Together with the migrations of the Slavs, these events were the formative elements of … Wolfram observed that the significance of gens as a biological community was shifting, even during the early Middle Agesand that "to complicate matters, we have no way of devis… The aftereffect of their march to the southeast, toward the Black Sea, was to push the Marcomanni, the Quadi, and the Sarmatians onto the Roman limes in Marcus Aurelius’ time. History of Europe - History of Europe - Barbarian migrations and invasions: The wanderings of the Germanic peoples, which lasted until the early Middle Ages and destroyed the Western Roman Empire, were, together with the migrations of the Slavs, formative elements of the distribution of peoples in modern Europe. Analysis of barbarian identity and how it was created and expressed during the Barbarian Invasions has elicited discussion among scholars. Herwig Wolfram, a historian of the Goths, in discussing the equation of migratio gentium with Völkerwanderung, observes that Michael Schmidt introduced the equation in his 1778 history of the Germans. Ancient Rome - Ancient Rome - The barbarian invasions: The Goths were Germans coming from what is now Sweden and were followed by the Vandals, the Burgundians, and the Gepidae. Barbarian invasions, the movements of Germanic peoples which began before 200 BCE and lasted until the early Middle Ages, destroying the Western Roman Empire in the process.