where they founded a kingdom with the capital in Toulouse, then in Toledo. The first period of the Visigothic state was called the "Toulouse period" (after the name of the capital) and lasted until 549; the second period, Toledo, - up to 711. The Visigothic state of the 4th-7th centuries, like many other former provinces of the Roman Empire, along with elements of the seigno-oral monarchy, included in its structure the structures of late Roman statehood and elements of military democracy. Spanish historians represent the feudal monarchy of this period, relying on confidants and the squad, as a sample of you-greasy monarchy... The monarch was elected with the participation and control of the nobility (nobles). The Kingdom of the Visigoths existed until 711. Then it was conquered by the Arabs and the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate and Muslim jurisprudence was established for several centuries, until the era of the so-called Reconquista (reconquest).
ostrogoths- the kingdom of the Ostrogoths arose in the east, they became the gravediggers of the Western Roman Empire. This happened after the overthrow of the last emperor by Odoacer.

Social system of barbarian kingdoms

King and government

King was the recognized head of the army in a military campaign, he was also in charge of the appointment of the highest command staff (counts, duks-dukes). He also supervised external relations, possessed the highest administrative and judicial power, promulgated laws, disposed of the state treasury, tax revenues and military booty. He called council meetings of the church and appointed bishops. He was allowed to distribute gifts from state property. These powers and changes were especially consolidated at the end of the 5th century. under Kings Eric and Alaric II.

In the practice of the Visigothic state, church cathedrals, which determined the order of succession to the throne, the procedure for royal elections, regulated the order of disputes between royalty and tycoons (counts, commits). Bishops who participated in councils also dealt with financial matters and influenced the law-making process. They were convened by the king in Toledo in one of his churches. Here there was an exchange of speeches and the reading of draft laws, and then their approval by bishops and magnates. The king was perceived as the leader of the church. In the early days of the cathedrals were decided cleanly church matters and the tycoons were not present. The decrees of the councils were called canons... They found the approval of both priests and feudal lords. The decrees of the councils took effect only after the king issued a special decree confirming the adopted law.

State structure of barbarian kingdoms

Barbarians settled in the territory of the Roman Empire according to the military decimal system:

several genera were a hundred(centers),
several hundred - district(Roman - pagi, barbarian - gau), then they turned into counties and duchies.

The basis is the community (the center is the village). The village was governed by a headman elected by the entire village. Volost is a settlement of a tribe, which was headed by a heertog (duke - voivode), a tribal leader.

Features of legal communication and legislative regulation of barbarian kingdoms

According to legislative provisions, there was a single jurisdiction for the Romans and the Goths. However, the court was ruled by persons who were simultaneously judges, and military leaders, and administrators, and therefore they often abused their power.

Since the state was military-bureaucratic, much attention was paid to the regulation of conscription. Whether only free men served, service was considered both a right and an obligation and was not specifically rewarded. Later, Spanish-Romans and slaves were allowed to serve in the army. During the war, the soldiers received remuneration, in peacetime, taxes were collected in their favor.

A family remained patriarchal. It was headed by a father, the keeper of the home cult and strict discipline, to which everyone (people and things) obeyed, and the wife was in a position equal to that of children and grandchildren. Marriage was perceived in the spirit of Modestin - as a union of a man and a woman, but this union was concluded in the form of a sale and purchase transaction, the purchase of a body and in many ways resembled the practice of the times of Hammurabi and Moses. At first, there was a ban on interethnic marriages, which was removed under Leovigilde. Family personal-power relations assumed the possibility of selling children into slavery with the right to ransom. Family personal-property relations, as in Roman law, included the issues of providing a dowry, inheritance, and donation. Adoption was subdivided into the adoption of a minor and a person with full rights.

There were three kinds:

by will;
according to law;
the so-called necessary (compulsory) inheritance, which was determined in the fourth part of the property.

Registration procedure wills, invented by the Romans and borrowed in a certain part by the Visigoths, had four varieties:

testament with five witnesses;
the praetor's will with seven witnesses;
public will (in the presence of the army);
handwritten.

Commitment relationship were built on the model of the Roman. They arose from treaties and tort... Wines were divided into three types - and two types of negligence, coarse and light. Participants in legal relations were subject to customary or codified law, depending on their tribal affiliation. The fulfillment of the obligation was also ensured by the threat of sale into slavery.

It was socially stratified: noble people and commoners were awarded unequal punishment for the same crime.
Special measures were envisaged against the delinquent activities of Jews, heretics and slaves.

The offenses in Breviary were classified according to the maxims of the lawyer Paul and the Code of Theodosius: crimes against the state, religion, life and personal inviolability, against morality and property.

Principles of Judicial Proceedings in Barbarian Kingdoms

Ignorance of the law did not absolve one from responsibility. The father could not be punished for his son's crimes and vice versa. This provision embodies the principle that, in order to ensure justice, punish in strict accordance with the law and with a measure of culpability. Children of 10 years old could be recognized as subjects of a criminal act. This age limit remained typical for many European states throughout the Middle Ages.

Detailed were the punishments for insulting a person or moral feelings, in the latter case- for adultery, a woman's failure to fulfill her duties to care for a baby. For sodomy, castration was provided. Tugging at the beard or tugging at the clothes was considered a strong insult. This is very similar to the composition of the crime and punishment from the Russian Truth. The grave-diggers (robbers and desecrators of graves), drug users with the aim of causing premature birth were severely punished.

The biblical principle "one witness is not a witness" was in force in the court agreement. There was also a penalty for refusing to testify.

Migrations and movements that took place against the backdrop of the collapse of the Roman Empire began to acquire features of a qualitatively different level and scale. Previously, German invasions of the Empire were carried out mainly for the sake of plunder. Conflicts between tribes took place mainly outside the Empire or not far from its limes. In most cases, the Empire managed to exercise control over them. By the end of the IV century. the relationship of the Empire with the Germans became more complicated. The Romans increasingly resorted to using them as military allies and mercenaries. As before, the aggressive, predatory actions and campaigns of those tribes that still lived beyond the Limes continued. The mobility of the Germans, who were previously settled in the Empire, has increased. As federates, defending the interests of the Empire, they actively move from one province to another. After military operations, the Germans-federates, as a rule, returned to those places that were allocated to them for a stay. With the emergence of barbarian "kingdoms", a struggle began to expand or preserve the lands belonging to these "kingdoms". From the end of the IV century. the nature of the participation of the Germans in the Migration of peoples was increasingly determined by the level of their social development, as well as by the opening possibilities for the entry of the German tribal elite into the structure of the political power of the Empire. Distinctive feature This stage of the Migration also consists in the fact that with the resettlement of any tribe to the Empire, all its further movements within its limits were migrations and resettlement only until the moment this tribe created its "kingdom".

The process of resettlement among the Germanic tribes ends with the formation of " kingdoms ". Movements, migrations have exhausted themselves as a form of interaction between the German barbarian world and Roman civilization. The barbarian world was replaced by a system of European Germanic states, "kingdoms", where some tribes merged into new peoples and thus continued their history, others left the historical arena, leaving about themselves the legends and testimonies of ancient authors

The nature of the participation of Germans in migration processes has changed. Instead of spontaneous movements, many tribes settled in the Empire and began territorial expansion within its boundaries, occupying key positions in the political life of the Empire. Affected by the influence of the Huns on the fate of the Germanic tribes of the Upper and Middle Danube ethnopolitical formations ("kingdoms" of the Gepids, Heruls, Pannonian Goths). They are located on the border of two Empires.

The formation of large European kingdoms and empires, completed by the 9th century, almost for a long time stabilized the main contours of political ties and state formations in Europe.

The appearance of the Huns on the Danube destroyed the system of "buffer barbarian states" along the limes, facilitated the relatively rapid emergence of "barbarian kingdoms" within the Roman Empire.

The Germanic tribes gradually spread from their ancestral home to the territory of the northern provinces of the Roman Empire. The Germanic tribes became the external force that accelerated the disintegration of the West Roman state. On the basis of a new political and legal community, a new, feudal statehood arose in Europe. History of the Germans III-IV centuries. was the accumulation of conditions and prerequisites for their transition to a new quality - finding oneself as nationalities, replacing the tribes, and finding oneself as the creators of the first "barbarian states", replacing the alliances of tribes.

The era of the Great Migration of Peoples, the main participants in which in Europe were the Germanic tribes, ends in the 6-7 centuries. the formation of the Germanic barbarian kingdoms. Before the Great Migration, the Germanic tribes did not have their own states. Their occurrence was the result of both internal development German society, and adaptation to completely different living conditions in the occupied lands of the Western Roman Empire. The states created by the Germans are called barbarian kingdoms. The creation of the first barbarian kingdoms marked the beginning of the formation of modern European ethnic groups, united by a common religion and writing based on Latin. The process of the addition of the Germanic kingdoms begins in the 5th century. and goes a difficult way, different tribes in different ways, depending on the specific historical situation. In most of the states created by the Germans in the territories seized from their neighbors, the Germans did not make up the majority of the population. When conquering Roman possessions, it was necessary to create their own instead of the Roman government. This is how royalty arises.

The first state formations of the Germans took place under the influence of the Roman state. The empire "controlled" the formation of the first "barbarian kingdoms" on its territory. The "barbarian kingdoms" that appeared among the Germans after 476 were not subject to Roman rule, retained their own structure, their forms of life and their right. Unfortunately, Western empire in contrast to the East, by opening wide access to the Germans to their territories and bringing them closer to power, it allowed itself to be lulled to some extent with hopes for a German alliance.

Barbarian kingdoms are states created by barbarian peoples on the territory of the Western Roman Empire in the conditions of its collapse in the 5th century. A characteristic feature common to all these early medieval political formations was internal instability, which stemmed from the absence at that time of an established rule of succession to the throne - the sons of the king, in principle, had a priority right to the throne, but the nobility could well suggest another, their own candidacy. Disputes between members of the royal family, between the king and his vassals, disputes between claimants to the throne were common, many kings died a violent death. The borders of the barbarian kingdoms were also unstable, the capitals often changed their locations. The internal structure was characterized by a communal-tribal organization in the form of a territorial community of free landowners, popular assemblies and military militias.

The kingdom began with the fact that Ravenna sanctioned the power of the king over a certain territory. The provision of land for settlement presupposed the application to this and a certain social status (federates). The observance of these conditions was probably perceived by the Germans as a kind of guarantee of their prosperous residence within the Roman Empire. The local population was also interested in following these rules. Indeed, after the conclusion of an agreement between the king and the emperor on the settlement of the Germans in a certain area, the local residents became residents of the "barbarian kingdoms". The very fact of the emperor's participation in this process strengthened the moral and political authority of the German kings, raised them in the eyes of the local population to the necessary level of the traditional Roman system of values. That is why the local population could no longer regard the Germans as conquerors, but as legitimate representatives of the emperor's power.

From unreliable Roman allies, the so-called federates, the Germans turned into real contenders for the Roman inheritance, they wanted to be the rulers of Europe. At the same time, the barbarians quickly and willingly adopted the social, political, legal and cultural foundations of a great power, recognizing the Romans as an undoubted authority in all these areas ... On the lands occupied by the Germanic tribes, states are being created:

Angles and Saxons - on the island of Britain;
vandals - in North Africa;
the Visigoths - in Spain;
the Ostrogoths - in Italy;
francs in Gaul.

The statehood of barbarian kingdoms developed under the influence of the Roman political system, Roman law and with the participation of officials who received Roman education.

Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in Britain

Territories: red - British, green - Scottish, blue - Pictish .

To the east of Britain was the North Sea for four hundred miles. On the opposite bank, where the Danes and Germans now live, in the 5th century a Germanic tribe lived, which called itself the Utes.

The peninsula on which their possessions were located, stretching north to modern Norway and Sweden and now part of Danish territory, is still called Jutland.

South of the Jutes, in the lands of modern Germany, bordering Denmark (Schleswig), the Angles lived, and to the west of them, on the northern coast, the Saxons.

Utah- a Germanic tribe that lived in the very south and southeast of the Jutland Peninsula in the Holstein region.

Saxons- German Tribal Union. The initial place of their settlement was the area along the lower reaches of the Rhine and Elbe. Later, they spread in different directions, including to southwestern Jutland.

Angles- Germanic tribe, in the III-IV centuries they lived in Central Jutland.

At the beginning of the V century. the Roman government was forced to withdraw its legions from Britain. The wealth of Britain, accumulated over the years of peace and tranquility by the fifth century, haunted the hungry Germanic tribes: Angles, Saxons, Utes, as well as Frisians and Ingevons, which included the "Varins" who lived on the North Sea coast. In the middle of the 5th century, under the onslaught of the Huns, they began to leave their territories and move to Britain. The Danes came to the deserted territories of Jutland from Skane, Halland and the nearby Baltic islands.

During the late Roman Empire, the Saxons were known primarily as pirates in the North Sea. At first, they raided the island, and after 430 they returned to Germany less and less, gradually settling into British lands.

At that time, the Britons - the Celtic population of Britain - fought a grueling war with the Pictish and Scottish tribes, who intensified their raids from the north to the southeastern regions of the country. For a while, the Britons defended themselves on their own. Then Vortigern, the supreme leader of all Britons, in order to more successfully repel the Picts and Scots, invited in 449 as mercenaries the detachments of Hengist and Horsa, brothers from the Jute tribe, who led the invasion of the Anglo-Saxon tribes, giving them land for settlement in the southeastern part of the island in Kente (Ebbsfleet).

According to the legend recorded in the "History of the Britons" by Nennius and in the "History of the Britons" by Galfrid of Monmouth, Vortigern fell in love with the beautiful Rowena, the daughter of the leader Hengist, and in return for Hengist's consent to give her to him as a wife, Kent ceded.

The small territory of Denmark, where the Jute tribe lived, was overcrowded, they were looking for a new homeland. The legacy of the Roman occupation was the well-managed, rich agricultural land that Hengista decided to take for his people. The aliens drove the Picts and Scots to the North, and immediately turned their weapons against the former allies, starting a war with yesterday's owners of the island.

For several years, the brothers were at war with the British ruler. In a battle that took place near Aylesford, the Jutes were defeated, and Horsa, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, died in 455. The modern city of Horstead is possibly named after him. After the death of Horse, Hengist became the king of Kent, who ruled for another 33 years. In the battle of the Britons and Saxons on the field of Maisbeli, during the battle, Hengista was captured by the Duke of Gorlois and beheaded by the order of Aurelius. His son Esk became his successor. Hengist and Khors can be called the founders of the English nation. But the reality of the Hengest King's existence is often questioned. There is a version that Hengest (stallion) and Horse (horse) are one person. There is no doubt only that Kent in the V century was actually settled by German-speaking immigrants from the continent.

Bloody pogroms were raging throughout Roman Britain. Farms and estates in the countryside were plundered and burned, cities were destroyed and burned. Saxon troops destroyed Roman villas. Men were killed, women and children were taken into slavery. The pagan Saxons, despising Christians, desecrated temples, killed priests, robbed churches.

The Britons gradually retreated westward. Their last refuge in Britain was the rugged, barren Wales and Cornwall, with no vegetation, and Strathclyde to the northwest. Scotland also remained Celtic, not conquered by the Germanic tribes. The local population, having got used to a relatively peaceful life for 300 years, offered little resistance to the invaders. In the 5-6 centuries, the Romanized Britons had brave and courageous leaders, but there was no person who could rally to repel the invaders. Under the leadership of Ambrosius Aurelian, the Britons won a decisive victory in the battle of about 500 on the upper Thames (Mount Badon) and secured themselves a peaceful respite for a generation. In the fight against the Saxons acquired good fame British commander named Artorius, possibly the prototype of the legendary Arthur, the leader of the Britons of the 5th-6th centuries, who defeated the conquerors of the Saxons; the central character of the British epic and numerous novels of chivalry. Until now, historians have not found evidence of the historical existence of Arthur.

The Saxons, despite the failure at Mount Badon, continued their offensive. In 577, they reached the shores of Bristol Bay, and the Celtic lands were separated from each other. As a result of the struggle, a significant part of the Celtic population was exterminated or enslaved, some gradually mixed with the Germanic conquerors. Gilda the Wise wrote: “Thus, many of the unfortunate survivors captured in the mountains were massacred; others, exhausted by hunger, approached and stretched out their hands to the enemies in order to become slaves forever, if, however, they were not killed immediately, which they considered to be the highest mercy. Others aspired to the overseas regions with great weeping. " Many Britons were forced to migrate through the strait to northwestern Gaul: to the continent - to the north of Gaul to Armoric, the future Brittany. Only the Britons in Britain were subjected to exile and extermination during the barbarian invasions.

The barbarians took possession of Kent completely in 488. On the territory of Keint, the first Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Kantvare (Kent) was formed, the prototype of the future England. Its capital was the city of Kantwaraburg (modern Canterbury), inhabited mainly by Utes. Of the three tribes, the Jutes, although the first to reach Britain, were the weakest. Their period of power ended around 600. Kent, where they lived, retained their former name, and the memory of them has been erased. The Utahs soon completely merged with the Angles and Saxons and ceased to be a separate tribe.

Most of the southern regions were captured by the allies of the Scandinavians - the Saxons. In 477, the Saxons crossed the Strait of Dover, passed through the Jutlands in Kent and settled on the south coast of England. Here they founded the southernmost of the three Saxon kingdoms - Sussex ("the kingdom of the South Saxons"). Soon after, other Saxons landed further west and founded Wessex ("the kingdom of the West Saxons"). Essex ("the kingdom of the East Saxons") arose to the north of Kent. The names Essex and Sussex still appear among the names of the English counties.

The Angles settled in the eastern and northeastern parts of the island. Later, around 540, the Angles founded several kingdoms north of the Thames. At first, they landed in the Icenean lands. The kingdom that emerged there became known as East Anglia. To the west of it appeared Mercia, whose name comes from the word "mark", "border land". For a long time, Mercia remained a border territory: further, in the west, were British territories.

After the withdrawal of the Roman troops from Britain, the Romanized Britons created many small kingdoms. States of the southern and eastern plains the islands were quickly conquered by the advancing Anglo-Saxons, but the kingdoms located in the mountainous regions and present Wales turned out to be more stable, the western Britons managed to gain a foothold there. The Celts retained the north - Scotland and the west - Wales and Cornwall Britain.

The invasion of Britain by the Saxons, Angles and Jutes lasted for a whole century - until the second half of the 6th century. As a result, about thirty small kingdoms were formed on the territory of modern England. In the 7th century, they somewhat enlarged, their number decreased to seven, these are: Kent (Yut), Wessex, Sussex, Essex (Saxon), Northumbria, East Anglia, Mercia (English).

At first, the most powerful of them was the Uttian kingdom of Kent, in the 7th century the power of Northumbria increased, then in the first half of the 8th century the primacy passed to Mercia, and by the 9th century the kingdom of Wessex began to emerge. The most powerful ruler was recognized by the King of the Britons as "Razvald", and later - the Prince of Wales. At the beginning of the IX century. King Egbert the Great (800-836) King of Wessex, established hegemony over other Anglo-Saxon kings and assumed the title of "Britwald". Egbert was the first king to unite most of the lands in modern England under the rule of one ruler in 825, and the remaining regions recognized his sovereignty over themselves. The need for unification was dictated by the invasion of the Scandinavian leaders, who began conquering in the northeastern part of Britain in 793. The numerical predominance of the Angles gave a new name to the country, which was entrenched in the Middle Ages. The name England is valid only for that part of the island where Angles, Saxons and Jutes dominated. The northern two-fifths of the island remained largely Celtic, and the Kingdom of Scotland arose there.

The Anglo-Axon invasion of Britain led not only to the expulsion, enslavement and destruction of the indigenous population, but also to the destruction of their native language. In those parts of the island where the Germans dominated, the old language was completely forgotten, only geographical names: Kent, Devon, York, London, Thames, Avon and Exeter are names of Celtic origin. The name Camberland retains the memory of the Kimrs. To the south of the Bay of Bristol lies the area that the Saxons called Cornuilhas, "the land of overland aliens." Over time, this name became Cornwall. Cornish dialect ancient language By 1800 the Britons were completely out of use.

The Angles and Saxons remained the masters of the island and, since they were very close in language and customs, they began to be considered one people, in the modern language called "Anglo-Saxons", their Anglo-Saxon dialect formed the basis of the modern of English language... English is the official language of Gibraltar and one of the official languages Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, Malta, Jersey, Guernsey and the European Union. According to a study published in 2006, 13% of EU citizens speak English as their first language. Another 38% of EU state citizens believe they have sufficient English skills to speak, bringing the total coverage of English in the EU to 51%.

The peninsula in the north was named Wilhas by the Saxons. The word means "the land of strangers", this name has come down to us as Wales. To this day, Wales maintains its own distinct cultural traditions. The Welsh language is spoken by over half a million people (although it seems to be gradually losing its significance). In addition to Wales and Cornwall, the British language has survived in parts of Cumbria and East Galloway. The conquerors adhered to pagan beliefs. Internecine wars and pressure from the Anglo-Saxon, and then the Norman conquerors weakened Wales, and the Welsh kingdoms gradually fell under the influence of England. In 1282, after the death of the last independent ruler of Wales, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the country was conquered by the English king Edward I. After that, the title of Prince of Wales began to be assigned to the crown prince of the English royal house.

The Roman Church carried out missionary activities to Christianize the British population. In 597 the Anglo-Saxon kings officially adopted Christianity, they were formally Christians. In 664. the cathedral in Whitby adopted Christianity in the Roman Catholic form as the state religion. Pope Honorius I divided Britain into 2 ecclesiastical dioceses - north - York and south - Canterbury. In 636, the missionary Birin introduced Catholic worship in the south of Ireland.

In the northern part of the island, the Irish monks had no rivals, and the world of Celtic Christianity not only survived, but also expanded, spreading to the lands occupied by the tribes of the Angles. By the middle of the 7th century, the Irish had converted all of Mercia and Northumbria to the new faith. The most important cultural centers of the Ocean Islands were the northern monasteries founded by the Irish - Lindisfarne, Iona, Yarrow, Whitby. The Celtic mentors raised here the first generations of noble Northumbrian and Mercian youth, future enlighteners and learned monks of Anglo-Saxon origin. The brilliant Anglo-Saxon culture of the 8th-9th centuries, with its richest church literature, owes its rise to the north. From here came the thinkers recognized by the whole Christian world as the greatest minds of their time - Bede the Venerable, Eriugena, Alcuin. In an era of deep cultural decline in Europe that followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire, correct Latin and refined Greek were still spoken here, ancient and early Christian manuscripts were lovingly collected in libraries, for which the monks went on expeditions to the continent, were engaged in philosophy, rhetoric, poetry. It is not surprising that in this intellectual creative atmosphere the book business flourished, in which the Irish and their students had no equal in Europe of the 6th-8th centuries.

The warlike Saxons always aroused fears among the neighbors, who constantly lived under the threat of another raid. The king of the Frankish state Charlemagne in May 772 in Worms declared war against the Saxons, setting two tasks: to seize the lands of the Saxons and spread Christianity to them.

A fierce and bloody war began, which dragged on for 32 years (from 772 to 804). The conquest of the warlike people went hard: the Saxons rebelled and attacked the enemy garrisons. So, in 778, they appeared at the walls of Cologne itself and betrayed everything on the right bank of the Rhine to fire and sword. To protect against the Christian Frankish emperors, the Danes built the Danevirke rampart ("Wall of the Danes"), which ran through southern Jutland from the North to the Baltic Sea.

Recent studies indicate that Danevirke was built not only and not so much for military purposes. Archaeologist Helmut Andersen discovered that initially the "wall" consisted of a ditch between two low embankments. It is possible that the main wall is in the very early stage was a channel for the transport of goods between the Baltic and North Seas.

Charlemagne defeated the pagan Saxons in the southernmost part of the peninsula (the territory of the future Holstein) and resettled his allies with vigor to this territory. To gain full power over the rebellious people, he resettled more than 10,000 Saka families to the lands of the Franks. Karl tried to break the stubborn resistance of the Saxons with extremely cruel measures. After defeating them at the Weser in 782, he ordered the execution of 4,500 Saxon hostages. At the same time, he published the "Capitulary for Saxony", which threatened the death penalty to all who opposed the church and the king, and ordered the Saxons to pay tithes to the church. To break the disobedient, Charles entered into a temporary alliance with their eastern neighbors, the Polabian Slavs-encouraging, who had long been at enmity with the Saxons. By 804, all resistance was finally broken. Mass baptism began ordinary residents, all Saxons were prescribed baptism on pain of death. The Franks purposefully destroyed the pagan temples and forcibly baptized the captive Saka princes. Then they took hostages from the conquered communities, placed garrisons in convenient places and began to build churches. Thus, the Saxon and Frankish lands were actually united. It is from this period that the history of the united German nation begins, part of which the Saxons have become.