The history, after all, was most often written by those under attack from these so-called barbarians, rather than the 'barbarians' themselves. "This characterization masks the fact that these decentralized groups achieved large-scale strategic coordination in the absence of centralized power." Digging into historical records and past studies, the researchers built up a framework that draws together commonalities between these various groups. These strategies could be modified over time, the researchers point out, as the contemporary context changed. However, this wouldn't necessarily have been evident to the Greeks, Romans, and other communities who encountered 'barbarians'.