Daniel Bible Prophecy

Divided Nations
or
The Ten Divisions of Western Rome

The Alemanni
“They inflicted severe wounds on the rich provinces of Gaul; they were the first who removed the veil that covered the feeble majesty of Italy. A numerous body of the Alemanni penetrated across the Danube and through the Rheatian Alps into the plains of Lombardy, advanced as far as Ravenna, and displayed the victorious banners of barbarians almost in sight of Rome [cir. A.D. 260].” And then, “laden with spoil, they retired into Germany; and their retreat was esteemed as a victory by the unwarlike Romans.” Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon, chap. 10, pars. 26, 27.

More information is available in chapters 9 and 10 of the same book by Gibbon.

The Franks
The Franks were very closely connected to the Alemanni.
“About the year 240 A.D., a new confederacy was formed under the name of Franks, by the old inhabitants of the Lower Rhine and the Weser. The love of liberty was the ruling passion of these Germans; the enjoyment of it, their best treasure; the word that expressed that enjoyment, the most pleasing to their ear. They deserved, they assumed, they maintained, the honourable epithet of Franks, or Freemen, which concealed, though it did not extinguish, the peculiar names of the several States of the confederacy.
The Rhine, though dignified with the title of safeguard of the provinces, was an imperfect barrier against the daring spirit of enterprise with which the Franks were actuated. Their rapid devastations stretched from the river to the foot of the Pyrenees; nor were they stopped by those mountains. Spain, which had never dreaded, was unable to resist, the inroads of the Germans. During twelve years [A.D. 256-268], the greatest part of the reign of Gallienus, that opulent country was the theatre of unequal and destructive hostilities. Tarragona, the flourishing capital of a peaceful province, was sacked and almost destroyed...When the exhausted country no longer supplied a variety of plunder, the Franks seized on some vessels in the ports of Spain, and transported themselves into Mauritania. The distant province was astonished with the fury of these barbarians, who seemed to fall from a new world, as their name, manners, and complexion were equally unknown on the coast of Africa.” Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon, chap. 10, pars. 22, 24.

Speaking of the Alemanni and the Franks
The Alemanni were established in the modern countries of Alsace and Lorraine; the Franks occupied the island of the Batavians, together with an extensive district of Brabant... chap. 19, par. 20.

Further information found in chapters 12, 14, 19, 26, 31, 36 of Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. ‘Italy and Her Invaders’ Vol. 1, part 1, chap. 3, par. 6.

The Suevi, Vandals, Burgundians
The Burgundians actually settled first with the Suevi and Vandals continuing to move on. The Suevi and Vandals had disagreements, war was waged, and the Suevi eventually settled where Portugal now is, with the Vandals finally moving on to conquer the northern parts of Africa.
“The victorious confederates pursued their march, and on the last day of the year [406], in a season when the waters of the Rhine were most probably frozen, they entered, without opposition, the defenceless provinces of Gaul. This memorable passage of the Suevi, the Vandals, the Alani (about 417 A.D. they sought refuge under the banner of the Vandals) and the Burgundians, who never afterward retreated, may be considered as the fall of the Roman Empire in the countries beyond the Alps; and the barriers which had so long separated the savage and the civilized nations of the earth, were from that fatal moment levelled with the ground.” Decline and Fall, Gibbon, chap. 30, pars. 15-19.

“In the southeast of Gaul, the Burgundians, after many wars and some reverses, established themselves, with the consent of the Romans, in the district then called Sapaudia and now Savoy. Their territory was somewhat more extensive than the province which was the cradle of the present royal house of Italy, since it stretched northward beyond the lake of Neufchatel, and southward as far as Grenoble....The lands they divided by lot, each one receiving half the estate of the Roman host or hospes.” Italy and Her Invaders, book 2, chap. 3, par. 14.

“....conquered from the Romans the whole valley of the Rhone, in which they henceforth settled.” Encyclopedia Britannica, art. Germany, part 2, Confederation of Tribes, par. 2.

“....the whole of the Saone and the Lower Rhone from Dijon to the Mediterranean, and included the western half of Switzerland.” Middle ages, chap. 1, part 1, sec. 9, note 8.

“And in 476, when the last vestige of the Western Empire vanished, the Burgundian kingdom included all of Switzerland that lies west of that part of the Rhine that flows from the south into the lake of Constance.” The Empires of Prophecy, A. T. Jones, pg 612.

“The Vandals and the Suevi went on to Spain.” “At length the barbarians, satiated with carnage and rapine, and afflicted by the contagious evils which they themselves had introduced, fixed their permanent seats in the depopulated country. The ancient Galicia, whose limits included the kingdom of Old Castile, was divided between the Suevi and the Vandals.” Decline and Fall, Gibbon, chap. 31, par. 36. Galicia is now situated to the north of Portugal.

“Thus the kingdom of the Vandals was permanently fixed in Africa, where it remained as long as it was a kingdom at all, and as long as the Vandals were a nation.” Empires of Prophecy, A. T. Jones, pg 619.

“....the Vandals, as we know, ruled Africa from Carthage;....the Burgundians were settled in the valley of the Rhone, and their chief capital was Lyons; The Suevi held the greater part of southern and western Spain, and their capital was Astorga.” Italy and Her Invaders, book 3, chap. 4, par. 7.

Speaking of the Suevi, “held the kingdom of Galicia....small part of the peninsula which now forms Portugal.” Encyclopedia Britannica, art. Germany, Confederation of Tribes, par. 2.

The Visigoths
Speaking of the Visigoths, “His victorious Goths, forty-three years after they had passed the Danube, were established [A.D. 419], according to the faith of treaties, in the possession of the second Aquitaine, a maritime province between the Garonne and the Loire, under the civil and ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Bordeaux....The Gothic limits were enlarged by the additional gift of some neighbouring dioceses; and the successors of Alaric fixed their royal residence at Toulouse, which included five populous quarters, or cities, within the spacious circuit of its walls.”
Speaking of Euric and the Visigoths, “He passed the Pyrenees at the head of a numerous army, subdued the cities of Saragossa and Pampeluna, vanquished in battle the martial nobles of the Tarragonese province, carried his victorious arms into the heart of Lusitania, and permited the Suevi to hold the kingdom of Galicia under the Gothic monarchy of Spain. The efforts of Euric were not less vigorous or less successful in Gaul; and throughout the country that extends from the Pyrenees to the Rhone and the Loire, Berry and Auvergne were the only cities, or dioceses, which refused to acknowledge him as their master.”
Later the Visigoths yielded to the Franks “the greater part of their Gallic possession; but their loss was amply compensated by the easy conquest and secure enjoyment of the provinces of Spain. From the monarchy of the Goths, which soon involved the Suevic kingdom of Galicia, the modern Spaniards still derive some national vanity.” Decline and Fall, Gibbon, chaps. 30, pars. 23-25; 31, pars. 7-39; 36, par. 22; 38, par. 29.

The Angles and Saxons, or, Anglo-Saxons
“Hengist and Horsa, who, according to the Anglo-Saxon historians, landed in the year 449 on the shore which is called Ypwinesfleet, were personages of more than common sort. ‘They were the sons of Wihtgils; Wihtgils, son of Witta, Witta of Wecta, Wecta of Woden.’ So says the Anglo-Saxon chronicle, and adds, ‘From this Woden sprung all our royal families.’ These descendants, in the third generation from the great Saxon divinity, came over in three boats. They came by invitation of Wyrtgeone – Vortigern – king of the Britons. The king gave them land in the southeast of the country, on condition that they should fight against the Picts; and they did fight, and had the victory wheresoever they came. And then they sent for the Angles, and told them of the worthlessness of the people and the excellences of the land. This is the Saxon narrative.” History of England, Knight, chap. 5, par. 6.

“The work for which the mercenaries had been hired was quickly done, and the Picts are said to have been scattered to the winds in a battle fought on the eastern coast of Britain. But danger from the Pict was hardly over when danger came from the Jutes themselves. Their fellow pirates must have flocked from the Channel to their settlement in Thanet; the inlet between Thanet and the mainland was crossed, and the Englishmen won their first victory over the Britons in forcing their passage of the Medway at the village of Aylesford. A second defeat at the passage of the Cray drove the British forces in terror upon London; but the ground was soon won back again, and it was not till 465 that a series of petty conflicts which had gone on along the shores of Thanet made way for a decisive struggle at Wippedsfleet. Here, however, the overthrow was so terrible that from this moment all hope of saving northern Kent seems to have been abandoned, and it was only on its southern shore that the Britons held their ground. Ten years later, in 475, the long contest was over, and with the fall of Lymme, whose broken walls look, from the slope to which they cling, over the great flat of Romney Marsh, the work of the first English conqueror was done.” Larger History of England, Green, chap. 1, par. 18.

“And from that time until now, the history of the Angles and Saxons – the Anglo-Saxons – is but the history of England – Angle-land.” The Empires of Prophecy, Jones, pg 651.

The Ostrogoths
The Ostrogoths came under the power of the Huns when Attila was ruling, Decline and Fall chap. 26, par. 12. It wasn’t until the death of Attila, in 453, that they reclaimed their independence. This also lead to the war against Ellak and the Huns, with the Huns being defeated and Ellak also dying in battle. After the victory over the Huns by the Ostrogoths and Gepidae, the remnant of the Huns went back to Scythia in the southern parts of Russia.

Further information on this point see Decline and Fall, Gibbon, chap. 35, par. 16. Italy and Her Invaders, book 3, chap. 1, par. 3. Encyclopedia Britannica, art. Goths, par. 14.

“Such triumphs, however, were productive only of fame, and the invincible Ostrogoths were reduced to extreme distress by the want of clothing and food. They unanimously resolved to desert their Pannonian encampments, and boldly to advance into the warm and wealthy neighbourhood of the Byzantine court, which already maintained in pride and luxury so many bands of confederate Goths. After proving by some acts of hostility that they could be dangerous, or at least troublesome, enemies, the Ostrogoths sold at a high price their reconciliation and fidelity, accepted a donative of lands and money, and were trusted with the defence of the Lower Danube, under the command of Theodoric, who succeeded, after his father’s death [A.D. 475], to the hereditary throne of the Amali.” Decline and Fall, Gibbon, chap. 39, par. 2, and note.

“Although Gibbon says they “resolved to desert their Pannonian encampments,” it must not be understood that this is spoken of the whole nation, but rather the principle warriors; nor that these renounced either their claim or their possessions there; because the history that follows shows that the Ostrogoths dwelt in Pannonia, and that their superior power was exercised and greatfully acknowledged over all that province during the whole fifty-one years (A.D. 475-526) of the reign of Theodoric.
This was so even after the seat of the kingdom had been removed to Italy, as it was, in A.D. 489.” The Empires of Prophecy, Jones, pg 660.

“He reduced under a strong and regular government, the unprofitable countries of Rhaeetia, Noricum, Dalmatia, and Pannonia, from the source of the Danube and the territory of the Bavarians, to the petty kingdom erected by the Gepidae on the ruins of Sirmium....The Alemanni were protected, an inroad of the Burgundians was severely chastised, the conquest of Arles and Marseilles opened a free communication with the Visigoths, who revered him as their national protector, and as the guardian of his grandchild, the infant son f Alaric [II].”
“His domestic alliances – a wife, two daughters, a sister, and a niece – united the family of Theodoric with the kings of the Franks, the Burgundians, the Visigoths, the Vandals, and the Thuringians, and contributed to maintain harmony, or at least the balance, of the great republic of the West.... The Gothic sovereignty was established from sicily to the Danube; from Sirmium, or Belgrade, to the Atlantic Ocean; and the Greeks themselves have acknowledged that Theodoric reigned over the fairest portion of the Western Empire.” Decline and Fall, Gibbon, chap. 39, pars. 10, 11.

Further information, Decline and Fall, Gibbon, chaps. 26, par. 12; 34, par. 5; 35, par. 4, 7, 9, 11, 15, 16.

The Lombards
“On the Danube above Vienna, and as best we can make out, possessing, for a while at least, both banks of the river, were seated the Lombards, who regained their independence at the death of Attila, A.D. 453. Some time afterward, at the command of the daughter of the king of the Lombards, a brother of the king of the Heruli was assassinated while a royal guest at the Lombard palace, apparently as a suitor for the hand of the Lombard princess. This brought on a war, and the Heruli were successful on imposing upon the Lombards “a tribute, the price of blood.” We know not to a certainty how long the tribute was paid. We only know that the success of the Heruli made them insolent, and that their insolence was paid for by their ruin.” The Empires of Prophecy, Jones, pg 665.

“The assassination of a royal guest was executed in the presence, and by the command, of the king’s daughter, who had been provoked by some words of insult, and disappointed by his diminutive stature; and a tribute, the price of blood, was imposed on the Lombards by his brother, the king of the Heruli. Adversity revived a sense of moderation and justice, and the insolence of conquest was chastised by the signal defeat and irreparable dispersion of the Heruli, who were seated in the southern provinces of Poland.” Decline and Fall, Gibbon, chap. 42, par. 2.

“This expedition carried the main body of the Lombards beyond the Danube for a while, but the exploit only the more firmly established their power, which was afterward displayed in the extirpation of the Gepidae. Later, A.D. 526-536, they took entire possession of Normicum and Pannonia, which they held till A.D. 566.
In A.D. 567 the Lombards, under their great king, Alboin, removed from Pannonia to Italy. And, ‘whatever might be the grounds of his security, Alboin neither expected nor encountered a Roman army in the field. He ascended the Julian Alps, and looked down with contempt and desire on the fruitful plains to which his victory [ A.D. 568-570] communicated the perpetual appellation of Lombardy....From the Trentine Hills to the gates of Ravenna and Rome, the inland regions of Italy became, without a battle or a siege, the lasting patrimony of the Lombards....Delighted with the situation of a city which was endeared to his pride by the difficulty of the purchase, the prince of the Lombards disdained the ancient glories of Milan; and Pavia, during some ages, was respected as the capital of the kingdom of Italy.’
So wide-spread in Italy was the Lombard rule, that Lombardy ‘was, indeed, for a time the name for Italy itself.’ From that time to this the history of the Lombards is but the history of Italy; and Lombardy is still ‘ the name of the finest province’ of that country, which, itself, might almost be called the key of history.” The Empires of Prophecy, Jones, pg 666.

Further information see, Decline and Fall, Gibbon, chaps. 5, par. 8; 35, par. 16; 39, par. 2, 10 note; 36, par. 29; 45, pars. 5-7, 14, 15. Outlines of Universal History, sec. 180. Dr. George Weber was professor and director of the High School of Heidelberg, Germany.

The Heruli
“....the confederates of Italy would not have elected him for their general, unless the exploits of Odoacer had established a high opinion of his courage and capacity. Their military acclamations saluted him with the title of king [Aug. 23, A.D. 476]; but he abstained, during his whole reign, from the use of the purple and diadem....Royalty was familiar to the barbarians, and the submissive people of Italy was prepared to obey, without a murmur, the authority which he should condescend to exercise as the vicegerent of the emperor of the West. But Odoacer had resolved to abolish that useless and expensive office....Augustulus....signified his resignation to the Senate....An epistle was addressed, by their unanimous decree, to the emperor Zeno, the son-in-law and successor of Leo, who had lately been restored, after a short rebellion, to the Byzantine throne. They solemnly disclaim the necessity, or even the wish, of continuing any longer the imperial succession in Italy....they consent that the seat of universal empire shall be transferred from Rome to Constantinople....”
“Odoacer was the first barbarian who reigned in Italy over a people who had once asserted their just superiority above the rest of mankind.” Decline and Fall, Gibbon, chap. 36, pars. 28-33.

Further study see, Decline and Fall, Gibbon, chaps. 10, pars. 10, 37, 38; 25, par. 31; 35 par. 9; 34 par. 12; 36 par. 12, 28; chap. 33 last sentence.

All information plus sources, can be found in ‘The Empires of Prophecy’ A. T. Jones, pgs. 599-696. To my knowledge this book is out of print and out of circulation, and near impossible to find.

History shows that the Western Roman Empire divided into ten separate kingdoms, Alemanni, Franks, Burgundians, Suevi, Vandals, Visigoths, Anglo-Saxons, Ostrogoths, Lombards, and the Heruli; this is the order that they came into prominence in the western empire. History is also unmistakable as to who uprooted the three exterminated kingdoms. It can be attributed to one power only and this power is the little horn of Daniel 7, which is synonymous with the beast from the sea in Revelation 13 and the power that enforces the mark of the beast, the Papal Church of Rome.