Post-Roman kingdoms
Topic: The Roman Empire · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 2 "An Empire Across Three Continents"
Meaning
Post-Roman kingdoms were states set up by Germanic groups on the lands of the western Roman Empire after it broke apart in the fifth and sixth centuries. They took the place of Roman rule in the west, while the eastern empire stayed united. These kingdoms gave a first look at the medieval world of Europe.
Example
The Visigoths ruled Spain until the Arabs destroyed their kingdom in 711–720. The Franks ruled Gaul (roughly modern France) from c. 511 to 687. The Lombards ruled Italy from 568 to 774. Earlier, the Vandals took Africa in 428 and the Ostrogoths set up a kingdom in Italy in 493.
Don't confuse with
- Roman client kingdoms: these were "dependent" kingdoms such as Herod's, which existed alongside Rome and were later taken into the empire as provinces. Post-Roman kingdoms grew up on the ruins of Roman rule.
Related concepts
- Diocletian
- Constantine
- Edict of Milan 313
- Christianisation of the Roman Empire
- Constantinople
- Byzantine empire
- Justinian
- Late antiquity
- Prophet Muhammad
- Hijra