Invasion der Barbaren

Late Roman decadence and plundering Vandals: these are the clichés about the so-called Migration Period. But how did a new cultural unity, Europe, emerge in the first millennium from the highly developed Roman South and the barbaric North? Around the time of Christ's birth, Europe was divided into the advanced South of Mediterranean cultures and the underdeveloped North of Germanic and Slavic-speaking tribal cultures. These cultures knew neither writing nor stone settlement construction, a standing army, or a monetary economy, let alone cities with fire departments and waste disposal. How could the onslaught of the barbarians deliver the fatal blow to the Roman Empire? Peter Heather reexamines this old question in light of insights into ethnogenesis and modern migration research. From the Hunnic invasion to the Vikings, he explores the dynamics of European migration movements.