After the Roman period the Christian Church, already established in Gaul since the 1st century AD, appeared to be the last refuge of classical civilisation, as it was organised and directed by a series of Gallo-Roman aristocrats. When the Visigoths were accepted into the Roman Empire, Nîmes was included in their territory in 472, even after the Frankish victory at the Battle of Vouillé (507). The urban landscape went through transformation with the Goths, but much of the heritage of the Roman era remained largely intact.