An illustrated study of the main enemies of Rome during the Late Empire and the Dominant: the Western Visigoths and the Eastern Ostrogoths. The Goths were a Germanic tribe who, under pressure from the Huns, migrated in the 2nd century AD to the Balkans, where they split into Visigoths to the west and Ostrogoths to the east. After initially plundering Roman territories, some eventually became allies of the Empire, but this alliance collapsed after a Hun advance forced the Goths to move south towards the Danube. The failure to negotiate settlement in this new, Roman-occupied territory led to wars, during which the Ostrogoths decisively defeated a Roman army at Adrianople (AD 378), while the Visigoths eventually sacked Rome (AD 410). In this fascinating study, Roman military historians Raffaele D'Amato and Andrea Salimbeti examine Rome's fierce conflicts with the Gothic peoples, exploring their role in the fall of the Western Empire and the transition from Roman to early medieval Europe. New illustrations, photographs of artifacts, and specialized research combine to highlight significant events in Gothic history, including the defeat of the Ostrogoths by Emperor Justinian in the 6th century, the establishment of Gothic kingdoms in Italy and the Iberian Peninsula, as well as their service as subjects and soldiers in Byzantine Crimea.