Gotha

Beginning AD: From the North in the basin of Vistula there are Germans Gotha and restrict the local people on the South to borders of the Roman Empire

Approximately at a turn of an old and new era — or at the end of the 1st century BC, or at the beginning of the 1st century AD in the basin of Vistula there are Germans Gotha that became one of premises by the beginning of Great resettlement of the people. Now this dating is recognized by most of historians in Germany, Poland and Sweden.

From where Gotha came to the mouth of Vistula? Perhaps, from the island of Gotland, judging by its name though on this subject there are several versions. Judging by characteristic elements of culture, including burial grounds with stone circles and steles, it or one of islands in the Baltic Sea (the same Gotland or Bornholm), or the southern coast of modern Sweden. Most likely, the first group of gothic immigrants was absolutely not numerous. The historian of the 6th century Jordan provided a legend of two ships by which came Gotha on the southern coast of Baltika in the treatise "About Origin and Acts Clew Line", and on the third is later than profit related to them a gepida.

Modern archaeological data absolutely accurately fix: in the II-I centuries BC in the lower watercourse of Vistula and on the coast of Baltika there was oksyvsky culture. However in the 1st century AD it was replaced velbarsky (by the name of the burial ground Malbork-Velbark) by culture which can be identified with Ghats. To the south, on average and headwaters of Vistula, before arrival it is ready there lived representatives of pshevorsky culture.

Oksyvskaya was also substrate for velbarsky culture. Now it is accepted to correlate the German tribe of vandals to the pshevorsky culture of the Roman time. But it is connected by the origin in the first centuries BC including with yastorfsky culture (the ancestral home of many West German tribes) and substrate of the Pomor culture — the most ancient population in the territory of modern Poland before arrival is ready.

Their disembarkation to the mouth of Vistula and promotion up its current strongly changed the ethnic map of this region. Tribes of pshevorsky culture and other local German tribes under an impact it is ready were forced to migrate on the South, towards Danube and a limes — border of the Roman Empire, the archeologist, the research associate of department of archeology of an era of Great resettlement of the people and the early Middle Ages of Institute of archeology of RAS Oleg Radyush^[1]Told in January, 2020 in an interview of Lenta.ru^[1].

The 2nd century

The beginning of Markomansky war of Ancient Rome with the German barbarians

By force receding for the South under pressure it is ready - alien, vandals and allied to them the German tribes of markoman, kvad, germundur and iranoyazychny Sarmatians within nearly 20 years made regular devastating attacks on the Roman limes across Rhine and Danube. Later the zasechny lines in the Moscow Russia created for protection against invasions of the Crimean Tatars and other steppe nomads bore a faint resemblance to structure of the Roman border zone with the world of barbarians (Barbaricum).

Vandals come to the West of modern Ukraine, Gotha - on the southwest of Belarus

It is important for the East European history and archeology that approximately in the second half of the 2nd century — the beginning of the 3rd century representatives of pshevorsky culture (vandals) moved the southeast and left tens of military burials of pshevorsky culture in the west of Ukraine. Along with it people of velbarsky culture (Gotha) appeared in a southwest part of modern Belarus and in the northwest of Ukraine. It became known only in post-war time when the Soviet archeologists opened and explored the burial ground of velbarsky type Brest-Trishin (the modern city of Brest).

Success is ready in many respects was provided more front line at that time with the organization of society. They opposed to archaic military democracy of the neighbors tough social hierarchy, some kind of imperious vertical of the Iron Age. Strangely enough, it allowed their society to be less militarized in archaeological expression. We see it on burials of velbarsky culture where weapon and other military attributes are practically absent. It cardinally distinguishes it from burial grounds of pshevorsky culture where weapon is traditionally numerous.

What forced is ready to migrate at first to present Polish Pomerania, and then on the East, on the territory of modern Belarus, Ukraine and even Russia?

Most likely, it were the demographic reasons, i.e. overpopulation of their former area of dwelling where the critical mass of "excess people" periodically collected. Not for nothing Jordan called "island" of Skandzu of "workshop" and "a womb of the people": from there to other regions of Europe all new and new tribes — cimbri and tevtona, Utah, angla and saxophones, and later and Norman Vikings were constantly splashed out. The western part of these impulses better was known to antique chroniclers, but also considerable migration flows in East Baltika are obvious. It as in the 17-18th centuries the overpopulation of Britain, together with other reasons, forced some of its inhabitants to move across the ocean and to master overseas colonies.

It is unlikely climatic changes played some essential role here. Anyway, the climate in Povislenye is more favorable, than to the east — in Belarus and the more so in the European part of Russia. At the same time in Povislenye soils are less fertile, than in chernozem regions of Ukraine and Russia. Perhaps, it also affected determination is ready in their promotion for the East of Europe in search of the fertile country of Oyum.

Later, at the Chernyakhovsk stage, as a result of contacts with the population of Northern Black Sea Coast they could bring the developed skills of tilled agriculture there. The border of deep freezing of the soil is close to modern border of Poland and Belarus in the winter, and the Central Russia entirely is in a zone of risky agriculture. Our ancestors had to survive in heavier environment that strongly affected all course of the Russian history.

Selection of dynasties Amalov and Baltov, migration on the territory of modern Romania, Moldova and Northern Black Sea Coast

Separation of gothic tribes could pass not only on geographical sign, but also across the habitat. Greytung (grevtung) were considered as stepnyaka, and terving lived in forests, under these names they are mentioned in early sources. Usually carry to greytunga ostgot, and to tervingam — Visigoths. Perhaps, separation of exclusive childbirth happened already in Scandinavia, but in the course of the movement on the South there was selection of two outstanding dynasties — Amalov and Baltov, finally issued in the 4th century.

Approximately at the end of the 2nd century of Gotha under leadership of the king Filimer from the sort Amalov migrated across Danube and Dniester on the territory of present Romania and Moldova and on the East where gradually occupied the Central Dnieper Bank and Northern Black Sea Coast, having reached the Kursk and Belgorod regions of modern Russia. It is necessary to understand that it is ready in this huge territory was not so much, however they, probably, became the dominating force and elite of local societies as several centuries later Varangians in the early history of Ancient Russia.

The 3rd century: Gothic (Scythian) wars with the Roman Empire. Formation of the Chernyakhovsk culture which is forcing out the Kiev culture on the North

Crisis of the Roman Empire during an era of soldier's emperors began in 235 and was caused by the various internal reasons, but Gotha both their allies in the east and alemanna on the Rhine limes significantly aggravated it. Since 238 several decades east boundaries of the Roman Empire shook gothic (Scythian) wars. During them Gotha together with the iranoyazychny Sarmatians wandering across Northern Black Sea Coast and probably many other joined local tribes crushed and plundered almost all coast of the Black and Aegean seas, having reached Cyprus in the south and Tanais in the north, in the mouth of Don. There is nothing to be surprised here — even since migration through Baltika of Gotha were familiar with the German tradition of shipbuilding, and already on the Black Sea they seized the large ships of the bosporsky fleet.

As well as in Markomansky war, the Roman Empire stood in gothic wars and after deep crisis of the 3rd century even for a while became stronger. After catastrophic defeat from legions of the emperor Claudius II in fight at Naisse (modern Nish in Serbia) in 268 Gotha refused attacks on the Roman limes and settled beyond its limits, having received the status of hired allies of the empire (federat). In the same time at the final stage of gothic wars in Northern Black Sea Coast and in the Dnieper Bank the Chernyakhovsk culture - multilingual and polietnichny conglomerate of the most different tribes among which, most likely, dominated Gotha was finally created.

The archaeological data, known for 2020, allow to tell that at all diversity of local population of the Dnieper Bank and Northern Black Sea Coast (the German, balto-Slavic and alano-skifo-Sarmatian tribes), there was a tough social hierarchy thanks to which the Chernyakhovsk culture reached rather high level of development. In its territory there are no ancient settlements at all that indicates lack of serious danger to life of big open settlements.

It was not the primitive barbaric world on the edge of an oykumena of that time, and rather complex society which had the developed trade, potter's production, metallurgy, various crafts, people even played board games by antique tradition. By the way, circular ware is very evident indicator of development of society because the following emergence of its mass production in this territory is fixed only at the time of Ancient Russia, several centuries later after disappearance of the Chernyakhovsk culture.

If to speak about the covered area, then the Chernyakhovsk culture borrowed not only almost all modern Ukraine (except its northern and southeast part), but also the Romanian Munteniya, certain territories of Transylvania, all Moldova and a part of two regions of the Russian Federation — Kursk and Belgorod. Conditionally speaking, it included extensive space from the lower Danube Current to upper courses of Diet and the Northern Collum. Specialists from the museum "Kulikovo Field" opened a small enclave of the Chernyakhovsk culture near Tula where found the Chernyakhovsk ceramics, arms and the Roman coins, is only in two hundred kilometers from Moscow.

As velbarsky culture in Poland substituted oksyvsky and displaced pshevorsky cultures, and the Chernyakhovsk culture in Ukraine pressed on the North, towards Polesia, the Kiev culture. The found artifacts of the Kiev culture (for example, heavy and massive jewelry of bronze with enamels, rough pots), as well as structure of its resettlement, indicate its quite archaic character. The Chernyakhovsk culture actively contacted to an antique Greek-Roman civilization (in historical science for such cultures there is a term "provincial Roman"), and the Kiev culture in comparison with it remained still barbaric and primitive. Judging by our observations, the relations between them most likely were conflict.

For 2020 it is considered to be that ancestors of Slavs were carriers of the Kiev culture. More precisely, she actively participated in process of ethnogenesis of early medieval Slavs. She stopped the existence by the beginning of the 5th century, practically along with Chernyakhovsk. Three early Slavic cultures of the 5-7th centuries became successors of the Kiev culture: kolochinsky, penkovsky and Prague korchakskaya.

The academician Andrey Zaliznyak claimed that praslavyansky language borrowed a big dictionary array from language is ready - Germans: bread, the prince, a boiler, a letter, the glass, a regiment to purchase. Judging by archaeological material, Chernyakhovsk culture influenced Kiev more, than on the contrary. At a late stage of existence of both cultures active penetration of things of the Chernyakhovsk type into the Kiev area in which there was a replacement of traditional household items and clothes on new samples according to the all-European barbaric fashion of that time is noticeable.

The 4th century: Gunnsky invasion destroys the gothic power of Germanarikh. The active population leaves on the North

Invasion of Huns did not allow the power of Germanarikha to be issued in full state education to what there were premises. Huns just crushed it on the way on the West. If earlier to Europe human masses from Scandinavia was splashed out, then now they got from the East, from Asia there (however, in the same way earlier Indo-Europeans, our ancestors got to Europe).

Eastern Europe in IV in AD.

Most likely, after crash of the Chernyakhovsk culture as a result of gunnsky invasion in the second half of the 4th century on the northeast outskirts of the former power of Germanarikh there were local protostate educations. Probably, it happened because the most active population of the Chernyakhovsk culture left the restless steppe zone (is the territory of present Southern and Southeast Ukraine) which is on the way of the movement of Huns to Europe, to the northern woods.

There is a version that on a left bank of Dnieper, including in the territory of the Kursk and Belgorod regions of Russia, after Germanarikh's death some time existed the small gothic-Alania Kingdom of Vinitariya, known as "winner of vened". Perhaps, those elite burials which were detected there correspond to a top of this society. Parts of clothes are rather characteristic of the iranoyazychny people, i.e. Alanov. It is known that Alana were allies it is ready, and Vinitary in the childhood was brought up by Alania leaders Alafey and Safrak. But besides — until we receive anthropological materials and we do not investigate similar burials by archaeological methods, all this will remain hypotheses.

Arrival to Europe of Huns allowed Slavs (i.e. to representatives of the Kiev culture) to occupy new territories and to come to the historical arena. Apparently, before the Chernyakhovsk culture closed them access to an antique civilization. After its defeat (some archaeological materials give the grounds to suspect that Slavs participated in it too) they returned themselves the territory occupied earlier by representatives of the Chernyakhovsk culture and came into direct contact to east Roman provinces. Escaping from Huns, Gotha in 376 were transported through Danube approximately around present Romanian-Bulgarian border, to the east of Bucharest.

Other German people moved the West and the South too — vandals from modern Poland together with sveva, alana and a part is ready passed through the whole Europe to Spain, and then moved to North Africa, Lombards occupied the North of Italy. As a result in the 5th century in Central Europe huge territories became deserted. Slavs gradually occupied them and by the 7th century reached Elba, i.e. almost the South of the modern German state of Schleswig-Holstein.

It is known that ancient movements of the barbaric people still remained in toponymics. So, names of the historic areas of the Iberian Peninsula Catalonia and Andalusia, perhaps, come from the people which came here to an era of Great resettlement also Alanov (other part Alanov was settled on the North and Western Caucasus and in the Crimea and became ancestors of present Ossetians) and vandals is ready. Lombards left the mark in the name of Lombardy, area in the north of Italy.

And in French Germany is called Allemagne — from the tribe of alemann while Russia in Latvian hereinafter is referred to as Krievija from the ancient Slavic tribe of Krivichi.

Notes