The first incursion of the Roman Empire that can be attributed to Goths is the sack of Histria in 238. The first references to the Goths in the 3rd century call them "Scythians", as this area, known as Scythia, had historically had been occupied by an unrelated people of that name. It is in the late 3rd century that the name "Goths" () is first mentioned. Ancient authors do not identify the Goths with the earlier Gutones. Philologists and linguists have no doubt that the names are the same.