The emergence of barbarian kingdoms in the Roman Empire

As the Roman Empire faced various issues at the dawn of the fifth century, the empire remained unified with a powerful central government and a developed legal system. However, a century later, this unity had disintegrated, and the Western Roman Empire had been replaced by separate regions known as barbarian or successor kingdoms. These new kingdoms, such as the Anglo-Saxon polities in Britain and the Visigoths in Aquitaine, did not aim to overthrow Rome but rather sought to inherit its comforts and privileges. Despite initially adapting Roman political structures and ideologies, the barbarian kingdoms eventually diverged and built their own political systems and institutions.