We think of barbarians as outsiders, but many were part of Rome itself. They traded, fought, and even rose through the ranks of Roman society. Their quiet influence changed the empire forever.

The Roman Empire had the Huns. The United States has China lurking at its door. And China made Trump reverse his tariff plans for now. It must be nice being Trump.

Updated at 1:13 p.m. ET on May 27, 2025. T he warlords who sacked Rome did not intend to doom Western Europe to centuries of ignorance. It was not a foreseeable consequence of their actions. The ...