Visigoths

Visigoths
Visigothi
The eagles represented on these fibulae from the 6th century, and found in Tierra de Barros (Badajoz), were a popular symbol among the Goths in Spain.[a]
Languages
Gothic
Religion
Gothic paganism, Arianism, Nicene Christianity, Roman paganism
Related ethnic groups
Ostrogoths, Crimean Goths, Vandals, Gepids

The Visigoths (/ˈvɪzɪɡɒθs/; Latin: Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were a Gothic people who emerged in the Balkans during late antiquity. Likely descended from the Thervingi who entered the Roman Empire in 376 and defeated the Romans at the Battle of Adrianople (378),[1] they were first united under Alaric I (395–410), whose forces alternately fought and allied with Rome before famously sacking the city in 410.[2][3]

In 418, the Visigoths were settled as foederati in southern Gaul, establishing a kingdom with its capital at Toulouse. From there they expanded into Hispania, displacing the Suebi and Vandals. Defeat by the Franks under Clovis I at the Battle of Vouillé (507) ended Visigothic rule in Gaul, but the kingdom consolidated in Spain and Portugal, where it endured for two centuries.

The Visigoths are remembered for their cultural and religious transformation in Iberia. Under King Reccared I, they converted from Arian Christianity to Nicene Christianity at the Third Council of Toledo (589), integrating with their Hispano-Roman subjects and strengthening royal legitimacy.[4][5] Their Visigothic Code (654) abolished legal distinctions between Goths and Romans, creating a common identity as Hispani. The kingdom fostered churches and artistic treasures such as the Treasure of Guarrazar, and its legal code remained influential in Iberian law until the Late Middle Ages.

In 711, the Visigothic kingdom collapsed after defeat by an Umayyad army at the Battle of Guadalete, where King Roderic was killed.[6] In the north, the Kingdom of Asturias soon emerged under Pelagius, marking the beginning of the Reconquista.[7] Despite their fall, the Visigoths left a lasting legacy through their legal system, cultural influence, and place in the formation of medieval Iberia.


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  1. ^ Heather 1998, pp. 52–57, 300–301.
  2. ^ Wood 2012, p. 16.
  3. ^ Waldman & Mason 2006, p. 843.
  4. ^ Claude 1998, pp. 119–120.
  5. ^ Wood 2025, pp. 233–234.
  6. ^ O'Callaghan 1975, pp. 91–92.
  7. ^ O'Callaghan 1975, p. 98.
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