The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first recorded living north of the Danube River in the 3rd century AD, in areas around present-day Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania. The Goths split into two main groups: the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths. The Visigoths famously sacked Rome in 410 AD and later established a kingdom in Spain, while the Ostrogoths established a kingdom in Italy under King Theodoric the Great. The Goths were originally from southern Scandinavia and migrated southward over time. They were known as fierce warriors and were considered "barbarians" by the Romans, though they created art influenced by Roman culture. The Gothic legacy also includes the Gothic architectural style and literature namesake, although these developed much later and were not created by the ancient Goths themselves.
