476 Country descriptions

Sounds interesting.

Here's my two-cents for the Visigoth Empire.

(Visigoths are cool--I studied early Germanic history in 8th grade for fun )

According to the Gothic historian Iordanes, the Goths are a Germanic people originated around the Baltic basin and began migrating from there following a climate change sometime after the birth of Christ. Coming into Russia, they continously pushed westward until around the Second or Third Centuries they had reached the north bank of the Danube. Coming into contact with the Romans circa the 3d Century A.D., the meetings were at first friendly, but quickly turned hostile when the Goths attacked cities and territories in Thracia, Dacia, and Asia Minor.

By the Fourth Century A.D., the Goths had split into two groups: the "Visi" (Low Latin = "noble") and the "Ostro" (Low Latin = "Eastern"). The Visigoths, continously threatened by the Huns, eventually sought protection under the Romans by the Emperor Valens. This was done in 376, but when the Roman officers badly mistreated the Visigoths, they led a violent revolt, and at the Battle of Adrianopolis (Edrine, Turkey) they encircled and massacred the Emperor's Guard and Valens himself.

Though converted to (Arian) Christianity in the last years of the Fourth Century by Ulfilas, the Visigoths had not lost there violent streak. Twenty years after Adrianopolis, Alaric I, called the Great, led the first sack of Rome since the Gauls in the Sixth Century B.C.E. That year was 410, and Alaric, dying the same year, was succeeded by Atawulf, who led the Visigoths to Spain, creating the first Christian kingdom on the Iberian peninsula.

King Wallia extended the Visigothic rule to all of Iberia and a small strip of the southern Gaulish coast. A century later in 506, King Alaric II introduced a codification of law known as the Breviary of Alaric. Clovis, the first Christian King of the Franks, defeated Alaric II at the Battle of Vouillé, and most of the French holdings were lost.

From then on the power of the Visigothic kings steadily declined, until the last king, Roderick (Don Rodrigo) was killed by the invading Moors at the fateful Battle of Río Barbate in 711. Visigothic power was confined totally to the Principality of Asturias, founded by the Chieftain Pelayo in 718, where it would remain until the Battle of Covadonga--the start of La Reconquista. But when the Visigoths emerged to win this first victory over the Moors, they were now and forever Spaniards.


*whew* Hope that helps!

Northumbria

Though Anglian settlers established themselves north and east of York over the course of the fifth century, Britain north of the Tees remained a Celtic preserve. In 547, according to tradition, the semi-legendary Angle Ida siezed the rock of Metcaud from the local British princes and established there the core of a new kingdom, Bernicia. This fledgling nation, fastened to the coast by their formidable rock fortress, saw off the Scots of Dalriada, Mynyddog Mynfawr of Gododdin and Urien of Rheged in turn to emerge as a major player in their its own right. With the accession of Aethelfrith (592) Bernicia entered its expansionist phase. Bernicia was united with the kingdom of Deira, based around York, in 597. Aethelfrith crushed a Scots-British alliance at
Daegsastan in 613 [CHECK] before

God I'm so tired. I'll finish this tomorrow, you'll see

Hands off...

Ui Niall
Ulaid
Laigin
Alba
Gododdin
Strathclyde
Rheged
Gwynedd
Dyfnain
Mercia
East Anglia
Wessex
Kent
Britannia Minor

... they're mine

Don't touch these...they're mine...till tomorrow

Gallia/Gaul (Syagrius)
Italy (Odovakar)
Ostrogoth Kingdom
Georgia
Altyn Oba (Huns)
Vandalia
Persia
Wu
Wei

Here's the Svebians. Perhaps a little too long, but it might help you with events.

_______________

Svebians

The Svebians (Suevi, Swabians) were a primarily pastoralist Germanic tribe from the Elbe basin, related to (and perhaps encompassing) the Marcomanni, Quadi and Langobardi. During their long stay in the region, they had absorbed elements of Latin and Celtic culture.

Pushed out by the Huns, some 30,000 Svebians joined the Vandals and the Alans in the great invasion of the Roman Empire in 406 and arrived in the Iberian peninsula in 409. In the subsequent partition of territories between the invading tribes, the Svebians received perhaps the poorest lot -- a small kingdom in the mountainous region of Galicia (northwestern Spain). Yet those very mountains shielded them from the Visigothic-Roman onslaught of 415 which virtually exterminated their Vandal and Alan comrades. The Svebians availed themselves of the opportunity to expand their kingdom further south, adding nearly half of Portugal. They established their capital at the Roman ecclesiastical city of Bracara Augusta (Braga).

The Kingdom of the Suevi was perhaps the first Germanic kingdom recognized by Rome. Under Rechila (r.428-448) and Rechiar (r.448-456), the Suevi set up feudal institutions, a process furthered along by Rechiar's conversion to Catholic Christianity in 449. The Suevi can thus be said to have set up the first "Medieval" kingdom in Europe.

During the 450s, the Svebians had ventured unwisely over their borders, prompting a massive Visigothic-Roman response in 456. The Suevi armies were destroyed at the Battle of Urbicus River and their kingdom laid to waste. The Visigothic depredations prompted the powerful Roman general Ricimer, himself a Svebian, to engineer a coup back in Rome. The Visigoths were forced to abandon their campaign and return to Gaul to deal, but left behind one of their own, Aioulf, as governor.

In 457, the ambitious Aioulf decided to declare himself independent king of the Svebi. But he was assassinated soon after and the Svebian kingdom fell into chaos and confusion as Svebi, Visigothic and Romano-Hispanic pretenders climbed over each other to claim the kingdom as their own. The situation dragged itself out, prompting repeated interventions by the Visigothic king Theodoric II. Finally, in 465, Visigothic armies imposed law and order and placed Remisund on the Svebian throne. The Suevi were reduced to vassalage and forcibly converted to Arian Christianity.

But chaos returned after the death of Theodoric II in 466. The Svebians and Romano-Hispanics joined forces and launched an assault on the Visigothic-Roman citadels of Coimbra, Lisbon and Orense. The Visigoths fought back and drove the Suevi back up to Galicia.

The kingdom miraculously survived this third onslaught, but the Roman Empire evaporated soon after and the Visigoths decided to stay on and settle in Hispania permanently. With their old enemies now powerful neighbors, the Svebians reconciled themselves to a tranquil and obscure existence, more-or-less in vassalage to the Visigoths, more-or-less at war with them.

The Byzantine invasion of Hispania put the Visigoths on the defensive and gave the Svebians more breathing room. Arriving with them was the Pannonian missionary, St. Martin of Dume, who, in 550, converted the Sevebian king Carriac back to Catholic Christianity. This signaled the final phase of assimilation of the Suevi into Romano-Hispanic culture. Monasteries were set up and the kingdom reorganized along diocesan administrative lines. The old Roman bishops of Braga and Coimbra were revived and elevated to become virtually co-rulers of the Svebian kingdom. Much to the chagrin of the Arian Visigoths, these bishops became beacons for Romano-Hispanic resistance throughout Visigothia.

In 572, under the pretence of restoring the borders of the old Roman bishoprics, King Miro of the Svebians invaded northern Spain and brought the Asturias and Cantabria under Svebian protection. The Visigoths launched another massive invasion of Svebia, but the Svebians capitalized on a Visigothic civil war and avoided complete defeat. A tenuous peace was negotiated in 576.

The death of Miro in 583 was followed by a succession crisis. In 585, King Leogivild of the Visigoths used this as an excuse to finally annex the moribund Svebian kingdom.

The conversion of the Visigoths to Catholic Christianity in 589 and the elevation of the bishopric of Toledo as the supreme see of Hispania put an end to any hope for a Svebian revival. All remnants of Svebian culture disappeared completely.

Another long one:

The Gepids
______________

The Gepids (Gepidae) were a Germanic tribe, part of the Goths from Scandinavia. Legend has it they earned their nickname "Gepids" (laggards) because they were the last of the Goths to make it over to the continent, or perhaps because they stayed behind in the Vistula valley when the other Goths moved south. They eventually migrated south as well, settling in Transylvania in the 3rd. Century. All sources attest that the Gepids did not get along well with their cousins, reserving particularly emnity for the Ostrogoths (who picked on them repeatedly and, at one point, made them their subjects). They were partially converted to Arian Christianity by the Visigoths.

The Gepids were subdued by the Huns, c.375. As Hunnish subjects, the Gepids were forced to accompany them on their campaigns. The Gepid chieftan Ardaric was particularly close and loyal to Attila, and played a prominent role in his invasions and battles. The Gepids formed the right flank of Attila's army at Catalaunian Fields. They were renowned for their excellent swordsmanship.

The death of Attila in 453 and the subsequent fighting among his sons alarmed the Gepid king Ardaric, who feared that any resulting peace treaty might lead to the partition of the Germanic tribes between the sons, thereby weakening the role of the traditional German chieftans. Ardaric forged a confederation of subject Germanic tribes (composed primarily of Gepids, Heruli and Rugi) and defeated the Huns at the Battle of Netad in 454. The Hunnish empire evaporated overnight.

As leaders of the German coalition, the Gepids took the lion's share of the booty. Ardaric formed the Kingdom of the Gepids in the old Hun-occupied lands in the lower Danube basin (Transylvania, Banat, Wallachia), bankrolled by a "tribute" (more accurately, a subsidy) from the East Roman Emperor Marcian. Although thankful to the Gepids for dismantling the Hunnish threat, the Emperor's relations with them were ambiguous as they were sitting on traditionally Roman land.

The Ostrogoths were conspiciously absent at Netad and the Gepid-led confederation left them to their fate as the remnant of the Hunnish horde took their revenge upon them. The battered Ostrogoths received permission from Constantinople to cross the Danube and take refuge in Pannonia (western Hungary/Slavonia). Emnity between Ostrogoths and Gepids was never higher. The inevitable clash between them finally took place in 469, but the outcome was indecisive.

With the fall of Rome in 476, the Gepids allied themselves with their old friends, the Heruli, who were now rulers of Italy. When the Ostrogoths were ordered by the East Roman Emperor in 488 to recover Italy, the Gepids sent their armies to block the invasion path, but were defeated by Theoderic.

As the Ostrogoths poured into Italy, the Gepids moved quickly westwards into southern Pannonia (Serbia/Bosnia) and made Sirmium (Mitrovica) their new capital. Unwilling to see the Gepids entrenched so close to them, the Ostrogoths launched a campaign in 504 and, with quite some difficulty, pushed the Gepids back east.

The arrival of the Langobards in northern Pannonia alarmed the Gepids, who pulled on all the diplomatic strings to secure an alliance with these powerful neighbors. As a token of goodwill, the Gepids disowned their old Heruli and Rugian allies, letting them be torn to shreds by the Langobards and then refusing them refuge.

When the Ostrogoth-Byzantine conflict broke out in 535, the Gepids headed westwards and recovered Sirmium. King Elemund of the Gepids tried to forge a peculiar Gepid-Langobard-Frankish alliance against the Goths, cementing it with a intricate series of royal inter-marriages. But the putative alliance fizzled when the Gepids failed to hold up their side during the Frankish assault on the Ostrogoths in 548.

Gepid-Langobard relations had already taken a turn for the worse in 546, when the Gepids gave refuge to a fugitive Langobard pretender. Happy to see these two Germanic tribes at odds, the East Roman Emperor Justinian fanned the flames of the conflict, granted the Langobards federate status and dispatched a Roman-Heruli army to assist them. The Gepids were defeated in 546, but not decisively. Langobards and Gepids clashed again in 549 and 551 -- again, inconclusively In 565, the Emperor changed sides and helped the Gepids defeat the Langobards, but the Gepids failed to honor their promise to restore Sirmium to the Emperor.

The final, decisive encounter came in 567, when the Langobards enlisted the help of the newly-arrived Avars, promising them all of the Gepid territory as payment. The Emperor, remembering the earlier slight, turned a deaf ear to Gepid appeals for assistance. The Gepids were completely defeated and brought under Avar rule.

The Gepids were eventually assimilated into Avar society. All traces of their culture are lost to history.

Italy (Odovakar)

The son of a barbarian mercenary in Attila’s army, Odovakar became one himself in 470 and offered his support to Orestes in his conflict against Emperor Nepos (august 475). A year later, he led the mercenary revolt against Orestes, killed him in Placentia and dethroned Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor, sending the imperial insignias at Constantinople. Proclaimed king by his own troops, Odovakar is recognized as magister militum in Italy by the Eastern Roman court. After a remarkable reign, he is killed by Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, in 493, after being defeated in the battles of Isonzo, Verona, Adda and Ravenna.

Hephtalites (White Huns)

Nomadic population of Turkish or Iranian origin from the steppes of Central Asia, the Hephtalites settled in the 4-5th centuries in Sogdiana and Bactria, becoming one of the most dangerous adversaries of both the Sasanids, as well as the Gupta Empire. Their state will be destroyed in 558 by Chosroe I (531-579), allied with the western Turks, led by the kagan Istemi.

Edit: not much, I know, but I thought you only wanted the descriptions....

Ah, concise. I get ya. I was about to embark on a long rant.

Excellent account of the Suevi, btw.

Northumbria
The Anglian kingdom of Bernicia emerged relatively late

Mercia

Kent

Wessex

East Anglia

Dyfnain
The Dumnonii

Gwynedd
Its dynasty supposedly established by the Votadinic warrior Cunedda, Gwynedd becomes the dominating Welsh power under Maelgwn, who ruled around the mid-sixth century. Nor. Under his successors Cadfan and Cadwallon the Ga

Gododdin

Strathclyde
Known to the Romans as the Damnonii, the Britons of Clydesdale developed into the early medieval kingdom of Strathclyde. In common with certain other northern realms, power centred on a natural fortress, Dumbarton Rock, then Alcluyd, Alcleda, 'the rock of Clyde'. By the fifth century Strathclyde had risen to become the region's foremost power, the bounds of its authority marked out in the north at Clach nam Breatann by the head of Loch Lomond, in the south by Rerecross in the central Pennines. A fleet was maintained, and the land converted to Christianity around the mid-fifth century, perhaps under the influence of St Ninian. The nascent Church later consolidated around Glasgow under St Kentigern. With Pictish ascendancy and the Northumbrian erasure of the Gododdin Strathclyde suddenly fell vulnerable, and very nearly succumbed to the Angles in the eighth century. A modest revival ended in 870-1 when Alcluyd fell to the Dublin Vikings following an epic siege. The rise of the Scots doomed the old northern order, and the rump of Strathclyde or 'Cambria' dwindled to a Gaelic satrapy, finally disappearing from history c.1018. No trace of North British speech survived the twelfth-century plantation of Flemish and Anglo-Norman colonists.

Alba
Barren and hostile, Britain's far north never passed under Roman rule. Beginning in the fourth century we hear of the Picts, and Picts were to dominate the region for five centuries. Given that, they are extraordinarily enigmatic. Their language is almost entirely lost, and they are surrounded by speculation....

Rheged
But for one episode in its history Rheged might be utterly obscure. Beyond a general agreement that its focus was somewhere west of the Pennines nothing is certain. Perhaps it centred on the old Roman civitas at Luguvallum, Caer Luel, Carlisle.
[...]
Rheged cannot long have outlived Aethelfrith's victory at Chester, 61x.

Ah, short, I get it....

How's this?

Vandals:

Germanic tribe, relatively late arrivals into the Continent. They were split into two groups -- the Silingian Vandals (settled around modern Silesia) and the Asdingian Vandals (settled in Dacia). Pushed by the Huns, both groups of Vandals joined the Alans and Swabians in the great invasion of the Roman Empire in 406. They set up their kingdoms illegally in Spain in 411 -- the Asdingians in northern Galicia, the Silingians in Baetica (southern Spain). Protected by the dense mountainous terrain, the Asdingian Vandals survived the onslaught by the Roman federate armies of Visigoths in 416. But their Silingin cousins were completely exterminated and the Alans nearly so. Following the withdrawal of Visigothic troops, the Asdingian Vandals moved to southern Spain where, together with the remnant of the Alans, they set up a new kingdom c.420. But built on plains and open to Roman-Visigothic assault, it was never secure. Finally, in 429, at the invitation of a rebel Roman governor, the Vandals and Alans migrated to North Africa and set up a new kingdom there. Under their great King Gaiseric, the Vandals successfully fended off all Roman attempts to bring them to heel. Their independence was officially recognized in the peace of 442.

Uniqulely among the early Germanic tribes, the Vandals learnt the art of seafaring. They quickly became masters of the western Mediterranean Sea and the scourge of the Italian coasts, going so far as to sack Rome in 455. In a spectacular raid on Cartagena in 460, the Vandals destroyed the entire Roman fleet and forced Rome to concede the provinces of Tripolitana and Mauritania.

Vandal raids in the eastern Mediterranean eventually woke up Byzantium. In 533, Byzantine armies under Belisarius destroyed the Vandals and annexed their kingdom into the Eastern Roman Empire as the Exarchate of Africa.


Alans:

Tribe of Iranian origin who migrated north to the shores of the Black Sea. Their Iranian culture became intermingled with Germanic elements adopted from their neighbors. Around 375, they got swept up with the Hunnish push and migrated westwards into Central Europe. Together with the Vandals and Swabians, the Alans joined the great invasion of the Roman Empire in 406. As the largest of the invading tribes, the Alans took the lion's share in the partition of Roman Hispania in 411. The Alan kingdom encompassed Lustiania (Portugal) and Cartagenensis (central-eastern Spain). The mighty Alans were nearly wiped out by the Visigothic-Roman onslaught of 416. The survivors attached themselves to the Asdingian Vandals and moved with them to North Africa in 429. Thereafter, the history of the Alans coincides with that of the Vandals.

OK, the following is a bit long, but you can lop off the end as it goes over your time period.

----------------

The Burgundians:

Germanic tribe, probably of Danish origin. The Burgundians arrived at the Roman borders during the 3rd Century, settling in western Germany, between the Franks and Alemanni. Fearful of the Huns, the opportunistic Burgundians crossed the border into the Roman Empire in the wake of the great invasion of 406, but went no further. In 413, they were allowed to establish their kingdom around the Rhine, with capital at Worms. The Burgundian legend of the Niebelungenlied pertains to this period.

The Burgundians proved to be a a bit too energetic. So, in 436, the Romans and the Huns cooperated in their destruction. By 443, peace was made and the battered Burgundians, under their chieftan Gunderic, were granted a Roman federate contract and new domains in what is now Lower (Cisjurane) Burgundy. Upper (Transjurane) Burgundy was ceded to them in 458, in an attempt by the Roman Emperor to create a loyal counterweight (and buffer) to the unreliable and ever-volatile Visigoths and Roman Army of Gaul The Burgundians converted to Arian Christianity and adopted a Latin dialect at some point during their stay.

The Burgundians proclaimed the formation of the independent (Lyonnais) Kingdom of Burgindy soon after 476, which included all of southeastern France and most of Switzerland and had its capital at Lyons.

Alas, their Arian faith made them a target of the newly-converted Catholic Franks. The Burgundian Kingdom survived the defeat at Dijon (500) but their military power was broken. They lost Provence to the Ostrogoths of Italy around the same time.

The Merovingian kings of the Franks successfully conquered Burgundy in 534, but kept it as a distinct entity under their personal rule. Provence was recovered by the Franks and re-attached to Burgundy in 536.

Burgundy was annexed into the Carolingian empire around 735, in the aftermath of an Arab invasion. But Burgundy would not disappear from history. It was passed around as part of Lotharingia among the descendants of Charlemage. It popped back into independent existence in 855, but was subsequently partitioned between France and Italy in 870.

Yet the persistent kingdom would reappear. Initially in two pieces -- Lower Burgundy under Boso of Arles in 879, Upper Burgundy under Rudolf of Auxerre in 888. These were united to form the (Arelate) Kingdom of Burgundy in 933 under Rudolph II, with capital at Arles. However, the new kingdom was smaller than its ancestor, as it had lost a sizeable chunk to France (what became known as the Duchy of Burgundy and was to play such a pivotal role in subsequent French history).

This new Kingdom of Burgundy was not very successful: it was a decentralized, feudal mess, continuously raided by Vikings and Saracens. After the death of the last king, Rudolf III, in 1032, the Kingdom of Burgundy was inherited by the Conrad of Franconia and incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire. However, subsequent German emperors stopped bothering to have themselves crowned King of Burgundy at Arles and left the dominions to the rule of the local nobility -- notably, the powerful Burgundian Counts of Vienne (Dauphiné), Provence, Franche-Comté and Savoy.

And one more:

_________________

The Alamanni

The Alamanni (Alemanni, Allemani) were a confederation of Germanic border tribes (their name means "All the Men" in Germanic). They were related to, or at least included splinters from, the Svebians.

Early arrivals at the Roman borderlands, the Alamanni were for a long time the main Germanic antagonists of the Romans. Their invasion of northern Italy in 268 was repulsed with difficulty. Another concerted, violent push into the Empire took place in 355, when they sacked Cologne and overran Alsace, Lorraine and Champagne. Julian's successful campaign against them, notably his victory at Strassburg in 357, earned him the acclamation and popularity which propelled him to usurp the purple.

The Alamanni were gradually subdued and several of their component tribes were granted federate status and allowed to settle just over the Rhine in Swabia. The Hunnish push and the great invasion of 406 prompted the Alamanni to swarm just over the border into the Alsace. As long-time federates, the Romans kindly allowed them to stay there.

The Alamanni adopted many elements of Latin culture, converted to Christianity and gradually abandoned their warlike qualities. They became one of the principal barbarian suppliers of colonists and soldiers. Their officers reached quite powerful positions in the Roman hierarchy.

After the collapse of the empire in 476, the Alamanni proclaimed the formation of an independent kingdom encompassing Alsace, Swabia and parts of Switzerland. But the Franks were quick to subde them. Clovis conquered the Alamanni in 496 and incorporated them as a duchy into the Frankish domains. They were eventually annexed out of existence.

Curiously, their presence endures in the terms for "Germany" and "German" in most modern Romance languages (French: Allemagne, Spanish: Alemania; Portuguese: Alemanha, etc.)

Salian Franks

One of two major components of the Frankish tribes that had been granted rights to the North-East portion of Gallia by Julian in 357, in 476 they were split between three diferent kings. Under Clovis I (481?-511?), the Ripuarian Franks, Aquitania, Burgundians and the other Salian kingdoms were brought under his control. The Roman Empire's official recognition of Clovis' administration of Belgica Secunda and his later conversion to Catholocism made Francia a natual counterweight to the Ostrogothic kingdom in Imperial politics. The Frankish custom of dividing the kingdom up between all the sons of the king caused a new round of maneuvering and infighting every generation, and tended to erode the power of what might have been the most powerful successor the the Western Empire. By the end of the sixth century, Francia was more or less permanently broken into Austrasia and Neustria with Burgundy and Aquitane going their own way, although under Frankish rule. In time, the constant political infighting of the Frankish courts prevented the kings from getting anything done on their own, and power passed to the 'Mayors of the Palace.' Who in turn generated the most famous personality of the 'Dark Ages': Charlemange.
-------------

Hopefully that isn't too long or too inaccurate. Northern France is a really confusing place at this time. In 476 there's three Salian kings and I-don't-know how many Riparian kings. Borders within Francia are pretty fluid as each partitioning of the kingdom did it differently until the process was more or less abandoned around 575-600 and the permanent emergence of Austrasia and Neustria. (You're going to have some *fun* events around that one.... )

So if everyone has put in a claim, what is left from the original list?

Glad I did mine first...

You can do mine...I just realised that I have no time.....

Originally posted by Alexandru H.
Don't touch these...they're mine...till tomorrow

Wu
Wei

Click to expand...

Ah, another three kingdoms fan?

If you have Wu and Wei, you may as well have Shu.

Also, the Three Kingdoms period in China ended by AD 280, so it will be out of Lofman's period ( 476-819)

I know, I would have expected questions about Sui or Tang (the latter being my favourite dinasty, btw)....

Dalmatia:
Dalmatian ruler Julius Nepos was the last legitimate Emperor of western Roman Empire (474-475 de facto, 474-480 de jure).
Nepos was the husband of niece of eastern Roman Emperor Leo.
Leo made Nepos emperor (Nepos was also governor of Dalmatia) to end reign of usurper Glycerius. In 474, Nepos driven Glycerius to Salona (modern day Solin in Croatia). Julius Nepos was capable ruler, but he wasn't popular among Senate and Orestes. In 475, Orstes deposed Nepos who fled to Dalmatia, and installed his son Romulus Augustulus to the throne. Another Germanic, Odoakar, deposed Romulus Augustulus and killed Orestes. Odoakar was recognized ruler of Italy by Nepos and eastern Roman Empire. Odoakar even released coins with Nepos' name. In 479, Nepos decided to try to take Italy. Glycerius, who became Salonitan bishop, was plotting a revenge against Nepos. Nepos was killed in 480 by his guards. Odoakar defeated the remainder of Dalmatian army and added Dalmatia to his kingdom. Glycerius became bishop of Mediolanum (modern Milan).

Originally posted by Alexandru H.
I know, I would have expected questions about Sui or Tang (the latter being my favourite dinasty, btw)....

Click to expand...

Tell us of gaullia!

Western Roman Empire:
In 476, Western Roman Empire was on it's knees. Formally, it's Emperor controlled Gaul, Italy, Iberian Peninsula, Northern Africa and Illyricum. However, imperial rule was felt in Illyricum, Italy and southern parts of Gaul. While other Germanic tribes, like Francs, Goths and Suevi calmed down, Vandals often raided Italy (famous sack of Rome in 455). Emperors were installed by their Germanic militias (foederati-foedus=contracted). Rome remained capital, but Emperors ruled from Ravenna. Last legitimate ruler Julius Nepos was dethroned by Orestes (475), who installed his son Romulus Augustus (half Germanic- half Roman) to throne. Another Germanic, Odoakar dethroned Romulus Augustulus (476) and sent him to monastery, while Orestes was killed. Odoakar couldn't become Emperor because he was Germanic (previous usurpers had at least a drop of Roman blood). Odoakar abolished dying Western Roman Empire and declared himself ''King of Germanics in Italy". That was beggining of Middle Ages.