Much of the history of pre-modern European society was shaped by the migration of various groups of peoples into and across the European landscape. The Celts moved from their homeland in Central Europe and settled throughout much of Western Europe, bringing their language and culture with them. The Romans were yet another migrant group, and undoubtedly one of the most culturally impactful groups because they enforced their political, legal, and religious customs in the territories they settled. Similarly, the German-speaking tribes who moved into Roman territory as the Roman Empire fell; the Vikings, who emerged from Scandinavia in the late 8th century CE and settled throughout much of Western Europe; and Muslim peoples, who emerged from the Arabian Peninsula in the mid-7th century CE and settled in Spain and Sicily, had a significant influence on the formation of early European culture. We'll examine all of these groups and their impact on the history and culture of Western Europe in the pre-modern period.

1. Left—Via Appia in Rome; righ—the remains of a Roman road between Manchester
and Yorkshire, in Britain.

2. Image from The Atlas Project of Roman Aqueducts,
http://www.romaq.org/the-project/map.html

3. Aqueduct Julia, Rome, built c. 33 BC.

4. Pont du Gard, Nimes, France, built c. 16 BC.

5. Left—baths of Aquae Sulis, Bath, England, 1st century AD; right—baths
at Hamat Gader, Israel, 2nd century AD.

6. Amphitheater in Verona, Italy, built circa 30 AD

7. Amphitheater in Tarragona, Spain, built in 2nd century AD.

8. Pre-modern European Migrations: Roman Migrations
The Tetrarchs, St. Mark’s Square, Venice.
• The beginning of the decline
• Increasing economic, military, and
political instability, 180-284
• Constitutio Antoniniana, 212
• The Third Century Crisis, 235-284
• The reign of Diocletian, r. 284-305
• Renewed civil war, 305-312
• The reign of Constantine the
Great, r. 312-324/337
• Edict of Milan, 313
• Founding of Constantinople, 330
• Provinces divided into dioceses; each
diocese with a vicarius as a governor

9. Relief of Sasanian King Shapur I receiving the submission of Emperors Philip the Arab
(kneeling) and Valerian (standing), c. 260, at Naqsh-I Rustam, Iran.

10. Spread of Christianity, 300-600
Map from Lynn Hunt, The Making of the West, Volume I, 3rd edition.

11. Pre-modern European Migrations: Roman Migrations
Skull of a Hun, from Peter Heather’s The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of
Rome and the Barbarians.
• Continuing decline, 337-476
• Succession conflict, 340-350
• Civil war, 350-354
• Conflict with British, Germanic,
Sarmatian, Quadi, and North
African tribes, the Huns, and the
Persian empire, 350-476
• Battle of Adrianople, 378
• Germanic tribes cross the Rhine
and Danube Rivers, 406
• Sack of Rome by Visigoths (410)
and Vandals (455)
• Last Western Roman emperor,
Romulus Augustulus, deposed in
476

12. Germanic migrations into Rome
Map from Lynn Hunt, The Making of the West, Volume I, 3rd edition.

13. The former Roman Empire, circa 500 AD
Map from Lynn Hunt, The Making of the West, Volume I, 3rd edition.

14. Pre-modern European Migrations: Roman Migrations
German gold pendant with Roman styling, 5th to 6th century, British Museum.
• Concepts of kingship
• Hereditary kingship
• Kings as makers of law
• Christianity
• Roman law
• Classical learning
• Preservation of Roman and some
Greek texts in monasteries
• Material culture