The Goths more generally became in important in the third century, but concerning this period the Greuthungi are only mentioned in the
Historia Augusta, which is an unreliable work written centuries later. The part concerning Emperor
Claudius Gothicus (reigned 268–270), the following list of "
Scythian" peoples is given who had been conquered by that emperor when he earned his title "Gothicus": "
peuci trutungi austorgoti uirtingi sigy pedes celtae etiam eruli". These words are traditionally edited by adapted editors to include well-known peoples: "
Peuci, Grutungi, Austrogothi, Tervingi, Visi, Gipedes, Celtae etiam et Eruli". The
Historia Augusta text concerning the Emperor
Probus (died 282), mentions the Greuthungi together with
Vandals and
Gepids, who were supposedly settled in
Thrace, together with 100,000
Bastarnae. While the Bastarnae remained faithful, the other three peoples broke faith and were crushed by Probus, according to this account. The first event which can confidently be ascribed to the Greuthungi was much later, in the 369 campaign against the Goths by Emperor
Valens, in retribution for the support of the usurper
Procopius (died 366). This was described by
Ammianus Marcellinus writing in the 390s, only decades later. Valens crossed the Lower Danube at
Novidunum and went deep into Gothic territory where he came across the warlike people called the Greuthungi. Their apparent leader
Athanaric who was, in this passage, described by Ammianus as their most powerful judge "
iudicem potentissimum", was compelled to flee, and then make a peace agreement in the middle of the Danube, promising to never set foot on Roman soil. This same Athanaric is later described by Ammianus as a judge of the
Tervingi, raising questions about the nature of the distinction between the Tervingi and Greuthungi. Ammianus specifically describes the Greuthungi as Goths. The Greuthungi were next mentioned by Ammianus as defeated by the invading Huns in the early 370s. The Huns first plundered and recruited the Alans of the
Don river (the classical Tanais) and then attacked the domain of the warlike Gothic monarch King Ermenric, who was apparently king of the Greuthungi, and who eventually committed suicide.
Jordanes in his history of the Goths, the
Getica, written much later in about 551, did not mention the Greuthungi, but instead writes as if the Ukrainian Goths were divided between the eastern
Ostrogoths and western
Visigoths in the 3rd and 4th centuries, using the terms for two Gothic peoples who were important within the Roman empire in his time. Jordanes described Ermaneric, as the king of a single large Gothic empire until the late 4th-century, ruling over all Goths and many other peoples. In contrast,
Ammianus Marcellinus, himself writing in the late 4th-century, described Ermanaric as the Greuthungi leader, implying that his kingdom was not as large as that described by Jordanes. According to Ammianus, the defense against the Huns and Alans continued under a new king
Vithimir, who also had Hunnic allies on his side. After he died, the defense was led by two generals
Alatheus and Saphrax, while
Videricus, Vithimir's son, was a boy. In the meantime, Athanaric, now described by Ammianus as leader of the Tervingi, first moved to the Greuthungi position at the Dniester to block the westward movement of the Huns but was defeated, and then moved his people into a more defensible position further west near the
Carpathians. In 376 a large part of the Tervingi were allowed to cross the
Lower Danube entering the Roman Empire with weapons, under the command of
Fritigern, who had split from Athanaric. As tensions rose, Alatheus and Saphrax also crossed with Greuthingi and their king Videricus, despite their requests for permission having been rejected. Athanaric, who was apparently with them before they crossed, moved instead to a mountainous and forested region called Caucalanda, forcing Sarmatians out of the area. Alans and Huns also crossed in 377. The displacement of the Goths into the Balkans peninsula led to the
Gothic War of 376–382 during which the Greuthungi of Alatheus and Saphrax were allied with the Tervingi of Fritigern. Greuthungi cavalry contributed to a shocking Gothic victory over Roman forces at the
Battle of Adrianople of 9 August 378. In 382 it is thought that there was a more lasting settlement agreement was made for the large number of Goths to settle peacefully in the Balkans, and contribute to the Roman military. Unfortunately, the details of this agreement are now unclear. In 380, some of the Greuthungi under Alatheus and Saphrax appear to have separated from the main force of the Tervingi, invading the
Diocese of Pannonia in the Northern Balkans, but were defeated by Emperor
Gratian. The outcome of this invasion is unclear, it is possible that they were defeated and dispersed by
Gratian, or that they reached a separate peace agreement and settled in Pannonia. Several sources report more Greuthungi who were still outside of the empire in 386, under a leader from outside the Empire named
Odotheus. He gathered large forces north of the Lower Danube, including peoples from far away. He attempted to cross the river, but he and his troops were massacred by a Roman general named
Promotus. A group of Greuthungi under Roman control were settled in
Phrygia and rebelled in 399–400. They are referred in a poem by
Claudian which describes the Ostrogoths and Greuthungi inhabiting that land together, and fighting for the Roman military, ready to be aroused by some small offense, and return to their natural ways. The poem associates this rebellious squadron (
alae) in Phrygia with the Roman general of Gothic background,
Tribigild. Claudian uses the term Ostrogoth once, and in other references to this same group he more often calls them Greuthungi or "
Getic" (an older word, used for Goths generally in this period).
Zosimus also mentioned Tribigild and the barbarian forces based in Phrygia, and their rebellion against the eunuch
Eutropius the consul (died 399).
Gainas, the aggrieved Gothic general sent to fight him, joined forces with him after the death of Eutropius. Zosimus believed that was conspiracy between the two Goths from the beginning. In contrast, the
Amal dynasty, around whom the later and better-known Othogothic kingdom formed, were in neither of these groups who entered the Roman Empire in the 4th century, because into the 5th century they were apparently Gothic leaders within
Attila's
Hunnic Empire. ==Archaeology==