The Visigoths in Spain: summary

The weakening of the Western Roman Empire caused many Germanic tribes to cross the borders and settle within the Empire creating a series of kingdoms. In this lesson from a TEACHER we will do a summary on the Visigoths in Spain, a town that, although in principle settled in other lands, ended up entering the Iberian Peninsula where it came to create a unified kingdom.

Therefore we will delve into their history, seeing how they made up their kingdom after their arrival in the Peninsula, with the peoples who had to fight, we will meet some of the kings most important and we will see how a series of political problems ended up producing the end of the kingdom and with it the entry of Muslims into the Iberian Peninsula, creating the time of Al Andalus.

We begin the summary of the Visigoths in Spain placing us in the year 418 when they had already created their kingdom in the lands of Toulouse, Bordeaux and Nabona thanks to the help given to the emperor Honorius; in this way, it was created

within the Western Roman Empire the first barbarian kingdom. With this they became confederates of the Empire and thus entered the Iberian Peninsula to end the Swabian uprising. (another Germanic people who had managed to cross the border before the Visigoths and who were raiding within the peninsula).

In the year 507 (time after the last Roman emperor was deposed), the troops of the Franks defeated the Visigoths at the Battle of Vouillé and in this way were forced to leave their kingdom and march to the Peninsula.

In this video of a PROFESSOR we discover the fall of the Roman Empire and the entry of the Visigoths to the Peninsula.

This summary of the Visigoths in Spain continues with a defeat. After the defeat before the Frankish troops, Gesaleico (507-510), began the withdrawal to the Iberian Peninsula, in which they would make up his new kingdom. Although he encountered a number of problems, as within the peninsula we will find a series of Germanic peoples who had already been inside it for a long time, in addition to the Byzantines who occupied the Betic.

We can say that the first years of the new stage were very difficult and full of struggles, a series of victories They made them take over the main cities within this, such as Seville, Mérida, Tarragona or Barcelona. Although we cannot say that there was a kingdom formed until the year 568, at which time Toledo became the capital of the kingdom, already in the reign of Leovigildo (568-586), that is, 61 years after the entry of the Visigoths into the peninsula.

Within the reign of this, we will find the subjugation of the Swabian kingdom and the Wascones, thus arriving the territorial union to the Iberian Peninsula (except Betic). The reign of said king was very complicated because he had to deal with the problem of religion, we have to take into account that the Visigoths were Arians while the rest of the population of the Iberian Peninsula was catholic.

We can say that Arianism was a heresy from the Catholic religion, from a missionary named Arius who did not share some of the doctrines of the Church. Leovigildo, tried by means of a series of writings to make the Roman population go to Arianism but the population refused having a quite important conflict. If he managed to reach an agreement to allow mixed marriages between the barbarians and the Romans.

During the years 580-584 we will find a civil war between Leovigildo and Hermenegildo (son of the first). Said monarch had handed over Baetica to his son so that she could take responsibilities within his duty, since as the first-born he would have to prepare to act as king. The problem came after the marriage with a Frankish princess, who was of Christian origin. Between this and San Leandro they managed to convert the young prince.

After this he undertook a series of struggles to create a catholic kingdom. This his father did not like at all and therefore he undertook a series of reprisals against his son and, by ignoring him, he started a war against his own son. After a series of confrontations, Leovigildo managed to defeat his son, who was arrested and shortly afterwards killed in strange conditions.

In this other lesson from a PROFESSOR we will discover the origin of the Visigoths.

We continue this summary of the Visigoths in Spain to focus on the birth of the Catholic kingdom. After the reign of Leovigildo, came the reign of his son minus Recaredo (586-601) which would lead the Spanish Visigothic kingdom to a new stage, as it was with this monarch when established the Catholic religion throughout the kingdom, adjusting both the king and the nobles.

Continuing with the trajectory of unification, we will find the reign of Suinthila (621-631), which managed to drive the Byzantines out of Betica, they had once again become strong in the Betic during the civil war between Leovigildo and Hermengildo, because the latter had asked the Emperor of the East to help him militarily to finish off his father who was heretic.

In this way the Byzantines again sent troops, which at the end of the civil war were stationed in some nuclei of which they were difficult to defeat. On the other hand, they would also end at that time with the tribes of the Wascones in the Pyrenees.

Now let's jump to talk about the end of the Visigothic kingdom in Spain. First we must talk about the reign of Witiza (702-710), said monarch will only be characterized by being the last legitimately elected Well, after his death, although it had been decided that it was his son who would take the reins of power, a group of nobles did not want to abide by the will of the late monarch, introducing Don Rodrigo (710-711) to the throne, who would rule a kingdom full of seizures

After being chosen in somewhat strange ways the monarch, the followers of Witiza, decided to ask the Muslims of North Africa for help by coming into contact through a merchant. These they would help the Muslims to take the peninsula in exchange for keeping their lands and privileges.

And in this way, the Muslims entered the peninsula, ending the last king of the Visigothic monarchy in the Battle of Guadalete in 711. During the course of the battle it is known that the last monarch died, abandoned by his troops and by those who placed him on the throne in the middle of the battle.

In this way the time of Al-Andalus was established in the Iberian Peninsula, which would last eight centuries.

In this other lesson you will be able to read a summary of the muslim invasion in the Peninsula.