Gothic Kingdom

Flag of the Goths

The  **Goths** were a Germanic people, who migrated from Poland to modern Ukraine in 210 CE, where they established the **Gothic Kingdom** (238-448 CE), located in Thrace. The Goths invaded most of Greece from 265 to 267 CE, and attempted numerous unsuccessful incursions into the Sassanid Empire. After attempting to invade the Peloponnese in 328, the Goths were annihilated by a combined force of Greeks and allied Persians. The Gothic kingdom was fully conquered by 331.

## History

### Early Origins (210-238 CE)

The Goths, most likely a derivative name for the Gutones, a people believed to have originated in Scandinavia and who migrated southeastwards into Eastern Europe. The Goths spoke an eastern Germanic language. The Goths migrated from Poland to modern Ukraine in 210 CE.

### Gothic Kingdom and Sassanid Wars (238-404 CE)

In 238 CE, only months after the collapse of the Pontic Empire, and therefore Sassanid subjugation of Thrace, during winter, the Germanic Goths (Greuthungi and Thervingi), as well as allied Scythians, along with a massive force of 240,000 men, crossed the Danube and were ravaging the Illyrian Kingdom of Dardania and the just established Thracian vassal kingdom, ambushing thousands of Persian garrisons, and making it virtually impossible to govern the region, killing the vassal king, \*Epigenes in the process. The Persians were forced to reposition 80,000 men inside the walls of Mithripolis, who successfully defended the city, after numerous attempts to capture it, waging wars with the Persians for decades to come.

In 250 CE, the Goths launched an invasion into the Sasanian controlled city of Mithripolis, as well as Dacia and the Kingdom of Ardiaei in Illyria under king Cniva. Though the Illyrian and Dacian invasions were a success, the Sasanian invasion resulted, one year later, in a failure.

The first Gothic seaborne raids took place in the 250s. The first two incursions into Asia Minor took place between 253 and 256, and are attributed to Boranoi. This may not be an ethnic term, but may just mean "people from the north". It is unknown if Goths were involved in these first raids. Sassanid historians attribute a third attack to Goths and Boradoi, and claims that some, "forgetting that they were men of Iran," joined the invaders. An unsuccessful attack on Pityus was followed in the second year by another, which sacked Pityus as well as Trapezus and ravaged large areas in the Pontic region. In the third year, a much larger force devastated large areas of Bithynia and the Propontis, including the cities of Chalcedon, Nicomedia, Nicaea, Apamea Myrlea, Cius and Prusa. By the end of the raids, the Goths had seized control over Crimea, as well as the Bosporus and captured several cities on the Euxine coast, including Olbia and Tyras, which enabled them to engage in widespread naval activities.

From 265 to 267 CE, the Goths invaded Greece, though were halted with fierce resistance near the Peloponnese, and adopted a Germanic version of Christianity. At the same time, they launched a second invasion into Mithripolis, but the Goths were eventually repelled in 267.

The third Gothic-Sasanian War, lasted from 268 to 269. This time the Goths attempted to attack from three directions: The main army under the Gothic king, Cannabaudes, attempted to march near Mithripolis and hold their position, while the two other armies tried to take the key port cities of Smyrna and Ephesus. After a successful invasion of both cities, one army was tasked to stay near Ephesus and Smyrna, while the other one went north, taking to the sea and attempting to naval invade Mithripolis through the Chrysokeras harbor, while Cannabaudes and his army would attack simultaneously. The army near Ephesus and Smyrna was defeated, and the extorted Gothic soldiers were forced to tell the Sasanians about their plan.

The Goths had underestimated the Sassanids, especially their naval capabilities. This caused the invading force to be defeated at the sea, without even taking a foot onto the land, according to Persian records. The main army was now expelled to the Sasanians, but they received the message too late. The main force now attempted to retreat. However, Cannabaudes got killed by the chasing Persian army, under King Shapur I, and the last remaining Gothic soldiers retreated in full chaos and panic, suffering enormous losses of 80,000 men. The Goths managed to hold their ground in Thrace, but lost Pityus and the coast of Colchis to the Sassanids.

### The Great Mediterranean War and Downfall (328-331 CE)

The alliance with Carthage, followed an intervention into the Great Mediterranean War by 328, when the Goths invaded the Peloponnese, which was allied to the Persians. However, their king, \*Wallia did not believe that the Sassanids would risk a war with them, while at the same time fighting the Carthaginians. The Goths were wrong, and after he landed at Corinth with a force of 80,000 men, the Greeks, commanding 30,000 troops, were outnumbered at the following battle near the city. Quickly, an envoy was sent to the Persian court, asking for help. As Shapur was currently commanding the Sassanid army in the Levant, right after their victory at Nazareth, he was sent a letter, to which he replied with a detailed plan on how to ambush the Goths by sea, ordering his close friend and general, \*Rastag, who assisted him during his recent conquests, to lead the army.

Seeing this as a chance to return Crimea and Thrace from the Goths, Shapur's general \*Rastag, had set sail and bypassed the Carthaginian naval force guarding Crete, arriving with a force of 40,000 soldiers near the town of Zarax. However, by that point, most of the Peloponnese had fallen to the invaders, and the coast near Zarax was one of the last resisting regions, the most important being Sparta. As the last 15,000 Greek troops approached the 65,000 Goths near Sparta, the center was opened, allowing the Persians to charge forward. \*Wallia was completely taken by surprise, and the Gothic army panicked, slaughtering around 30,000 of them.

The Peloponnese was quickly liberated, and \*Rastag began advancing northwards, pursuing the Gothic king. By 329, their garrisons in Athens were killed by guerilla warfare, and when \*Wallia stood before the gates of his capital, Athens, the people refused to open the gate, forcing the Goths to retreat even further. The invaders were once again defeated at the Battle of Larisa, suffering another 20,000 casualties. That same year, a great Illyrian uprising established independence in the kingdoms of Dardania and Ardieai.

As the Goths were routed into the forests of Thrace, in 330, Shapur II, who just finished his conquests against Carthage, decided to invade Gothic Crimea with his battle drilled army, in order to accelerate the collapse of the kingdom. He annihilated a Gothic army of 20,000 men near Theodosia, and swiftly conquered the Crimean Peninsula. By now, the Gothic army was virtually dysfunctional, and Thrace was conquered from both the north and south, in 331, crushing Wallia's army at their capital, Philippopolis, effectively laying an end to the Gothic Kingdom.

## Source

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visigoths

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostrogoths

## Flag credits

This flag was NOT made by me. Credits to https://www.reddit.com/r/vexillology/comments/6txdux/banner\_of\_the\_goths/ for making this beautiful flag.