Visigothic Kingdom (jan 1, 418 – dec 31, 721)

Description:

Occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic successor states to the Western Roman Empire. The Visigoths were romanized central Europeans who had moved west from the Danube Valley. They became Foederati of Rome, and wanted to restore the Roman order against the hordes of Vandals, Alans and Suebi in what had been called Hispania. The Western Roman Empire fell in 476 AD.
The kingdom lost much of its territory in Gaul to the Franks in the early 6th century, save the narrow coastal strip of Septimania.
Originally there was an ethnic distinction between the indigenous Hispano-Roman population and the Visigoths, but that eventually disappeared as the Visigoths converted to Catholicism by 589. The Visigoths and their early kings were Arians and came into conflict with the Catholic Church, but after they converted to Nicene Christianity, the Church exerted an enormous influence on secular affairs through the Councils of Toledo. The Visigoths also developed the highly influential law code known in Western Europe as the Visigothic Code, which would become the basis for Spanish law throughout the Middle Ages.
Most of the Visigothic Kingdom was conquered by Umayyad troops from North Africa in 711, with only the northern reaches of Hispania remaining in Christian hands. These gave birth to the medieval Kingdom of Asturias when a local landlord called Pelayo, most likely of Gothic origin, was elected Princeps by the Astures.

Added to timeline:

Date: