Visigoths

The Visigoths were a West Germanic people who emerged in Late Antiquity and became one of the major successor groups of the Roman world. They originated in the eastern part of the Gothic communities and, under pressure from the Huns, moved westward during the 4th century, crossing into Roman territory as foederati. They sacked Rome in 410 under Alaric I and subsequently established kingdoms in Gaul and Hispania.

In the early 6th century, after defeats in Gaul, the Visigoths consolidated in the Iberian Peninsula, with their political center at Toledo for much of the later medieval period. Their kingdom in Hispania lasted roughly from the early 5th century until the early 8th century. The Visigoths ruled a largely Romanized population and integrated many Roman administrative practices. They spoke a Germanic language (Gothic) in earlier periods, but Latin became the dominant language of administration and culture over time. The Visigothic Code, a unified set of laws, blended Roman law with Gothic customs and played a central role in legal and institutional life.

Christianity was a defining feature of Visigothic identity. The kingdom was originally Arian Christian, but in 589 Reccared I converted to Nicene Christianity, aligning the Visigoths with the Roman Church and facilitating unity with their Roman subjects. This conversion was influential in shaping religious and cultural life in the peninsula.

The Visigothic Kingdom ended with the Muslim conquest of Iberia beginning in 711, after which Christian-ruled realms in the north would later revive into medievalSpanish and Portuguese polities. The Visigoths left a lasting legacy in law, administration, and religious history within the Iberian Peninsula.