Why did the German Tribes Start Migrating?

From around the year of 375 until 568, hordes of Germanic tribes poured into the Roman territories of Western Europe. The barbarians' overpowered Roman forces made themselves at home and transformed Europe forever. This was the start of the Barbarian Invasion, or the Migration Period, and it was the end Several factors had been gradually driving the Germanic people westwards, and when the migration was finished, many had made it as far as modern-day Britain. The land occupied by the Roman Empire during the mid-300s was vast. It included what is now France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and even North Africa. After the Western Roman Empire had crumbled, Europe was populated by a diverse group of people, with varying languages, backgrounds, and cultures. The new settlements were to form the foundation of the individual countries that would gradually evolve, each of them unique, but all of them originating from the Germanic migration. They were the Goths, including the Visigoths and Ostrogoths, the Franks, the Burgundians, and the Vandals. They were all following the historical pattern of Germanic people gradually moving south and west in search of warmer climates and unpopulated land. The term Germanic implies a population of people sharing the same ethnicity and cultural traits, but it was simply a term used by the Romans. The name Germania was given by the Romans to anyone living east of the Rhine or north of the Danube, which included a vast range of tribes, languages, and cultures. Essentially though, the Germanic people originated in Scandinavia and northern Germany. By the beginning of the 4th century, these groups had amassed into what is now Germany, Poland, and southern Scandinavia. These Germanic tribes shared many similarities with the Vikings as well. They tended to live in settlements, which had appointed leaders. These settlements formed larger clans when necessary. The Germanic people grew wheat and farmed cows for their meat and skin. And like the Vikings, they also had a strong warrior culture. They preferred sudden raids as the most effective form of attack and used a wide range of well-crafted weapons. Children were taught to use weapons from an early age, and the barbarians were renowned for their fighting skills. In the 1st century of the Common Era, the Roman historian Tacitus studied and wrote prolifically about these Germanic people. He praised their fierce nobility and noted that what they lacked in terms of weaponry, they more than made up for in battle. Tacitus described them as a physically large people, often with red or blonde hair and blue eyes. The Germanic tribes had begun to push south and west, heading into southern Germany and to the borders of the Roman-controlled Gaul region. They engaged in several battles with the Romans but were repelled. However, they were starting to make the Romans nervous. They were hardy soldiers, and there seemed to be an endless number of them pouring down from the north. These Germanic hordes fought against Julius Caesar in Gaul in 58 BC and were eventually held off, but Caesar knew that they would come again. He grudgingly admitted that despite their barbaric arrogance for attacking Gaul, they were highly skilled combatants with strong tactical mouse. By the year 300, hundreds of thousands of Germanic tribes had settled near the eastern side of the Rhine River in southern and central Germany. Meanwhile, the Western Roman Empire was starting to seriously suffer from corruption, ineffective administration, and a general indifference that came from being isolated so far away from the central ruling center. There was mass infighting at the top. Power struggles in some posts had even been abandoned, leaving the locals to either fend for themselves or succumb to inevitable invaders. The Germanic tribes traded regularly with the Romans on the borders of the Western Roman Empire in northern and central Europe. It was through these transactions and meetings that the Germanic tribes started becoming familiar with the situation in the Roman territories, and many no doubt began sizing up the Roman capability of defending an invasion. In around 380, tribes of Goths crossed the Danube from the north. The Visigoths, which were Goths in Western Europe, would eventually fight their way all the way down south to Italy, where they sacked Rome. The Ostrogoths moved into Eastern Europe, where they also began to migrate south, eventually settling in northeastern Italy. In 376, the Tervingi Goths crossed the Danube into Roman territory. Although they were initially engaged by Roman troops, they fought their way down to Italy before settling in Gaul. The floodgates had opened, and the Germanic tribes marched into Roman lands. There were two waves of migration. The first featured Germanic tribes from roughly 300 to 500 of the Common Era. The second wave saw Slavic tribes spread throughout eastern and central Europe from 500 to 700 of the Common Era. At the start of the first wave, it's estimated there were approximately 3 million Germanic people from a broad mix of tribes. By contrast, the Western Roman Empire was thought to have 120 million people, although at least half of these were slaves and another 20 million everyday citizens. And as it turned out, the numbers were irrelevant. The barbarians were coming, one way or another. So what caused this mass migration to the west? Were the Germanic people forced to move, or was it their choice to seek new lands to settle? Was the weakening of the Roman Empire and its administration a key factor in the invasion, or would the Germans have moved in anyway? Historians have agreed that it was most likely several factors at play. One of these was the emergence of the fearsome Huns from Central Asia. A Roman poet coins the term Hanoi for the tribes of marauding warriors who seems to originate from around modern-day Kazakhstan or Mongolia, although their exact place of origin is unclear. What is clear is that they were a ferocious and unforgiving race that overpowered more or less anybody who crossed their path. The Huns were famously led by Attila in the early 5th century as they plundered and pillaged their way across Eastern Europe. They were excellent horsemen and famously unforgiving towards anyone they captured or who put up resistance. The arrival of the Huns is thought to have prompted many Germanic people to flee to the west. If this was the case, the Huns must have been an incredibly savage opponent, because the Germanic tribes were widely respected by the Romans for their strength in battle. Still, when the Huns began rampaging across Eastern Europe in the 4th century, it created a domino effect. Their empire swallowed up huge parts of Russia, Hungary, Ukraine, and most of Eastern Europe. This forced many Germanic tribes to migrate west, either because they were outnumbered by the Huns or were simply unable to match them on the battlefield. Another reason for the barbarian invasion is that the Germanic tribes were simply running out of room. As more and more people moved down from northern Germany and Scandinavia, the lack of quality farming land became a real problem. Added to this was a growing fertility rate and the issue of overpopulation. Many of the tribes were therefore faced with two choices. Either clear mass areas of forest to start farming in, or simply head westwards, into regions that had already been cleared by the Romans. Poor harvests and a dropping climate may have also exacerbated the problem, as the warmer weather in southern Europe was more conducive to growing crops and building settlements. By the late 4th century, several groups of barbarians had begun their migration. The Goths and Vandals had crossed the Rhine and started making their way south towards Rome. In the 5th century, the Franks had established themselves in Gaul, which was made up of countries including France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Led by Childeric, the Franks defeated Roman troops in 486, becoming the new rulers of northern Gaul. In the late 4th century, another Germanic tribe, the Burgundians, started taking control of regions east of the Rhine and in southern Europe. By the 5th century, the Burgundians had established a kingdom in eastern Gaul, around today's southeastern France and northwestern Italy. Arguably the most famous of the invasions was in 410, when Alaric led the Visigoths, Vandals, and thousands of other barbarians valiantly into the spiritual heart of the empire, resulting in the sacking of Rome. Despite some well-intended early resistance, the Romans had no answer for the emboldened hordes and were either massacred, captured, or fled. Although Rome was no longer the capital, it had shifted to today's Milan, it was the first time in 800 years that Rome had fallen to foreign invaders. St. Jerome wrote at the time that Rome, once the capital of the world, is now the grave of the Roman people. The westernmost migration of the Germanic tribes ended up in Britain. As Roman rule in Britain ended in 410, the isles became up for grabs. The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes were a mix of Germanic people who moved across the Channel and settled in England, between 450 and 620. Many were invited by Britons to help them fight against Celt tribes from Scotland since, without Roman protection, the Britons suddenly found themselves vulnerable. Some of these Anglo-Saxons were only too happy to help fight, while others saw settling in England as a great opportunity for a new and prosperous life. The barbarian invasion spelled the end of the Roman Empire in Western Europe, and to a large extent, the end of the empire in general. Given pressures concerning the Huns, a scarcity of land, and too cold climates, it was an inevitable migration that, deep down, the Romans must have known was coming. It was a time of mass upheaval and bloody conflict, but the mass migration also sowed the seeds for what was to become today's Western Europe and Great Britain.