A Teutonic tribe inhabiting the basin of the Vistula about the 1century A.D. In the 3century they migrated south towards the Black Sea, invading Greece, Thrace, and Mresia, and encroaching on the Roman possessions. Their kingdom extended from the Black Sea to the Gulf of Bothnia and was divided into the kingdom of the Visigoths (west) and the Ostrogoths (east). In Thrace they revolted against the Roman rule and inflicted a severe defeat on Valens, at Adrianople, in 378. The Visigothic kingdom existed in France from 478 to 507, and in Spain to 711. Under Alaric the Goths invaded Italy in the 5th century, sacked Rome twice, and were expelled by Narses in 552. They accepted Christianity very quickly and at the Council of Nicaea had a Gothic bishop. Of Gothic literature we have the Bible of Ulfilas; of Gothic legislation, the Edict of Theodoric and some law codes.
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