jjares reviewed History of the Barbarians: A Captivating Guide to the Celts, Vandals, Gallic Wars, Sarmatians and Scythians, Goths, Attila the Hun, and Anglo-Saxons on + 3296 more book reviews
These chapters are the unfolding of wars by early tribes that pillaged and ransacked sedentary villages throughout Europe, the Near East, and beyond. These groups made varying changes to the landscape and the peoples they attacked. I think history will change when DNA testing becomes more routine for archaeology.
THE CELTS: The Celts were wide-ranging peoples who lived in the Iberian Peninsula, throughout Europe, and much of Eastern Europe. We don't know as much as we'd like, because the Celts looked down on writing history. The reason we hear little about Celts, outside of England, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland, is that the Celtic groups that lived in areas the Romans turned into provinces, generally Romanized them. Rome did not turn England (and the other 3 countries) into provinces because they were so fierce and resistant.
The Celts were farmers who were also fierce fighters (and mercenaries) and deeply religious. This book explains what is known of Celtic daily life, religion, government, social structure, and their art. (5 stars)
THE VANDALS: Like the Celts, the Vandals did not leave a written history behind. It seems the Vandals emerged from Sweden and migrated with the Goths (a Germanic tribe) to take up residence in Silesia, part of modern-day Poland. They were farmers, who lived in small villages and were famous for their horsemanship skills and for their tooling of weapons. In the 4th century, they accepted Christianity. However, the Romans, who were Nicean Christians, thought the Aryan Christian-Vandals were heretics.
During the tumultuous 5th century, the Vandals moved to Gaul (present-day France), one of Rome's provinces. However, in 30 years, they migrated all the way to North Africa. During this time, the Roman empire was in disarray. The Vandals' crossing of the Mediterranean Sea is seen as a turning point in world history. The Vandals were the first barbarians to invade Roman provinces in Africa, and Rome never recovered from the loss.
In 422, the Romans accepted the Vandals as a separate, independent empire who just happened to have taken over extensive lands in North Africa (including present-day Algeria, most of Tunisia, and some of Libya). The Vandals also took most of the Roman merchant fleet and shipyards. In 455, the Vandals turned their eyes toward Rome and sacked it without much trouble. (5 STARS)
GALLIC WARS: Essentially, this is the story of Julius Caesar waging war against the Celts of Gaul (France). His ultimate goal was to grab the reins of the Roman Republic and turn it into his own empire. While explaining the wars in great detail, Captivating History keeps an eye on the pressures that caused tribes to move against the Romans and also keeps an eye on Caesar's view of the 'big picture.' The Roman Senate obviously had a good idea what Caesar was up to but they were powerless to stop him, due to Caesar's machinations.
Eventually, Caesar gathered his troops and declared war on his own government. With his military support and the Senate's lack of support, the Civil War did not last long. Caesar had the support of the people plus he had added Gaul to the Roman Empire. He was elected dictator for life. (5 stars)
SARMATIANS AND SCYTHIANS: From the harsh environment of the Steppes, Sarmatians and Scythians were wonderful horsemen and were the bane of infantry enemies. The Sarmatians and Scythians shared a similar culture, the same language, common religious practices, and similar tribal organizations and clothing. These two groups did not write their own histories but were mentioned in dozens of historical sources. They roamed from Romania to what is now China.
The Sarmatians were part of the wider Scythian culture. These cultures were devastated and/or assimilated by the Goths and Huns that overran their lands. in the 4th century. (5 stars)
GOTHS: Goth history is complicated because they were both enemies and allies of the Roman empire. Essentially, Goths were Germanic peoples that invaded the Roman Empire. The Ostrogoths (eastern Goths) sacked Rome (in 410) and created a kingdom in Italy. Western Goths (Visigoths), not to be outdone, handed Attila the Hun his first defeat. The Visigoths also created a kingdom in Spain.
Interestingly enough, these two tribes were the same peoples, distinct from each other, even though they shared rulers at times. The only reason we have information about the Goths is because of Wulfila. He was a Goth who invented the first Gothic alphabet and then translated the Bible from Greek to Goth. (4 stars)
ATTILA THE HUN: Atilla and his Huns are considered to be the cause of the collapse of the Roman Empire and that they brought about the Dark Ages in Europe. However, Captivating History suggests he was no more barbaric than other leaders of the time (5th century); that he had uncanny abilities in negotiating with bigger powers; that Attila was just sneakier than his enemies and he was a brilliant tactician in the battlefield.
Huns had two occupations. Some were nomadic herdsmen (of horses, sheep, and goats) on the Great Hungarian Plains, while others pillaged neighboring tribes in war. This book makes a good point that the Huns were not interested in land acquisition (like the Romans); but only to acquire wealth through pillaging. (5 stars)
ANGLO-SAXONS: The surprising thing I found out in this book is that the Anglo-Saxons were actually three small Germanic tribes (Angles, Jutes, Saxons) who raided and then settled in the land that would eventually be called Great Brittain. They changed the land considerably by establishing kingdoms, converting to Christianity, create alliances with other kingdoms, crushing the locals and eventually uniting the land and peoples. (5 stars)
Given a choice, I would have preferred to have read these individually. This is about 500 pages of war and pillaging, all in one big bite.
THE CELTS: The Celts were wide-ranging peoples who lived in the Iberian Peninsula, throughout Europe, and much of Eastern Europe. We don't know as much as we'd like, because the Celts looked down on writing history. The reason we hear little about Celts, outside of England, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland, is that the Celtic groups that lived in areas the Romans turned into provinces, generally Romanized them. Rome did not turn England (and the other 3 countries) into provinces because they were so fierce and resistant.
The Celts were farmers who were also fierce fighters (and mercenaries) and deeply religious. This book explains what is known of Celtic daily life, religion, government, social structure, and their art. (5 stars)
THE VANDALS: Like the Celts, the Vandals did not leave a written history behind. It seems the Vandals emerged from Sweden and migrated with the Goths (a Germanic tribe) to take up residence in Silesia, part of modern-day Poland. They were farmers, who lived in small villages and were famous for their horsemanship skills and for their tooling of weapons. In the 4th century, they accepted Christianity. However, the Romans, who were Nicean Christians, thought the Aryan Christian-Vandals were heretics.
During the tumultuous 5th century, the Vandals moved to Gaul (present-day France), one of Rome's provinces. However, in 30 years, they migrated all the way to North Africa. During this time, the Roman empire was in disarray. The Vandals' crossing of the Mediterranean Sea is seen as a turning point in world history. The Vandals were the first barbarians to invade Roman provinces in Africa, and Rome never recovered from the loss.
In 422, the Romans accepted the Vandals as a separate, independent empire who just happened to have taken over extensive lands in North Africa (including present-day Algeria, most of Tunisia, and some of Libya). The Vandals also took most of the Roman merchant fleet and shipyards. In 455, the Vandals turned their eyes toward Rome and sacked it without much trouble. (5 STARS)
GALLIC WARS: Essentially, this is the story of Julius Caesar waging war against the Celts of Gaul (France). His ultimate goal was to grab the reins of the Roman Republic and turn it into his own empire. While explaining the wars in great detail, Captivating History keeps an eye on the pressures that caused tribes to move against the Romans and also keeps an eye on Caesar's view of the 'big picture.' The Roman Senate obviously had a good idea what Caesar was up to but they were powerless to stop him, due to Caesar's machinations.
Eventually, Caesar gathered his troops and declared war on his own government. With his military support and the Senate's lack of support, the Civil War did not last long. Caesar had the support of the people plus he had added Gaul to the Roman Empire. He was elected dictator for life. (5 stars)
SARMATIANS AND SCYTHIANS: From the harsh environment of the Steppes, Sarmatians and Scythians were wonderful horsemen and were the bane of infantry enemies. The Sarmatians and Scythians shared a similar culture, the same language, common religious practices, and similar tribal organizations and clothing. These two groups did not write their own histories but were mentioned in dozens of historical sources. They roamed from Romania to what is now China.
The Sarmatians were part of the wider Scythian culture. These cultures were devastated and/or assimilated by the Goths and Huns that overran their lands. in the 4th century. (5 stars)
GOTHS: Goth history is complicated because they were both enemies and allies of the Roman empire. Essentially, Goths were Germanic peoples that invaded the Roman Empire. The Ostrogoths (eastern Goths) sacked Rome (in 410) and created a kingdom in Italy. Western Goths (Visigoths), not to be outdone, handed Attila the Hun his first defeat. The Visigoths also created a kingdom in Spain.
Interestingly enough, these two tribes were the same peoples, distinct from each other, even though they shared rulers at times. The only reason we have information about the Goths is because of Wulfila. He was a Goth who invented the first Gothic alphabet and then translated the Bible from Greek to Goth. (4 stars)
ATTILA THE HUN: Atilla and his Huns are considered to be the cause of the collapse of the Roman Empire and that they brought about the Dark Ages in Europe. However, Captivating History suggests he was no more barbaric than other leaders of the time (5th century); that he had uncanny abilities in negotiating with bigger powers; that Attila was just sneakier than his enemies and he was a brilliant tactician in the battlefield.
Huns had two occupations. Some were nomadic herdsmen (of horses, sheep, and goats) on the Great Hungarian Plains, while others pillaged neighboring tribes in war. This book makes a good point that the Huns were not interested in land acquisition (like the Romans); but only to acquire wealth through pillaging. (5 stars)
ANGLO-SAXONS: The surprising thing I found out in this book is that the Anglo-Saxons were actually three small Germanic tribes (Angles, Jutes, Saxons) who raided and then settled in the land that would eventually be called Great Brittain. They changed the land considerably by establishing kingdoms, converting to Christianity, create alliances with other kingdoms, crushing the locals and eventually uniting the land and peoples. (5 stars)
Given a choice, I would have preferred to have read these individually. This is about 500 pages of war and pillaging, all in one big bite.
