History of the Balkans in Maps

Despite heroic efforts, the Roman Empire could not withstand the steady southern march by the German tribes. But these advances had set off a reaction from a group of nomadic asiatic warriors, which the Chinese had called the Hung Ti, and which westerners labelled: The Huns. These swept across the Russian steppes and into the Danubian basin. These terrifying Huns, interested in plunder and women, devastated the frontiers, enslaved the Gepids and by 375 had undone nearly a century of Germanic expansion.

The Hun invasion drove out the recently arrived Goths who turned westward, now overruning the remaining Imperial forces, who suffered a stunning defeat at Adrianople in 378. Unable to capture fortified towns, the Goths constantly moved around. To meet the challenges, theauthorities had divided the Empire into two halves, and while the Eastern Roman Empire successfully preserved its northern frontiers by negotiating with the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths under Alaric swept through the Balkans and captured most of Italy. In 410 they sacked Rome, while the government of the Roman Empire took refuge in Ravenna.

Meanwhile, the Hun Empire forced dozens of minor German tribes to flee across the Rhine. The Westerrn Roman Empire was about to crumble.