Ostrogothic Kingdom

Lore & Background

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. Unlike most other foederati formations, the Goths were not absorbed into the structure and traditions of the Roman military but retained a strong identity and cohesion of their own. 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. The period 477–483 saw a complex three-way struggle among Theodoric the Amal, who had succeeded his father in 474, Theodoric Strabo, and the new Eastern Emperor Zeno. After Strabo's death in 481, Zeno came to terms with Theodoric. Parts of Moesia and Dacia ripensis were ceded to the Goths, and Theodoric was named magister militum praesentalis and consul for 484. Barely a year later, Theodoric and Zeno fell out, and again Theodoric's Goths ravaged Thrace. It was then that the thought occurred to Zeno and his advisors to direct Theodoric against another troublesome neighbour of the Empire – the Italian kingdom of Odoacer.

Reader's Guide

The Ostrogothic Kingdom represents a significant transitional period in late antiquity, bridging the Western Roman Empire and the early medieval period. Under Theodoric the Great, the kingdom preserved most Roman social institutions, maintained the Senate, and recognized Roman law for the Roman population while Goths followed their own laws. Theodoric styled himself 'King of the Goths and Romans,' emphasizing his dual role. However, the kingdom's stability was undermined by religious differences—Goths were mostly Homoian Christians ('Arians') while Romans were Chalcedonian—and by later tensions with the Byzantine Empire. Under Justinian I, Byzantium launched a campaign to reconquer Italy in 535. After initial defeats, the Ostrogoths rallied under Totila and reversed some losses, but were ultimately defeated. The last king, Teia, fell, ending the kingdom in 553. The kingdom's legacy includes its preservation of Roman administrative structures and its role in the complex power dynamics of post-Roman Europe.

Did You Know?

• Theodoric killed Odoacer with his own hands at a banquet on March 15, 493, after making a toast.
• Theodoric was named magister militum praesentalis and consul for 484 by Emperor Zeno.
• The Ostrogoths were mostly Homoian Christians ('Arians'), while the Roman population was Chalcedonian.
• Theodoric's daughters were wedded to the Visigothic king Alaric II and the Burgundian prince Sigismund.
• The last king of the Ostrogothic Kingdom was Teia.