North of the Danube, various German tribes were already extending their territory by the first century CE.

By the latter half of the second century CE, they were making devastating incursions into Roman territories.

Nevertheless, Roman arms and diplomacy had maintained relative stability until the late fourth century, when other Germanic tribes, including the Ostrogoths, Visigoths, and Vandals, were able to establish settlements in Roman territory south of the Danube.

The Roman province of Noricum gradually becomes indefensible, and much of the Christian, Romanized population evacuates the region in 488.

The Ostrogoths invade Italy in 493, seize control of what remains of the western half of the Roman Empire, and bring the Roman era in the eastern Alps to an end.

Mediterranean Southwest Europe (388–531 CE): Imperial Decline, Barbarian Ascendancy, and Cultural Transformation

The age 388–531 CE in Mediterranean Southwest Europe encompasses profound shifts, including the final decline of Western Roman imperial authority, the rise of Germanic kingdoms, and significant religious and cultural transformations. These events deeply influence the historical trajectory of the region, laying the foundations of medieval Europe.

Division and Decline of the Roman Empire (388–411 CE)

In 395 CE, the Roman Empire definitively splits into Western and Eastern halves, marking a turning point. The Western Empire, weakened by internal strife and external invasions, progressively dissolves. Emperor Honorius (r. 395–423 CE) struggles against invasions, commissioning his sister, Galla Placidia, and her husband, the Visigothic king Ataulf, to stabilize Iberia. Their efforts partially restore order, with the Visigoths settling permanently in Spain, subduing the Suevi, and pushing the Vandals into North Africa.

Visigothic Kingdom and Ecclesiastical Authority (412–447 CE)

The Visigoths, highly Romanized, establish their capital at Toledo by 484 CE, governing in the emperor's name as imperial patricians. Despite their relatively small numbers—approximately 300,000 among four million Hispano-Romans—their elite status significantly shapes regional politics.

Ecclesiastical institutions, especially the Council of Bishops, emerge as stabilizing forces amid declining civil governance. Bishops, possessing both civil and religious authority, effectively maintain order, reinforcing Christianity’s growing influence as a social and political force.

Ostrogothic Ascendancy and Cultural Flourishing (448–459 CE)

In Italy, Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great emerges as a dominant figure, leading his Goths against Odoacer in 489 CE and establishing the Ostrogothic Kingdom by 493 CE. Theodoric's rule blends Roman administrative practices with Gothic leadership, ushering in stability and cultural revival, exemplified by artistic masterpieces like the mosaics in Ravenna’s mausoleum of Galla Placidia.

Late Imperial Decline, Visigothic Expansion, and Vandal Incursions (460–471 CE)

Between 456 and 460 CE, Vandals under Genseric briefly occupy coastal cities in Corsica and Sardinia, an occupation formalized by Emperor Majorian. Roman authority, weakened under emperors Majorian and Anthemius, struggles to maintain territorial integrity, but General Marcellinus, possibly supported by Pope Hilarius, regains control of these territories by 466 CE.

Simultaneously, Visigoths under King Euric consolidate power in southern Gaul and Iberia, gradually dismantling Roman administrative structures and paving the way toward medieval feudalism. Amid political upheaval, Christianity remains a powerful stabilizing and cultural force.

The Fall of Western Rome and Renewed Vandal Expansion (472–483 CE)

In 476 CE, the Western Roman Empire formally collapses with the deposition of Emperor Romulus Augustulus by the Germanic chieftain Odoacer. Concurrently, Visigothic King Euric expands his dominion, firmly establishing the Visigothic Kingdom across southern Gaul and Iberia.

Between 474 and 482 CE, Sardinia again falls under Vandal rule, possibly led by Huneric. Their control secures maritime trade routes between North Africa and the Mediterranean. Sardinian cities, notably Olbia, suffer destructive raids, reflecting the island’s strategic importance.

Theodoric’s Conquest, Ostrogothic Kingdom, and Vandal Administration (484–495 CE)

From 489 CE, Theodoric leads the Ostrogoths into Italy, defeating Odoacer by 493 CE and establishing the Ostrogothic Kingdom centered at Ravenna. Concurrently, Vandals maintain a structured administrative system in Sardinia, overseen by a praeses from Caralis, supported by procurators and tax officials. The territory is divided among crown lands and Vandal warriors, though local Sardinian-Roman landowners retain estates through payments, and Barbagia maintains semi-autonomous status.

Visigothic Consolidation and Frankish Rivalry (496–507 CE)

Under Alaric II, the Visigoths enact the Breviary of Alaric (506 CE), codifying Roman law for their subjects. However, rising tensions with the Franks culminate in Alaric’s defeat and death at the Battle of Vouillé (507 CE), forcing Visigoths into a defensive position within Iberia.

Stabilization and Reorganization (508–531 CE)

After Vouillé, the Visigothic Kingdom under Amalaric stabilizes, solidifying power in Iberia. In Italy, Theodoric’s Ostrogothic Kingdom experiences continued stability, economic prosperity, and cultural vitality, reflected in architectural achievements like the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo and Theodoric’s Mausoleum.

Cultural and Economic Continuity

Despite fragmentation, local economies adapt successfully, with robust agricultural production and active regional trade. Christianity shapes cultural norms, education, and artistic expression, preserving Roman traditions within evolving medieval contexts.

Germanic Influence and Legacy

The Suevi maintain a modest kingdom in northwestern Iberia, while the Vandals, despite limited numbers, imprint their legacy on southern Spain (Andalusia) and Sardinia, influencing regional names and historical memory.

Legacy of the Age

The era 388–531 CE signifies a critical transformation from classical Roman civilization to early medieval Europe. Visigothic and Ostrogothic kingdoms, empowered ecclesiastical structures, and cultural adaptations profoundly shape the region’s future identity. This period's enduring legacies include Roman-derived legal systems, ecclesiastical dominance, linguistic shifts (Romance languages), and foundational medieval political structures.

Theodoric, who has by the late 480s become leader of the most dominant Gothic force, finds himself leading his people into Italy against Odoacer.

There is much debate as to whether this was ordered by the Emperor Zeno or whether it was Theodoric’s own decision; primary sources conflict on this score.

In any case, Theodoric and his Goths march on Italy in 489 and wage war on Odoacer.

Theodoric’s forces quickly force Odoacer to flee to Ravenna and in short succession they captured both Verona and Milan.

In Milan, both secular and ecclesiastical leaders, as well as Odoacer’s commander-in-chief Tufa—though he will later betray Theodoric—and many of the defeated troops who join Theodoric, welcome him into the city as a representative of the emperor.

With Odoacer back on the offensive in the summer of 490, Alaric II of the Visigoths, in a rare moment of Gothic solidarity, sends troops to aid Theodoric in his efforts to remove Odoacer from power.

Odoacer is forced to retreat once again into Ravenna, where Theodoric besieges him for two more years until Theodoric is finally able to gather the ships necessary to mount an effective blockade of Ravenna, which can only be effectively attacked from the sea.

Theodoric and Odoace finally reach a peace agreement in 493.

Negotiated by John, Bishop of Ravenna, it states that Theodoric and Odoacer are to both occupy Ravenna and jointly rule over Italy.

Odoacer is killed ten days later at a banquet held jointly with Theodoric.

From this point on, Theodoric becomes the undisputed king of Italy, establishing the Ostrogothic Kingdom, headed at Ravenna, that will last until 553.

The Burgundians had seized the opportunity to invade northwestern Italy while Odoacer and Theodoric the Great were locked in battle over control of Pavia in the early months of 490, devastating Liguria and carrying away an unknown number of victims into captivity, if not slavery.

Once Theodoric had killed Odoacer and was securely in control of Italy, he sent bishop Epiphanius of Pavia on a mission to ransom as many of these captives as possible.

Accompanied by Bishop Victor of Turin, they crossed the Alps in March.

Shanzer and Wood believe Epiphanius was possibly also entrusted with a mission in connection with the marriage of Gundobad's son Sigismund to Theodoric's daughter Ostrogotho.

In his account of this visit, Magnus Felix Ennodius, who accompanied Epiphanius on this journey, describes Godegisel as germanus regis the "king's brother" and not king—again contradicting Gregory of Tour's later account.

Ennodius notes that "more than six thousand souls" were so ransomed; from Lyon alone, four hundred men were thus freed.

The war between Odoacer and Theodoric has caused untold damage in northern Italy to city and countryside alike.

Onoulphus, brother of Odoacer, is killed during the siege of Ravenna by archers while seeking refuge in a church.

Odoacer, blockaded in Ravenna by an Ostrogothic fleet, agrees to an armistice with Theodoric on February 27, 493, and concludes a treaty by which he and Theodoric will rule Italy jointly.

Odoacer admits Theodoric into the impregnable city on March 5, 493.

At the successful conclusion of peace talks with the Ostrogoths, Odoacer and his son and chiefs attend a banquet held ten days later in the palace of Lauretum.

Two Goths, pretending to be suppliants, suddenly seize Odoacer by the hands, and Theodoric cuts him down with a sword, skillfully slicing his body in half in full view of his guests.

Theodoric goes on to murder the dead man's wife and son and to massacre his followers remorselessly throughout northern Italy.

Theodoric is proclaimed the sole ruler of Italy, although he receives no official recognition from Constantinople.

He steadily consolidates his rule and provides security for the local population, effecting the transformation of Italy from being the center of a fractured Roman Empire to a successful and independent Ostrogothic Kingdom.

Theodoric allies with the Franks and marries Audofleda, sister of Clovis I.

He also marries his own female relatives to princes or kings of the Burgundians, Vandals and Visigoths, establishing a political alliance with the Germanic kingdoms of the West.

The Ostrogoths take Taranto and other southern Italian cities in 494.

Pope Gelasius I, after a long contest, changes the pagan Lupercalia festival into a Christian feast day.

Significantly, this festival of purification, which had given its name—dies februatus, from februare, "to purify"—to the month of February, is replaced with a Christian festival celebrating the purification of the Virgin Mary instead: Candlemas, observed forty days after Christmas, on February 2.

The Decretum Gelasianum (list of forbidden books) is attributed to Gelasius.

In 494, Gelasius writes a very influential letter, known as Duo sunt, to Emperor Anastasius on the topic of Church-State relations; its political impact will be felt for almost a millennium.

He also canonizes Saint George Pope Gelasius I gains support from Italian bishops in his assertion that the spiritual power of the papacy is superior to the emperor's temporal authority.

Like his predecessors, the pope opposes the efforts of Anastasius I to establish Miaphysite doctrine.

Theodoric, King of Italy, establishes his Ostrogothic chieftains as subrulers in the north, elsewhere preserving the old imperial administration, with senators as prefects.

The Rugi maintain their independence even within the Ostrogothic state, keeping their own administrators and avoiding intermarriage with the Goths.

A decree issued by Pope Gelasius I in about 496 represents the first formal index of forbidden books.

Having abolished the pagan Lupercalia, he introduces Saint Valentine’s feast day of February 14.

Gelasius, who is to be the last non-European pope until 2013, dies on November 21, 496 after a four-year reign.

The church had been in a serious doctrinal dispute since 484, between the Eastern and Western churches of Christianity, known as the Acacian schism.

Pope Felix III (483-492) and Pope Gelasius I (492-496) had generally taken hardline stances towards the Eastern church and had excommunicated many of the major religious figures including Acacius, the Patriarch of Constantinople.

Efforts at reducing the problem by Zeno were not recognized by Felix III or Gelasius I, so there is a significant schism between the churches.

Upon the death of Gelasius I, Anastasius II is named pope, largely with support from a faction that wants to improve relations between the West and the Eastern churches and end the schism.

Symmachus was born on Sardinia (then under Vandal rule), the son of Fortunatus; Jeffrey Richards notes that he was born a pagan, and "perhaps the rankest outsider" of all the Ostrogothic Popes, most of whom were members of aristocratic families.

Symmachus had been baptized in Rome, where he became archdeacon of the Church under Pope Anastasius II.

Pope Anastasius II dies on November 16, 498, after a two-year reign in which he has tried to conciliate followers of Acacius, the late patriarch of Constantinople, who had been excommunicated by Felix III.

He is succeeded on November 22 by Symmachus as the fifty-first pope, in the official papal selection in the Lateran Palace (Rome).

Meanwhile, Antipope Laurentius is elected "pope" in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore on the same day by a dissenting minority faction with Eastern Empire sympathies, who are supported by Emperor Anastasius; this causes a schism over who has been legitimately elected pope by the citizens of Rome.

Both factions agree to allow King Theodoric to arbitrate.

He rules that the one who was elected first and whose supporters are the most numerous should be recognized as pope.

An investigation finds the facts favor Symmachus and his election is recognized as proper.

However, an early document known as the "Laurentian Fragment" claims that Symmachus obtained the decision by paying bribes, while deacon Magnus Felix Ennodius of Milan will later write that four hundred solidi were distributed among influential personages, whom it would be indiscreet to name.