Goths

Goths, ancient Germanic peoples, split into Ostrogoths (East Goths) and Visigoths (West Goths) in the 3rd century. The Ostrogoths, subjects of the Huns until A.D. 453, went on to settle in Pannonia (modern Hungary) as allies of the Byzantine Empire, and then (after 493) in Italy, claiming lands when their ruler, Theodoric the Great, defeated the barbarian ruler Odoacer. Defeated in turn by Justinian I, their kingdom was crushed after an Ostrogothic revolt in 552. The Visigoths moved (376) into Roman territory, sacking Rome (410) and heading north to the Loire valley; they made Toulouse their capital before taking Vandal lands in Spain. At the peak of their power they were led by King Euric (r. 466–c.484). After losing lands north of the Pyrénées to the Franks, they were restricted to Spain, became Christians, and merged with the Spanish population. Defeat by the Moors in 711 ended the Visigothic kingdom.