The gradual collapse of the Roman Empire from about 300-475 CE brought monumental changes to Europe and beyond. The system that once bound both sides of the Mediterranean Basin together was gone, and with it, many of the connections people from Mesopotamia to Spain and from Gaul to Arabia once enjoyed. In its place, a period of transition began—once referred to as the “Dark Ages”, although that term has fallen out of favor with modern scholars—after the Western Roman Empire ended in 476 and a host of new, primarily Germanic people inherited Roman lands, wealth, and ideas in Western Europe. Many of these Germanic tribes established large kingdoms, such as the Vandals in Spain and North Africa, the Franks in Gaul, the Visigoths in Spain, and the Ostrogoths in Italy, but just outside of what was once Roman territory, other tribes emerged to leave their mark on Europe. The most notable of these were the non-Germanic Huns, but after them came the Gepids, an important but overlooked group.

The Gepids were a Germanic tribe often overshadowed by the Huns because they shared roughly the same space in Central Europe, yet they did not menace nearly as extensive an area. They are also overlooked because they were all but wiped out by the late sixth century, but while they were around, they influenced the course of events in Central and Eastern Europe. The Gepids were no less bellicose than the other Germanic tribes or the Huns, for that matter, causing immense destruction throughout Europe and constantly threatening the stability of the Eastern Roman Empire, which later became the Byzantine Empire. It is this destruction for which the Gepids are best remembered, as well as the threat they were able to parlay into creating a sizable kingdom in what is today Hungary, but the Gepids were not merely brutal warriors. Some of their rulers demonstrated incredible political acumen. The Gepids knew how to use the powerful Byzantine Empire to their advantage and to make alliances with other Germanic tribes that helped them keep their hold on the power.

By the early sixth century CE, Gepids were major players in the geopolitics of the region, and their kings knew how to use diplomacy—as much as warfare—to their advantage. However, despite their abilities, the Gepids were eventually defeated and driven out like the Huns before them and the Avars after them. Europe was a tough place at the time, so the fact the Gepids were able to dominate there as long as they did is a testament to their marital prowess and diplomatic skills.