The Gepids were an East Germanic tribe who lived in the area of modern Romania, Hungary and Serbia, roughly between the Tisza, Sava and Carpathian mountains. They were closely related to, or a subdivision of, the Goths. They are first mentioned by Roman sources in the third century. In the 4th century, they were incorporated into the Hunnic Empire. After the death of Attila, the Gepids under Ardaric, led an alliance and defeated the sons of Attila at the Battle of Nedao in 454. The Gepids and their allies subsequently founded kingdoms on the Middle Danube, bordering on the Roman Empire. The Gepid Kingdom was one of the most important and long-lasting of these, centered on Sirmium, and sometimes referred to as Gepidia. In 489, Gepids lost Sirmium to the Ostrogoths. Thraustila's son, Thrasaric, regained control of Sirmium, but under Ostrogothic overlordship. In 504, Theoderic the Great expelled the Gepids from Sirmium without much resistance. The kingdom ceased to exist after they were defeated by the Lombards and Avars in 567. |  |