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History of the Barbarians: A Captivating Guide to the Celts, Vandals, Gallic Wars, Sarmatians and Scythians, Goths, Attila the Hun, and Anglo-Saxons
If you want to discover the captivating history of the Barbarians, then keep reading... Free History BONUS Inside! Seven captivating manuscripts in one A Captivating Guide to Ancient Celtic History and Mythology, Including Their Battles Against the Roman Republic in the Gallic WarsThe A Captivating Guide to the Barbarians That Conquered the Roman Empire During the Transitional Period from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle AgesThe Gallic A Captivating Guide to the Military Campaigns that Expanded the Roman Republic and Helped Julius Caesar Transform Rome into the Greatest Empire of the Ancient WorldSarmatians and A Captivating Guide to the Barbarians of Iranian Origins and How These Ancient Tribes Fought Against the Roman Empire, Goths, Huns, and PersiansThe A Captivating Guide to the Visigoths and Ostrogoths Who Sacked Rome and Played an Essential Role in the Fall of the Western Roman EmpireAttila the A Captivating Guide to the Ruler of the Huns and His Invasions of the Roman A Captivating Guide to the People Who Inhabited Great Britain from the Early Middle Ages to the Norman Conquest of EnglandIn part 1 of this book, you Who Were the Celts?The Celtic MigrationsThe Many Celtic Tribes of EuropeThe CeltiberiansThe Gallic WarsThe Insular CeltsCeltic WarriorsCeltic Way of LifeCeltic ReligionCeltic ArtAnd much, much more!In part 2 of this book, you Origins of the VandalsFrom the Danube to AfricaRise of the Vandal KingdomDownfall of the VandalsVandal SocietyReligion, Culture, and the VandalsAnd much, much more!In part 3 of this book, you Ancient GaulGaius Julius CaesarThe Helvetii CeltsThe Helvetian WarAriovistus, the German KingBattle of the SabisThe Germanic WarUnited Gaul Versus Caesar of RomeThe Battle of AlesiaAnd much, much more!In part 4 of this book, you Origins of the Scythians and SarmatiansArt, Culture, and ReligionEconomy and SocietyWarfare and ConquestEnd of the Scythians and SarmatiansAnd much, much more!In part 5 of this book, you Who Were the Goths? Names, Origins, and Early SettlementsHistory of the Relations with Romans, Gothic KingdomsOstrogothic and Visigothic RulersThe Culture of Religion, Customs, Social HierarchyEveryday Life of Jobs and Division of Labor, Housing and Architecture, Art, Written WorksAnd much, much more!In part 6 of this book, you The Origins of Attila and the HunsThe Wars of the Huns Before AttilaAn Alliance Between the Huns a
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506 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 18, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 7, 2025
“Barbarians” are folks who weren’t Roman or Greek, existed at the same time, and wrote nothing down. All their history is told by people observing them and usually fighting with them. There were a shitload of different tribes and the Romans lumped them together in a few big groups based on similar behaviors, locations and time frames.
Celts:
1200 - 60 BC. The celts started with the Halstatt (1200 BC) and La Tene (500 BC) cultures in central Europe and spread out to Iberia, France, Great Britain and Ireland, and eastern Europe as far as turkey. They were a bunch of different tribes with some vague commonalities. The continental variety got diluted by other tribes and Rome. The British Isles ones lasted a bit longer so that’s why we associate celts more with Ireland. Their time as a major scene ends with Julius Caesar kicking the Gauls’ asses.
Vandals:
130 - 530 AD. Came from Scandinavia to Silesia and were a bit more advanced. They had big kings instead of tribal chieftains. They were Arians. They took on Rome and won but then lost and their land got folded into the Eastern Roman Empire.
Scythians:
800 BC - 200 AD The Scythians were from the Pontic steppe. Good at horses and shooting arrows. Women were seen as people and sometimes fought alongside the men. They had a lot of hermaphrodites. Everyone wore the same kind of outfit regardless of gender. They kicked ass for a long time then shit fell apart. They fought with the Persians, absorbed Greek culture, got beat by Alexander, conquered by the Sarmatians, destroyed by the Huns and finally assimilated by the Goths.
Sarmatians
300 BC - 300 AD Similar to the Scythians. Their women were tough and would cut off their tit to shoot arrows better. This begat the Greek legend of the Amazons. Beat the Scythians, allied with Germanic Tribes (not featured in this book) to fuck with Rome, got sucked up by the goths.
Huns
370 - 470 AD The Huns go HAM fighting with people in Central Europe and the steppes. They fight with Rome and the Goths and eventually lose fighting with their formal Germanic tribal allies.
Goths
75 AD - 560 AD Evidently nobody knows why they are called Goths or where they came from. They fought the Greeks and the Romans. They had Kings and fancy stuff. The get spanked by the Huns. Split in half to become the Visigoths (west, beat by the Moors in Spain) and the Ostrogoths (east, beat by the Byzantines).
Anglo-Saxons
449 - 1066 AD Came from different places in North Germany and Denmark They were different groups: Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Danes. The turned Christian and made art. Some of the rulers had great names like Woofa and Sexburg. There were a bunch of different kingdoms on Great Britain (Mercia, Northumbria, Kent, Wessex, etc.)
Dealt with viking raids. Ultimately fell to the Normans.
This book was written by an entity called “Captivating History” which may be an AI. Either way it was pretty interesting and digestible.
Celts:
1200 - 60 BC. The celts started with the Halstatt (1200 BC) and La Tene (500 BC) cultures in central Europe and spread out to Iberia, France, Great Britain and Ireland, and eastern Europe as far as turkey. They were a bunch of different tribes with some vague commonalities. The continental variety got diluted by other tribes and Rome. The British Isles ones lasted a bit longer so that’s why we associate celts more with Ireland. Their time as a major scene ends with Julius Caesar kicking the Gauls’ asses.
Vandals:
130 - 530 AD. Came from Scandinavia to Silesia and were a bit more advanced. They had big kings instead of tribal chieftains. They were Arians. They took on Rome and won but then lost and their land got folded into the Eastern Roman Empire.
Scythians:
800 BC - 200 AD The Scythians were from the Pontic steppe. Good at horses and shooting arrows. Women were seen as people and sometimes fought alongside the men. They had a lot of hermaphrodites. Everyone wore the same kind of outfit regardless of gender. They kicked ass for a long time then shit fell apart. They fought with the Persians, absorbed Greek culture, got beat by Alexander, conquered by the Sarmatians, destroyed by the Huns and finally assimilated by the Goths.
Sarmatians
300 BC - 300 AD Similar to the Scythians. Their women were tough and would cut off their tit to shoot arrows better. This begat the Greek legend of the Amazons. Beat the Scythians, allied with Germanic Tribes (not featured in this book) to fuck with Rome, got sucked up by the goths.
Huns
370 - 470 AD The Huns go HAM fighting with people in Central Europe and the steppes. They fight with Rome and the Goths and eventually lose fighting with their formal Germanic tribal allies.
Goths
75 AD - 560 AD Evidently nobody knows why they are called Goths or where they came from. They fought the Greeks and the Romans. They had Kings and fancy stuff. The get spanked by the Huns. Split in half to become the Visigoths (west, beat by the Moors in Spain) and the Ostrogoths (east, beat by the Byzantines).
Anglo-Saxons
449 - 1066 AD Came from different places in North Germany and Denmark They were different groups: Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Danes. The turned Christian and made art. Some of the rulers had great names like Woofa and Sexburg. There were a bunch of different kingdoms on Great Britain (Mercia, Northumbria, Kent, Wessex, etc.)
Dealt with viking raids. Ultimately fell to the Normans.
This book was written by an entity called “Captivating History” which may be an AI. Either way it was pretty interesting and digestible.
November 23, 2019
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.
July 10, 2020
Good summary of each barbarian tribe\kingdom. History of Attila was fascinating. I would love to see books on Ireland, Wales and Iberian peninsula (Spain, Portugal, Andorra, Basque)
Great display of the impact of Julius Caesar on the Barbarian world as well as Byzantine Empire after the Fall of the Western empire and how the Barbarian kingdoms contributed to that fall
Great display of the impact of Julius Caesar on the Barbarian world as well as Byzantine Empire after the Fall of the Western empire and how the Barbarian kingdoms contributed to that fall
May 23, 2022
Short but comprehensive
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews