The Slavs are an Indo-European people native to Eastern Europe who, beginning in the 5th century AD, expanded into Central Europe, the Balkans, Siberia, and Central Asia. The Slavs originated in the Baltics region during the 1st century AD, and they were known to the Romans as the "Venedians". The Venedians intermarried with the Sarmatians and eventually became so populous that groups such as the Anteans began to split off, creating multiple new Slavic peoples.