Gepid Kingdom (454-567)
The Gepids were an eastern Germanic tribe first recorded in the 260s when they and the Goths attacked Dacia. The Gepids settled northeast of Dacia, east of the Tisza River, where early in the fifth century they were subjugated by the Ostrogoths. In the Hun attack on the Balkans (447) the Gepids were Attila’s staunchest allies and in the Battle of Catalaunian Fields (451) they formed the right wing of the Hun army. For their central part in defeating the Huns at the Battle of the Nedao (454), the Romans granted the Gepids all of Hungary east of the Danube as a new homeland. From there they spread into Serbia and Montenegro, capturing Sirmium (471).
Heruli Kingdom (454-508)
The Heruli, an eastern Germanic tribe, migrated from Scandinavia and branched off into two main groups, one continuing on to the Rhine, the other towards the Black Sea. The Rhine Heruli came into contact with Romans (around 286) and entered into their service supplying auxiliaries for the army in Germania. The second group reached the Black Sea in the middle of the third century and were subjected by the Goths.
They were given charge of the ships used to launch invasions of Asia Minor, Thrace and Greece (267). The Heruli, along with the Goths, were defeated by the Romans near Naissus (269). As the eastern hordes continued to arrive, the Black Sea Heruli were pushed westwards, arriving finally in Pannonia. By the middle of the fifth century the Heruli had succumbed to the Huns and served as part of the Hunnic force that invaded Gaul (451).
After the Battle of Nedao (454) the Heruli established a kingdom in Moravia (eastern Czech Republic). After subduing all their neighbours and turning them into vassals, the Heruli became feared as pirates and as Roman mercenaries.
Sciri Kingdom (454-469)
The Sciri were a small eastern Germanic tribe that first lived south of the Baltic Sea (northern Poland). Around 200 BC they migrated southward with the Bastarnae. After a peace treaty with the Roman Empire they are recorded as living east of the Bastarnae, near the Black Sea. In the fourth century AD, some of the Sciri lived in the Carpathians, where they were defeated by the Huns. After the Hunnic Empire disintegrated, the Sciri settled in the northwest corner of Hungary.
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