The early days of German history

Archaeological evidence shows that humans set foot in Germany about 700 thousand years ago. It is speculated that human beings began to migrate here about 500 thousand years ago.

Due to the lack of documentary records, the early history of Germans is not very clear. The Roman Empire first recorded the activities of Germanic tribes, but these Germanic tribes were not the same as the Germans today. At that time, the so-called Germanic tribes were all tribes living in northern and central Europe and using Indo-Germanic languages. Modern ethnologists don't know the meaning of this name. It is believed that Kelten, an early European resident, first used this name to address new immigrants. Julius Caesar used the name "Germanic" to refer to the tribes living on the right bank of the Rhine (in today's Germany) during his expedition to Gaul. Later, the concept of "Germanic race" was gradually introduced into the Roman world.

Germanic tribes refer to some ethnic groups who once lived in southern Scandinavia (including Denmark) and its adjacent areas. Their culture and religion are quite close, so they become a cultural circle. Around 1000 BC, because of the climate deterioration in northern Europe, residents in this area began to migrate to the south. By 450 BC, they were distributed along the Rhine, south to the north of the Alps and east to Wichita on the Vistula River. In the 2nd century BC, these ethnic groups started another wave of national movements and began to have more contacts with the Roman world.

Around A.D., many Germanic tribes had settled in the Danube and Rhine rivers, and these tribes were constantly in conflict with the Roman Empire, which tried to conquer this area. In 9 AD, the Germanic tribes defeated the powerful Roman Empire at that time in the Battle of Teutonburg Forest. In this battle, the Germanic tribes ambushed and destroyed three Roman legions. Since then, the Romans have never really tried to push the eastern border of their empire to the other side of the Rhine.

Although Germanic tribes take language, descent, living habits, culture and beliefs as the indicators of ethnic groups, due to dispersion, individual differences can be considerable. Therefore, when large-scale ethnic migration began in the 4th century, it was not the collective action of the whole blood-related ethnic groups, but the smaller clan organizations. Historians divide these floating Germanic tribes into three categories: West Germanic, East Germanic and North Germanic. West Germanic refers to these peoples who lived in the Rhine River in the west, the Weser River in the east, the Danube River in the south and the North Sea in the 1 century BC.

From 407, Germanic tribes along the Rhine River crossed the Rhine River and established a series of short-lived kingdoms in parts of France and Spain today. In 476, the Germans United with the lower classes of the Roman Empire and overthrew the Roman Empire. The establishment of the Frankish Kingdom at the end of the 5th century lasted for several centuries, including the glorious period of Moro Dynasty and Carolyn Dynasty. Under the rule of Charlemagne (crowned in 800), the kingdom almost extended to most of today's French and German areas, known as Charlemagne Empire in history. After Charlemagne's death, the empire soon split. In 843 AD, the territory of the Frankish kingdom was divided into three parts according to treaty of verdun. In the west, the Frankish kingdom on the left bank of the Rhine became the foundation of France. The eastern part, that is, the German-speaking Eastern Frankish Kingdom on the right bank of the Rhine River, became the foundation of the later Germanic Kingdom, the holy Roman Empire in the future, and the embryonic form of Germany today. The middle part became the root of the struggle between France and Germany.

In 9 19, Herzogtum Von Sachsen Henry I was elected as the king of the eastern Frankish kingdom and established the Saxon dynasty. The Saxon dynasty was located in today's Holland, West Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Strictly speaking, the history of Germany has begun.