The
Migration Period, also known as the
Völkerwanderung (
German), and from the Roman perspective also referred to as the
Barbarian invasions, was a period of large-scale migrations with or without accompanying invasions or war in
Europe. It is often defined as starting from the period when it seriously impacted the
Roman world, running from about 376 to 800 AD during the transition from
Late Antiquity to the
Early Middle Ages. This period was marked by profound changes both within the
Roman Empire and beyond. The first people movements were
Germanic tribes such as the
Goths,
Vandals,
Angles,
Saxons,
Lombards,
Suebi,
Frisii,
Jutes and
Franks; they were later pushed westwards by the
Huns,
Avars,
Slavs,
Bulgars and
Alans. Later invasions (such as the
Viking,
Norman,
Hungarian,
Moorish,
Turkic, and
Mongol invasions) also had significant effects (especially in
North Africa, the
Iberian peninsula,
Anatolia and
Central and
Eastern Europe); however, they are outside the scope of the Migration Period.