A first book in American history with European beginnings . nemies. The most civilized of the German tribes were theGoths who lived in the eastern part of Germany justnorth of the Danube. About four centuries after thebirth of Christ, these Goths heard that they were to beattacked by the Huns, who were terrible little Asiaticwarriors. In terror they rushed into Italy and askedthe Romans for permission to settle there. They camein great numbers, sweeping everything before them. At first the Romans promised protection to the the promise was not kept. The Goths were cruellytreated by Ro
A first book in American history with European beginnings . nemies. The most civilized of the German tribes were theGoths who lived in the eastern part of Germany justnorth of the Danube. About four centuries after thebirth of Christ, these Goths heard that they were to beattacked by the Huns, who were terrible little Asiaticwarriors. In terror they rushed into Italy and askedthe Romans for permission to settle there. They camein great numbers, sweeping everything before them. At first the Romans promised protection to the the promise was not kept. The Goths were cruellytreated by Roman officials, who starved them and forcedthem to sell their children as slaves. Finally the angry 26 THE GERMANS Goths rose against the Romans and defeated them at thebattle of Adrianople. For a time after this victory they settled down onthe lands they had won and remained quiet. But abouttwenty years later they wanted more land and when theRomans refused to grant it, they chose for their leader abrave young Goth named Alaric, and again made waron Alaric Entering Rome. Alaric was an able leader. He knew he could notcapture the great walled city by a direct attack, so hedrew his army around it and waited to starve the Romansinto submission. This he succeeded in doing, and thepeople had to pay an enormous ransom before he wouldlead his army away. Then, again and again Alaric asked for more land andprovisions for his people. But the foolish emperor re-fused to make terms with the Goths, and two years 27 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY after his first siege, Alaric captured Rome in ordered his soldiers to respect the churches, but theydestroyed or carried off nearly everything else of was in 410 that the Imperial City fell before theGerman invaders, and from this time on, all Italy wasat their command. The Gothic armies swept downthrough the peninsula, leaving the country a wastebehind them. Not long afterwards this great leader died. Thestory is
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