the peacefully disposed population six or seven hundred
years subsequently, when the ultra-barbarian _regime_ was about drawing
to a close.

But the rule of the Huns was not uninterrupted. Shortly after they
obtained possession of the Gothic kingdom in Dacia they were defeated by
the Emperor Theodosius I. (about 378), but from that time until the
reign of their King Attila ('the scourge of God') nothing of importance
is noted in their history. This monarch not only brought the whole of
Dacia under the yoke, but (about 443) he conquered Moesia, and pressed
the Romans so hard that Theodosius II. (408-450), as well as the Eastern
Emperor, were glad to make peace with him, by which he retained the
greater part of his conquests north of the Danube. It is impossible, nor
would it be legitimate here, to follow Attila through his victorious
career. All we need to mention is that when the tide was turning against
him, the vassal tribes, whom he had dragged through Europe as allies,
deserted him, and the Gepidae, a branch of the great Gothic nation,
helped to hasten his downfall; for, revolting under their chief Ardaric,
they not only defeated his army, but became masters of the whole of
Dacia. At the conclusion of the reign of Attila, who died or was
murdered about A.D. 453, the Huns were driven back into Asia,
whence they once more invaded Europe a few years later; but, although we
hear of them casually, in union with other tribes, more than a century
afterwards (about 564), they never recovered their power in Dacia, and
are of no further interest to us in this connection.

[Footnote 111: Vol. iv. pp. 258-262.]

III.

The reader will remember that even in the wars between the Romans and
Dacians other barbarian tribes took part. Of these the Quadi,
Marcomanni, and Sarmatians continued to harass the successors of the
first-named, and even to make irruptions into the Empire. The
_Sarmatians_ especially were very formidable, and from time to time they
settled in Dacia during the occupation of the Goths, giving both them
and the Romans much trouble. They were encountered by more than one
Roman army, and were driven back into and through Dacian territory; but
at length, about A.D. 375, Valentinian defeated them with great
slaughter, and we cease to hear of them in connection with Roumanian
history.

With the _Gepidae_, that branch of the Goths who defeated Attila, it was
otherwise. After the withdrawal of the Huns[112] they t