History Report

[Shogun 144]

I have to do a report on the Goths around the time of sack of Rome. I thought that since there lots a people here I thought it would be good to ask for help here.

[spmetla]

What about the Goths do you need to know? Their culture? Their tactics, equipment? What the differences were between the Goths (Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Vandals, Franks)?

You need to be a bit more specific. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/pat.gif

[Shogun 144]

The Goths in general.

[spmetla]

But you asked for help. What do you need help with? Being the productive student that I know you are I can be rest assured that you've already started on the report. Right? It'd be pointless for me to give out information already included in your report that I know you're feverishly working on right now. So sarcasm aside, I can't help you with "The Goths in General" because there are entire series of books written about the Goths.

Hope my reply wasn't too...condescending or anything. It's just it seems to me you're hoping for a report to be written for you.

[Pindar]

You had best decide on a central thesis. What is it you want to argue? Are you interested in the Visigoths vis-a-vis the arrival of the Huns, Goths as "foederati", Goth attitudes toward Rome post Adrianople, the rise of Alaric, The attitudes toward Rome of Fritigern contrasted with Fravittas, Theodosuis' political manipulation of Gothic nobility, what? Once you have a position, then it will be easy to set up some basic parameters to flush the thing out. Simply writing on "The Goths" is far to large a subject to approach with a simple report.

[Shogun 144]

Spmelta,Pindar


This is not a school report this is a article for a free-ware game (called Oad) I work for. Sting, my superior in the History Department just asked for a article on the Goths in general around the time of the Battle of Adrainople. no specifics in the task thingy. This Article is to be first for the month of November and I am still trying to find good sources of info for the article. I am sorry for not saying it was for game I write for, I guess I forgot to say that.

[spmetla]

Ah good, see NOW we can help you. Just needed to know how.

I'm not too familar with the Goths at this period. I know more about them after the fall of the Western Empire and the intial kingdoms they set up than I do this. But I do like finding information so here is some.

From what I know off the top of my head the Goths were being pushed out of their land by the Huns from the East so they got permission from the East Roman Emperor to move the entire Gothic nation into Roman territory.
This lead to many problems, one was that the Romans simply didn't have the resources to feed the entire gothic nation. Another being the relative inhospitality of Roman officials they would buy Gothic children for slaves so that families could eat.
Eventually the Goths were tired of all the BS and rose up. And this is were the battle comes in.

Breif Overview of the Battle (http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa061901a.htm)Just some backround information.


Quote[/b] ]The achievement of the cavalry at Adrianople was impressive, however. The Greuthungians had lived alongside their steppe neighbours for many generations and had learned their mixed cavalry tactics well. The bulk of the Greuthungian Gothic force would have been lightly armoured horsemen wielding their spears overhand with a shield, or casting them at the enemy like javelins as they charged before closing to fight with the slashing spatha-style sword. Alongside them would have been the heavier armoured Alans and their Sarmatian cousins who, along with the Greuthungian and Taifalian nobles and their retinues, wore mail and lammellar cuirasses and probably fought with the two-handed heavy kontos lance. They were supported by the fast moving and deadly light horse archers of the Huns - a troop type which the Romans were to learn to respect in the wars against Attila in the coming century and were later to adopt themselves en masse.


In depth (http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Salon/2385/adrianople.html) Got that from here

Hope I was able to help some. If I find more information I'll post it, but I'm sure there's people here with better knowlegde of the Goths of this period than me.

[Pindar]

Here's an address with a simple overview of events leading up to the battle and a general discription of the battle itself.

]Battle of Adrianople (http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa061901a.htm)

There is also reference to other connected sites including one which gives general numbers for the opposing forces with a basic map of where Adrianople is in relation to things.. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Shogun 144]

Thanks for the links. They are very helpful.