The Goths were expanding towards the Lower Danube from the 230s, forcing the native peoples to flee to the Roman Empire or to accept their suzerainty.[60][61][62] The Goths' rule ended abruptly when the Huns invaded their territory in 376, causing new waves of migrations.[60][62][63] The Huns forced the remnants of the local population into submission, but their empire collapsed in 454.[60][64] The Gepids took possession of the former Dacia province.[65][66] Place names that are of Slavic origin abound in Romania, indicating that a significant Slavic-speaking population lived in the territory.[67] The first Slavic groups settled in Moldavia and Wallachia in the 6th century,[68] in Transylvania around 600.[69] The nomadic Avars defeated the Gepids and established a powerful empire around 570.[60][70] The Bulgars, who also came from the European Pontic steppe, occupied the Lower Danube region in 680.[60]