10 barbarian tribes that the Romans fought against

The Roman Empire had vast territories, its possessions stretched across Europe and the entire Mediterranean coast. In addition, this state was famous for its wealth.

It is not surprising that the territories and treasures belonging to the Romans aroused the keenest interest among the barbarian tribes, whose lands bordered on the Roman Empire. In this regard, throughout history, the state has repeatedly been forced to fight with the barbarians.

Further in our article, you can find a list of ten tribes whose attacks were subjected to the Roman Empire over the centuries.

10 Persians

From 224 AD The Persians became the main enemy of the Romans. They spoke Persian, which had various dialects. The Persians represented the Sassanid state, led a settled way of life, were mainly engaged in agriculture.

They attacked the Roman Empire from the East, their hallmark was courage. Despite the fact that the Persians were associated with the barbarians, the level of their combat training and the quality of their weapons were not inferior to those of the Romans. Persian warriors rode excellently and excelled in archery. In the XNUMXth century, their lands were conquered by the Arabs.

9. Alany (and Sarmatian)

Alans and Sarmatians were nomadic Iranian-speaking tribes. Historians believe that their people were ousted from the lands of Asia, in connection with which the tribes moved to the lands of Scythia.

Initially, they led a settled way of life, peacefully existed with their neighbors. But in the 160-170s. began an active struggle against the Roman Empire. Only in 179 did the Romans and Sarmatians manage to conclude a truce, the barbarians returned more than 100000 prisoners to the state. Part of the Sarmatian cavalry went to the service of the Roman Empire.

The clashes between the barbarians and the Romans did not end there, they took place several more times, but after the war cooperation again came.

8. Illyrians

This people belonged to the Indo-European tribes, some historians considered akin to the Thracians. They lived in the Balkans, also occupied part of the Apennine Peninsula.

The Illyrians included Istras, Iapigs, Dalmatians, Dardani. The first information about these tribes was found in the VI-V centuries. BC. in ancient sources.

As a result of the Illyrian wars that took place in 229-228, 219, 168-167. BC, the lands belonging to the people were conquered by the Romans, they became a province of the Roman Empire, the population quickly underwent Romanization, as a result of which they even lost their own language.

7. Thracians (Dacians, Getae, etc.)

The Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes, which included the Dacians, Getae, Dii, Kikons, Besses, Odrises and some others. They lived in the northeast of the Balkans and northwest of Asia Minor.

In 450 BC The Thracians founded their own state called Thrace. This powerful nation was mentioned in the ancient epic Iliad, and the ancient Greek historian Herodotus also wrote about it.

In 46 AD under the reign of Emperor Claudius, the lands of the Thracians were conquered by the Romans.

6. East Germans (Vandals, Marcomanni, Burgundians, Gepids, Alemanni, etc.)

The East Germans were a group of tribes belonging to the Indo-European language family. These included the Vandals, Alemanni, Gepids, Marcomanni, Burgundians, Gutons, and some others. According to some historians, the group of East Germans included more than 20 tribes.

The Vandals were one of the powerful tribes of the East Germans, they inhabited the lands of the Jutland Peninsula, as well as the territories between the Order, the Vistula, the Sudetes and the Carpathians.

In the 429nd century, these peoples took part together with the Marcomanni in the war against the Romans and partially conquered the provinces of the empire. But in the battles of 439-XNUMX. part of their people was destroyed, and the survivors captured Roman lands in Africa.

The Marcomanni fought against the Romans in 169-175. and in 177-180, they invaded their territories, but during the war on the Danube border they were exterminated by the Roman troops.

5. Western Germans (Franks, Angles, Saxons, Sueves, Lombards, Batavians, etc.)

The group of tribes of the West Germans included the Saxons, Franks, Lombards, Sueves, Batavians and many others. The Angles occupied part of Britain.

The Batavians lived at the mouth of the Rhine, but in the 12th century BC they were conquered by the Romans, they tried to resist their empire by raising an uprising in the 60-70s, but were finally romanized.

The Saxons owned territories on the Lower Rhine and the Elbe. In the IV century, they took part in the conquest of the lands of Britain. The most active part in the conquest of Roman lands was taken by the Franks, but the empire managed to stand against them.

4. Huns

Nomads came from Asian lands, made multiple raids on China, whose warriors successfully repulsed them. After that, in the 370s. the tribe moved to the West, along the way trying to conquer the territory of the Roman Empire under the leadership of Attila.

In 452, the Huns managed to penetrate the lands of the state, they plundered several cities, but then they had to retreat before the united army of the Romans.

3. Goths (also Ostrogoths and Visigoths)

The Goths belonged to the group of East Germanic tribes, lived in the lower reaches of the Vistula and the territories of the Lower Danube. In the III century. AD the Goths began to actively attack the Roman lands, but they were rebuffed.

The Visigoths were part of the Germanic tribes. In 418 they lived on Roman lands as federates, but the policy of the empire led to the fact that in the 470s. they rebelled against the Romans.

The Ostrogoths were also part of the Germanic tribes, but from the XNUMXth century they joined the Huns, under whose leadership they penetrated into Spain, Italy, where they finally settled.

2. Celts (Scots, Picts, Britons, etc.)

The Celts belonged to a group of Indo-European tribes and occupied territories in the west of Europe. These included Britons, Picts, Scots and some others.

The Scotts first lived on the lands of modern Ireland, their main occupation was sea robbery. In the period between 250 AD. and 400 AD they actively attacked the territories of the empire located in Britain, then conquered the lands from the Picts. The Picts lived in Northern Britain. In 297 AD began to wage active wars with the Romans, both on land and at sea.

The Britons also belonged to the Celtic tribes, from the VI century. they carried out raids on the territory of the empire, which were located in Britain, soon after that the Romans withdrew their troops from these lands.

1. Gauls

The tribes belonged to the Celtic group. They lived on the territory of Gaul (today it is France, part of Switzerland, Northern Italy and Germany, Belgium).

The first attempt to conquer the Roman Empire took place among the Gauls in 390 BC. The lands of Gaul were conquered by the Romans during the reign of Emperor Caesar, it happened in 59-51. BC.

But it was not immediately possible to Romanize the Gauls; uprisings broke out from time to time. In 258, Gaul managed to secede from the Roman Empire, but this lasted only for 15 years, then the state again joined it.