Editing Visigoths (section)

===Early origins===
The Visigoths emerged from the Gothic tribes, probably a derivative name for the [[Gutones]], a people believed to have their origins in [[Scandinavia]] and who migrated southeastwards into eastern Europe.{{sfn|Wolfram|1997|pp=39–40}} Such understanding of their origins is largely the result of Gothic traditions and their true genesis as a people is as obscure as that of the [[Franks]] and [[Alamanni]].{{sfn|Todd|2000|p=149}} The Visigoths spoke an eastern Germanic language that was distinct by the 4th century. Eventually the Gothic language died as a result of contact with other European people during the [[Middle Ages]].{{sfn|Waldman|Mason|2006|p=844}}

Long struggles between the neighboring [[Vandals|Vandili]] and [[Lugii]] people with the Goths may have contributed to their earlier exodus into mainland Europe. The vast majority of them settled between the [[Oder]] and [[Vistula]] rivers until overpopulation (according to Gothic legends or tribal sagas) forced them to move south and east, where they settled just north of the [[Black Sea]].{{sfn|Wolfram|1997|p=42–43}} However, this legend is not supported by archaeological evidence so its validity is disputable. Historian Malcolm Todd contends that while this large ''en masse'' migration is possible, the movement of Gothic peoples south-east was probably the result of warrior bands moving closer to the wealth of Ukraine and the cities of the Black Sea coast. Perhaps what is most notable about the Gothic people in this regard was that by the middle of the third century AD, they were "the most formidable military power beyond the lower Danube frontier".{{sfn|Todd|2000|pp=149–150}}{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|pp=42–55}}

====Contact with Rome====
Throughout the 3rd and 4th centuries there were numerous conflicts and exchanges of varying types between the Goths and their neighbors. After the Romans withdrew from the territory of Dacia, the local population was subjected to constant invasions by the migratory tribes, among the first being the Goths.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=11}} In 238, the Goths invaded across the Danube into the Roman province of [[Moesia]], pillaging and exacting payment through hostage taking. During the war with the Persians that year, Goths also appeared in the Roman armies of [[Gordian III]].{{sfn|Todd|2000|p=150}} When subsidies to the Goths were stopped, the Goths organized and in 250 joined a major barbarian invasion led by the Germanic king, [[Cniva|Kniva]].{{sfn|Todd|2000|p=150}} Success on the battlefield against the Romans inspired additional invasions into the northern [[Balkans]] and deeper into [[Anatolia]].{{sfn|Todd|2000|pp=150–151}} Starting in approximately 255, the Goths added a new dimension to their attacks by taking to the sea and invading harbors which brought them into conflict with the Greeks as well. When the city of [[Pityus]] fell to the Goths in 256, the Goths were further emboldened. Sometime between 266 and 267, the Goths raided Greece but when they attempted to move into the Bosporus straits to attack Byzantium, they were repulsed. Along with other Germanic tribes, they attacked further into Anatolia, assaulting Crete and Cyprus on the way; shortly thereafter, they pillaged Troy and the temple of Artemis at Ephesus.{{sfn|Todd|2000|p=151}} Throughout the reign of emperor [[Constantine the Great]], the Visigoths continued to conduct raids on Roman territory south of the Danube River.{{sfn|Waldman|Mason|2006|p=844}} By 332, relations between the Goths and Romans were stabilized by a treaty but this was not to last.{{sfn|Todd|2000|p=152}}