236 STATE OF SOCIETY. CHAP. X. 



In the two centuries which had passed be- 

 tween the termination of the Roman empire 

 and the propagation of the Mahometan religion, 

 the various tribes who had gained possession of 

 the several countries before subject to Rome 

 had settled down, not into peaceful, though into 

 organized communities. 



The unconquered Germans, united with or 

 allied to the Huns, the Vandals, the Suevi, and 

 others, had formed the duchies of Bohemia, of 

 Bavaria, of Swabia, of Saxony, and several 

 smaller independent states. The Goths, the 

 Alemanni, and the Burgundians formed the 

 nation of the Franks, under the successors of 

 Clovis ; whilst a large portion of Gaul or France 

 was possessed by the Visigoths, who, jointly 

 with the Suevi, occupied nearly the whole of 

 Spain. The Ostrogoths, in possession of almost 

 the whole of Italy, had formed in it the kingdom 

 of the Lombards. The Saxon heptarchy ruled 

 in England. The Roman empire in Africa, 

 though it had swallowed up the temporary 

 kingdom of the Vandals, was in such a state of 

 weakness as to become an easy prey to the fol- 

 lowers of the new Arabian prophet. In this 

 period, from about 480 to 670 or 680, the 

 greatest diligence has been able to discover 

 no trace, in any author, of the operations of 

 mining having been carried on. It is true that 

 the documents of the period are rare, and those 



