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The expansion of Germanic tribes into France, England, Northern ItalyThe Italian Republic or Italy ( Italian: Italia is a country in the south of Europe, consisting mainly of a boot-shaped peninsula together with two large islands in the Mediterranean Sea: Sicily and Sardinia. To the north, where it borders France, Switzer and elsewhere allegedly indicated the energy and dynamism of those so-called " barbarianBarbarian was originally a term applied to a foreigner, one not sharing a recognized culture or degree of polish with the speaker or writer employing the term. The word derives from the Greek, and expresses with mocking duplication ("bar-bar") alleged att" peoples. This became associated with 19th century German nationalismNationalism is an ideology that creates and sustains a nation as a concept of a common identity for groups of humans. Nationalists base nations on various notions of political legitimacy. These can derive from the Romantic theory of " cultural identity", and the Eastern expansion of Germany ( Drang nach OstenDrang nach Osten ("Striving towards the East") is a term used in Germany's history that means the expansion of Germany, German states and German settlement, that led to the conquest of former Slavic and Baltic areas by Germany commencing during the Middle, Urge to move East), and later contributed to the Nazi ideology of LebensraumLebensraum ("Living space") is an idea that was used to justify the expansionist politics of Nazi Germany. The idea of a Germanic people without sufficient space dates back long before Adolf Hitler brought it to prominence, however: the term Lebensraum wa, or "living space", the theory that the Germans had a mission to expand their population beyond the national borders of Germany.

Modern historians divide the migration movement into two phases. The first phase, between AD 300 and 500Events Possible date for the Battle of Mons Badonicus: Romano-British and Celts defeat an Anglo-Saxon army that may have been led by the bretwalda Aelle of Sussex (approximate date; suggested dates range from 490 to 510) Note: This battle may have influen, saw the movement of Germanic, Turkish and other tribes and resulted in putting Germanic peoples in control of most areas of the former Western Roman Empire. (See also: Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Burgundians, Langobards, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Suebi, Alamanni).

The second phase, between AD 500 and 900, saw Slavic, Turkish and other tribes on the move, re-settling in Eastern Europe and gradually making it predominantly Slavic. See also: Avars, Huns, Arabs, Vikings, Varangians. The last phase of the migrations saw the coming of the Hungarians to Pannonia.

Other migrations that happened later in the history of Europe generally did not give rise to new states (except for Turkey, for example) and comprised mainly temporary invasions.

An earlier migration from Asia to Europe brought the Indoeuropeans.

For modern historical views see Human migration.