TARİHİ KAYNAKLAR IŞIĞINDA III. YÜZYILDA GOTLARIN AKDENİZ DE GERÇEKLEŞTİRDİĞİ KORSANLIK VE YAĞMA FAALİYETLERİ

Abstract

History of the Goths represented an era which started from the historian Tacitus (A.D. 56- 117) and it’s impact lasted for almost 300 years. It was nothing but a horrible period of barbarism and destruction in Europe. 400 years after their first apperance, Goths became the most poweful tribe in Europe. Within this period, one of the two Gothic Kings ascended to the throne of the Caesar, while the other conqured a significant portion of Spain and Gaul. However, the next 250 years witnessed the collapse of the Goth reign. There is only a few studies devoted particularly to this important European tribe though. Most of these research is about the last periods of this history. The scarcity of the studies on Goths is also reflected on the studies of early and middle ages. A small portion of the “known” history of Goths is about the piracy and looting activities of them. The main purpose of this study is to reveal the historical resources about the looting and piracy activities of Goths. Beginning from the mid 3rd century Black Sea to the Aegen shores of Anatolia, Goths lootedcore and historical cities, destroyed the Temple of Diana in Ephesos, which is one of the seven wonders of the world, and made several voyages to the Island of Cyprus, engaging in pirate activities. The historical resources to be used here are Zosimos, Jordanes and Gregory Thaumaturgus.