Visigoths:
-Name translates to "western Goths", but they referred to themselves as the valiant Goths (considering being associated with the west as bad luck)
-In the third century CE dwelt at the northeastern border of the empire, often making raids on Roman villages
-Around 376 are driven south into the empire by the Huns
-Romans agree to allow the Visigoths under Fritigern to stay in imperial lands
-Demands by Roman government provoke the Visigoths to rebel
-The Visigoths defeat the Romans at Adrianople in 378, killing the emperor Valens along with two-thirds of the army Emperor Theodosius I ends the war and offers the Visigoths the status of foederati, allies who are given land in the empire in exchange for defending it against invasion
-In 395 Alaric comes to rule the Visigoths and demands more land for his people and greater importance in the empire, leading them south and plundering Greece
-Alaric attacks the city of Rome in 401, but is eventually turned back in 403
-The assassinations and executions of various members of the Roman elite (including Stilcho, the commander of the defenses of Rome) led to many soldiers joining to Alaric against Rome
-Visigoths take siege of Rome in 408 and manage to take a ransom of 5,000 pounds of gold, 30,000 pounds of silver, 4,000 silk tunics, 3,000 scarlet hides, and 3,000 pounds of pepper in exchange for ending the siege
-After a second siege in 409, Alaric sets up a emperor to oppose Honorius, who came to power after Theodosius I's death
-This emperor, Priscus Attalus, lost northern Africa, the source of much of Rome's grain, to Honorius and Theodosius II
-Once negotiations with Honorius fall through, Alaric leads an attack on Rome, taking it in 410
-Alaric makes an attempt at taking back Africa, but his fleet's destruction and his subsequent death put an end to the campaign
-After Alaric's death, the Visigoths left Italy for the Pyrenees and settled in Aquitaine Gaul, which they were made
foederati in exchange for
Huns:
-In the late fourth century, the Huns arrive in eastern Europe from the northern
Black Sea area
-Within a decade, they have defeated or run the Gothic tribes from their lands in central Europe
-Upon the death of the Hunnish leader Rugila in 434, his nephews Bleda and Attila take control of the lands conquered by the Huns
-The brothers negotiate a tribute of 300 kg of gold per year, the return of Hunnish fugitives, and a price of 96 denarii for each captive the Huns had taken
-The Huns shift their focus to Persia during the 430s after the treaty, giving the Roman emperor Theodosius II the opportunity to prepare for an attack from invading forces
-In 440 the Huns under the brothers cross the Danube into the eastern empire and begin attacking forts on the rivers
-That same year, the Vandals attacked and took control of Rome's African territories. As a result, Rome sent all available forces to take back the southern provinces, leaving the western border virtually undefended for the Huns to push into the Balkans
-Attila and Bleda pushed much of the way down the Danube before stopping in 442
-Once Theodosius recalled the Roman armies, he refused the terms of the Huns, who responded by taking cities on their way to Byzantium, aided by the use of siege weaponry
-The Huns met the Roman armies at Gallipolis and Constantinople, defeating them both times
-Without an army, Theodosius was forced to surrender to the Huns in 443, who greatly increased the cost of the terms of the former treaty, which included tripling the tribute that the empire was to pay
-Once their demands were met, the Huns retreated to their lands north of the Danube for a few years
-Around 445, Bleda dies, according to some sources at his brother Attila's hand, leaving the Hunnish empire under Attila's rule
-In 450 Attila leads the Huns into the western empire on the pretext of a message from the sister of the western emperor Honorius, which he takes as an offer of marriage, and demands half of the empire as her dowry
-Upon entering Gaul, Attila's forces are defeated at the Catalaunian Plain by an army of Roman, Visigothic, and Burgundian soldiers
-Withdrawing from Gaul, the Huns invade northern Italy in early 452, sacking and looting until famine and disease force them to retreat
-In 453, Attila the Hun, feared by Europe, dies in his bed
-After Attila's death, the infighting among his sons breaks the Hunnish empire apart, disappearing by the end of the fifth century
Sources:
-Wolf, Kenneth Baxter "Conquerors and Chroniclers of Early Medieval Spain"
-Thompson, E. A. "The Goths in Spain"
-Maenchen-Helfen, Otto J. "The World of the Huns"
-Thompson, E. A. "A History of Attila and the Huns"