As the greatest power of the ancient world, the Roman Empire reached the Black Sea in the 1^st century BC in its insatiable search for new territories. After conquering the Greeks in Crimea, Rome established a military base there.

Belligerent and uncontrollable, Rome’s barbarian neighbors were not easily subdued. The terror of Rome was the great nation of the Goths, on the northern shores of the Black Sea. Arriving from Scandinavia in the 3^rd century AD, the Goths established a vast and powerful, albeit short-lived, kingdom in Scythia between the Danube and the Don rivers.

Inhabiting the lands outside the Roman Empire, barbarians challenged Roman control of the area with persistence and energy while also adopting Roman styles and fashions. Roman fibulae, brooches used to fasten cloaks, were worn across the Empire. The fibulae of the Gothic type have a flat head plate, often with several knobs or fingers, and a long flat foot. They were widely used by the Germanic, Slavic and other Indo-European tribes.

The Gothic Kingdom was destroyed by the Huns who swept through the Eurasian steppes pushing the Goths westward and contributing to the ultimate demise of Rome. In the 5^th century, at the end of the Hunnish era, Slavic tribes expanded into the land of modern-day Ukraine. Absorbing the remnants of former Scythia and Sarmatia and bringing stability into the region, the peaceful Slavs were there to stay.

sSUBSECTIONS OF THE GREAT MIGRATION:

asdff- The Oak and the Bull

as     - Garnets of Ancient Jewelry

asdf- Fibula, the Ancient Safety Pin

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Next Section: The Oak and the Bull