Spain is one of the favorite tourist destinations of Swedes who choose it for the sun, culture and nightlife. But at the beginning of the 5th century tens of thousands arrived in this part of Europe not to rest; but to conquer it and never leave. The Visigoths dominated the Iberian Peninsula for more than 300 years and although they are not usually given the credit that the Romans or Muslims have in terms of cultural impact; The truth is that they left important traces in the Iberian Peninsula that deserve to be mentioned. It's more; Even many of the viewers of this video could have a distant Visigoth heritage. If you are interested in knowing who the Visigoths were, where they came from and what happened to them; Stay watching this video! The Visigoths arrived in the Iberian Peninsula at the beginning of the 5th century during the decline of the Roman Empire as allies of Rome; with the purpose of expelling other barbarian peoples who had occupied that territory: the Suebi, the Vandals and the Alans. Like all Germanic peoples, the Visigoth warriors were characterized by their tall stature, their physical strength and their light eyes and hair. The Visigoths were a branch of the Gothic people whose origin would be the Gotland region in southern Scandinavia. They were a nomadic people who sought better living conditions in Eastern Europe; where it divided into two factions: the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths. Thus, before conquering a good part of Spain and France, the Visigoths had already crossed a good part of Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Italian peninsula. The exact number of Visigoths who founded the kingdom is not known , but it is estimated that they would have been between 80,000 and 300,000, while in Spain there would have been a population of 4 million Hispanic Romans at that time. These barbarians were not the typical primitive stereotype that is usually portrayed in movies. For quite a long time they were settled in the Danube area; where, thanks to contact with the Romans who controlled the area, they acquired many of their customs. In Spain the Visigoths not only settled on the Roman legacy; but also founded cities Victoriacum, Oligicus and Baiyara were the only new cities founded during the 5th and 8th centuries in Western Europe. In fact, the Visigothic kingdom was the most prosperous region in Europe in that period. They even created a common legal code that merged Roman law with Germanic law. They were not only Conquerors; but they set out to found a true nation. Although at the beginning of their conquest they did not mix with the locals mainly for religious reasons since they professed Arianism and the Romans professed Catholicism; They gradually abandoned their distinctive customs and merged with the local population. Marriages and alliances between Visigoths and Hispanic Romans were frequent. After they embraced Catholicism; The Visigoths merged with the local population in such a way that when the Muslims arrived on the Peninsula there was not much distinction between descendants of Romans or Germans, everyone was designated as Hispanic. Although finally everything they were building collapsed for different reasons that formed a catastrophic cocktail; Not only did internal factional struggles destabilize the country; But it seems that nature played a fundamental role. Starting in the year 536, a general drop in global temperatures affected crops and the Iberian Peninsula did not escape this phenomenon. Chronicles of the time speak that the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia was frozen in winter, that the Bosphorus Strait used to be covered with ice and that at the fourteenth Council of Toledo in the year 684 many bishops could not attend since Spain In the fall it looked like the North Pole. With such low temperatures, many crops did not mature, the flocks languished and hunger became present. The plague also devastated the cities of the Iberian Peninsula. King Égica, who ruled from 687 to 702, had to leave the capital Toledo due to the ravages that the disease was causing. There are some sources that the plague killed half of the kingdom in those years. Under these conditions; Defense against the Arab invasion was difficult to carry out. The Muslims did not arrive to the Peninsula by chance. After years of fighting to subdue North Africa, his desire to conquer Europe became stronger. Reportedly; It was an internal dispute that facilitated their entry into the Iberian Peninsula. A faction of the nobility opposed to King Rodrigo would have requested his help to take power; But as the gaucho poem Martín Fierro says, "if brothers fight, those outside devour them" and that was exactly what happened. In 711, the Muslims entered the Iberian Peninsula and began a series of gradual conquests that would consolidate the emirate of Córdoba. What happened to the Visigoths after this event? At this point the Visigoths and the Roman Hispanics were quite amalgamated both by culture and by blood because marriages between both peoples were frequent; although evidently at the top of the social pyramid were the descendants of the Visigoths. With the Muslim conquest, several nobles and scholars of Visigoth origin fled to the rest of Europe, taking with them important works and knowledge of the classical world that the Visigoths themselves were in charge of copying and preserving. Many escaped to the mountains of the north; where La Reconquista would later take place. Although others decided to bow down and submit to the vassalage offered to them by the Muslims. In the Reconquista, the inhabitants of the Christian kingdoms of the North, where many of the Visigoths went, repopulated Spain in strips towards the south; as genetic research has shown . Expansion that surely extended many of their lineages to the rest of the peninsula. Common Spanish surnames originate from this Germanic people and have spread widely not only in Europe; but also on the American continent. Some of the most common are: Rodríguez: comes from the German name roautrix Hispanicized to Rodrigo; which could be translated as rich from Glory or powerful due to his fame Rodríguez means descendant of Rodrigo although not all Rodríguez are necessarily related to each other since several families took that surname independently. The surname Ruiz comes from Roy, an abbreviation of rotrix or in Spanish Rodrigo. This patronymic is quite old; There are records of him from the 9th century. As with Rodríguez; It was used by several unrelated families and in many cases it was carried by royal officials of noble origin. Another very common surname; Gonzalez; It also has Visigothic roots. González means descendant of Gonzalo, a name composed of the German words gunda, which means War, and elf, which means elf or genius. It would be translated as spirit of war. Later Latinized to Gundisalvo, it would end up becoming Gonzalo. The surname González would originate from Castilla and is currently carried by around 10 million people in the world. The surnames Hernández and Fernández would come from the same origin as the name Ferrán, which means brave warrior. Both Hernández and Fernández mean descendants of Ferrán. Hernández is the most common surname in Mexico and also very common in Honduras. It was suspected that the frequency of this surname in these lands had to do with being a descendant of Hernán Cortés; but it is something that has been ruled out. Many families used the surnames Fernández and variants such as Fernán or Ferrán; Therefore, not all those who share these surnames are genealogically related. Another surname of Germanic origin is Guzmán, which comes from two German words good, which means good or strong, and man, which means man. In other parts of Europe, surnames of Germanic origin similar to Guzmán emerged as Gutman; Godman or Goodman; although those who carry them in different variants do not have a common lineage. Manrique: comes from two Germanic words Man Man and ricks rich or powerful. It would be related to the Castilian nobility. Definitely; The legacy of the Visigoths in Spain, despite being relatively little valued compared to the Arab or Roman, remains evident to this day and was surely one of the fundamental pillars of the Reconquista and It is an important basis of modern Spanish identity. Don't forget to like and leave your opinions in the comments box. 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