ALANI

(Alans). The only non-Germanic settlers in the western Roman Empire during the so-called barbarian invasions, the Alani spoke an Indo-Iranian language. They were living as nomads in southern Russia when the arrival of the Huns in the 370s caused groups of them to move west, along with many Germanic tribes. With the Vandals and Visigoths, they entered Gaul in the early 5th century, and groups of them settled around Orleans and subsequently moved into Armorica (Brittany) in the later 5th century; others settled around Toulouse and Narbonne. They generally received land grants from the Roman authorities. Their small numbers, lack of a strong tribal structure, abandonment of their nomadic ways, and adoption of Christianity led to the swift assimilation of the Alani in the mixed culture of Gaul, and they ceased to be seen as a distinct people by the end of the 5th century. The chief traces of their existence in Gaul are in the personal name Alain and the many place-names with Alan - or Alain - as a component. They may have had a role in the development of the “Aquitanian” style of art and the rising importance of cavalry and cavalry tactics in later centuries; they perhaps contributed elements to the Arthurian legends.

A substantial body of Alani remained with the Vandals, with whom they soon assimilated. Vandal kings carried the title King of the Vandals and Alans from ca. 419 to the end of the Vandal kingdom. Other Alani were prominent in the political and military affairs of the eastern Roman Empire in the middle third of the 5th century, and others settled in northern Italy under Roman authority.

Steven Fanning

Bachrach, Bernard S. A History ofthe Alans in the West. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota

Press, 1973.