The
Kingdom established by the Ostrogoths in
Italy and neighbouring areas lasted from
493 to
553. In Italy the Ostrogoths replaced
Odoacer, the
de facto ruler of Italy who had deposed the
last emperor of the
Western Roman Empire in 476. The Gothic kingdom reached its zenith under the rule of its first king,
Theodoric the Great. Most of the social institutions in the late Western Roman Empire were preserved during his rule.
Starting in 535, the
Byzantine Empire invaded Italy. The Ostrogothic ruler at that time,
Witiges, could not defend successfully and was finally captured when the capital
Ravenna fell. The Ostrogoths rallied around a new leader,
Totila, and largely managed to reverse the conquest, but were eventually defeated. The last king of the Ostrogothic Kingdom was
Teia.
History
Background
The Ostrogoths
The
Ostrogoths were the eastern branch of the
Goths. They settled and established a powerful state in
Dacia, but during the late 4th century, they came under the dominion of the
Huns. After the collapse of the Hunnic empire in 454, large numbers of Ostrogoths were settled by Emperor
Marcian in the Roman province of
Pannonia as
foederati. But in 460, during the reign of
Leo I, because the payment of annual sums had ceased, they ravaged
Illyricum. Peace was concluded in 461, whereby the young
Theodoric Amal, son of
Theodemir of the
Amals, was sent as a hostage to Constantinople, where he received a Roman education.Jordanes,
Getica,...
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