Ostrogoths

The Ostrogoths (Latin: Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were the eastern

branch of the older Goths (the other major branch being the Visigoths).
The Ostrogoths traced their origins to the Greutungi – a branch of the
Goths who had migrated southward from theBaltic Sea and established
a kingdom north of the Black Sea, during the 3rd and 4th centuries.
They built an empire stretching from the Black Sea to the Baltic. The
Ostrogoths were probably literate in the 3rd century, and their trade Mosaic depicting the palace of Theodoric the
with the Romans was highly developed. Their Danubian kingdom Great in his palace chapel ofSan Apollinare
Nuovo
reached its zenith under King Ermanaric, who is said to have
committed suicide at an old age when the Huns attacked his people and
subjugated them in about 370.

After their annexation by the Huns, little is heard of the Ostrogoths for about 80 years, after which they reappear in Pannonia on the
middle Danube River as federates of the Romans. After the collapse of the Hun empire after the Battle of Nedao (453), Ostrogoths
migrated westwards towards Illyria and the borders of Italy, while some remained in the Crimea (where the Crimean Ostrogoths
existed as a distinct people until at least the 16th century). During the late 5th and 6th centuries, under Theodoric the Great most of
the Ostrogoths moved first to Moesia (c. 475–488) and later conquered the Kingdom of Italy of the Germanic warrior Odoacer. In
493, Theodoric the Great established akingdom in Italy.

A period of instability then ensued, tempting the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian to declare war on the Ostrogoths in 535 in an
effort to restore the former western provinces of the Roman Empire. Initially, the Byzantines were successful, but under the
leadership of Totila, the Goths reconquered most of the lost territory until Totila's death at the Battle of Taginae. The war lasted for
almost 21 years and caused enormous damage and depopulation of Italy. The remaining Ostrogoths were absorbed into the Lombards
who established a kingdom in Italy in 568.

Contents
Divided Goths: Greuthungi and Ostrogothi
Etymology
Language
History
Foundation
Hunnic invasions
Post-Hunnic movements
Kingdom in Italy
War with Byzantium (535–554)
Culture
Ostrogothic rulers
Amal dynasty
Later kings
See also
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
Divided Goths: Greuthungi and Ostrogothi
Map of Scandza according to
Jordanes: the Ostrogothic homeland
was located in the south ofSweden
A division of the Goths is first attested in 291.[1][a] The Tervingi are first attested
around that date; the Greuthungi, Vesi, and Ostrogothi are all attested no earlier than
388.[2] The Greuthungi are first named by Ammianus Marcellinus, writing no earlier
than 392 and perhaps later than 395, and basing his account on the words of a
Tervingian chieftain who is attested as early as 376.[2] The Ostrogoths are first
named in a document dated September 392 from Milan.[2] Claudian mentions that
they together with theGreuthungi inhabit Phrygia.[1] According to Herwig Wolfram,
the primary sources either use the terminology of Tervingi/Greuthungi or
Vesi/Ostrogothi and never mix the pairs.[2] All four names were used together, but
the pairing was always preserved, as inGruthungi, Ostrogothi, Tervingi, Vesi.[3] That
the Tervingi were the Vesi/Visigothi and the Greuthungi the Ostrogothi is also
supported by Jordanes.[4] He identified the Visigothic kings from Alaric I to Alaric
II as the heirs of the fourth-century Tervingian king Athanaric and the Ostrogothic
kings from Theodoric the Great to Theodahad as the heirs of the Greuthungian king
Ermanaric. This interpretation, however, though very common among scholars
today, is not universal. According to the Jordanes'Getica, around 400 the Ostrogoths
were ruled by Ostrogotha and derived their name from this "father of the
Ostrogoths", but modern historians often assume the converse, that Ostrogotha was
named after the people.[2]

Both Herwig Wolfram and Thomas Burns conclude that the terms Tervingi and Greuthungi were geographical identifiers used by
each tribe to describe the other.[3][5] This terminology therefore dropped out of use after the Goths were displaced by the Hunnic
invasions. In support of this, Wolfram cites Zosimus as referring to a group of "Scythians" north of the Danube who were called
"Greuthungi" by the barbarians north of the Ister.[6] Wolfram asserts that it was the Tervingi who remained behind after the Hunnic
conquest.[6] He further believes that the terms "Vesi" and "Ostrogothi" were used by the peoples to boastfully describe themselves.[3]
[5]
On this understanding, the Greuthungi and Ostrogothi were more or less the same people.

The nomenclature of Greuthungi and Tervingi fell out of use shortly after 400.[2] In general, the terminology of a divided Gothic
people disappeared gradually after they entered the Roman Empire.[3] The term "Visigoth", however, was an invention of the sixth
century. Cassiodorus, a Roman in the service of Theodoric the Great, invented the termVisigothi to match Ostrogothi, which terms he
thought of as "western Goths" and "eastern Goths" respectively.[3] The western-eastern division was a simplification and a literary
device of sixth-century historians where political realities were more complex.[7] Furthermore, Cassiodorus used the term "Goths" to
refer only to the Ostrogoths, whom he served, and reserved the geographical term "Visigoths" for the Gallo-Hispanic Goths. This
usage, however, was adopted by the Visigoths themselves in their communications with the Byzantine Empire and was in use in the
seventh century.[7]

Other names for the Goths abounded. A "Germanic" Byzantine or Italian author referred to one of the two peoples as the Valagothi,
meaning "Roman [walha] Goths".[7] In 484 the Ostrogoths had been called the Valameriaci (men of Valamir) because they followed
Theodoric, a descendant of Valamir.[7] This terminology survived in the Byzantine East as late as the reign of Athalaric, who was
called του Ουαλεμεριακου (tou Oualemeriakou) byJohn Malalas.[8]

Etymology
The Gothic name makes its first appearance sometime between 16 and 18 AD with earlier indications related to the Guti of Scandia
or possibly attributable to the Gutones.[9] Procopius wrote of the Gauts in Thule andCassiodorus mentioned the Gauthigoths amid his
list of Scandinavian peoples.[10] Two distinct groups of Gothic peoples are first attested to in 291, the western Tervingi-Vesi and the
eastern Greutungi-Ostrogothi.[2] "Greuthungi" may mean "steppe dwellers" or "people of the pebbly coasts".[3] The root greut- is
probably related to the Old English greot, meaning "flat".[11] This is supported by evidence that geographic descriptors were
commonly used to distinguish people living north of the Black Sea both before and
after Gothic settlement there and by the lack of evidence for an earlier date for the
.[12]
name pair Tervingi-Greuthungi than the late third century

However, that the name "Greuthungi" has pre-Pontic, possibly Scandinavian, origins
has support.[12] It may mean "rock people", (related to the Old Norse grjut huningi)
to distinguish the Ostrogoths from the Geats (referred as Goths in Scandinavia) from
Götaland (Gothland) in southern Sweden.[13] The Roman historian Jordanes refers
to an Evagreotingi (Greuthung island) in Scandza, as part of his description of
Gothiscandza. It has also been suggested that Greuthungi may be related to certain
place names in Poland, but this has met with little support.[13]

"Ostrogothi" means "Goths of (or glorified by) the rising sun".[3] This has been
interpreted as "gleaming Goths" or "east Goths". By the 4th century the Ostrogoths
had developed a distinct language known as Gothic. Classified by linguists as an east
Germanic language, Gothic eventually died out sometime in the Middle Ages as the
Visigoths and Ostrogoths were absorbed by otherEuropean peoples.[14]
Ostrogothic bow-fibulae (c. 500) from
Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Language
While none of the eastern Germanic languages are still spoken, Gothic is the only
one with "continuous texts" remaining. Singularly the most important work amid the surviving Gothic texts is the translation of the
Bible by the Visigothic bishop Ulfilas, comprising the earliest remnants of the Germanic languages known.[15] Smatterings of the
Gothic language can be found in Italian but its presence is minimal. A language related to Gothic was still spoken sporadically in
Crimea as late as the 16th and 17th centuries (Crimean Gothic language).[15] Much of the disappearance of the Gothic language is
[16]
attributable to the Goths' cultural and linguistic absorption by other European peoples during the Middle Ages.

History

Foundation
Mentioned in several sources up to the third century AD when they apparently split
into at least two groups, the Greuthungi in the east and Tervingi in the west, the two
Gothic tribes shared many aspects, especially recognizing a patron deity the Romans
named Mars. This so-called "split" or, more appropriately, resettlement of western
tribes into the Roman province of Dacia was a natural result of population saturation
of the area north of the Black Sea. The Goths in Dacia established a vast and
powerful kingdom during the third and fourth centuries between the Danube and the
Dniepr in what is now Romania, Moldova and western Ukraine. This was a multi- Traditional Götaland
tribal state ruled by a Gothic elite but inhabited by many other interrelated but multi- Island of Gotland
tongue tribes including the Iranian-speaking Sarmatians, the Germanic-speaking Wielbark Culture, early 3rd
Gepids, the Thracian-speaking Dacians, other minor Celtic and Thracian tribes and century
possibly early Slavs.[17] Unfortunately the exact geographical dividing line between Chernyakhov culture, early 4th
the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths is not known but in general terms, the Visigoths century
occupied Dacia, Moldavia and Walachia, whereas the Ostrogoths lived in the steppe Roman Empire
regions beyond the Dniester River, ruling over a large confederation of Germanic
and Scythian tribes, covering a vast territory in what is now Ukraine and areas of
[18]
southern Russia. Jordanes calls the realm Oium, or Aujum.
Hunnic invasions
The rise of the Huns around 370 overwhelmed the Gothic kingdoms.[19] Many of the Goths migrated into Roman territory in the
Balkans, while others remained north of the Danube under Hunnic rule. Frequently the Ostrogoths fought alongside both Alans and
Huns.[20] It was the Ostrogoths who were first subdued by the Huns.[21] Like other tribal peoples, they became one of the many
Hunnic vassals fighting in Europe, as in the Battle of Chalons in 451. Several uprisings against the Huns were suppressed. The
collapse of Hunnic power in the 450s led to further violent upheaval in the lands north of the Danube, during which the Ostrogoths
expanded slowly southwards into the Balkans, and then westwards towards Illyria and the borders of Italy. Their rule was marked by
turmoil with hostile neighbors all around and the land they acquired between Vindobona (Vienna) and Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica)
[22]
was not well managed, a fact which rendered the Ostrogoths dependent upon Constantinople for subsidies.

Post-Hunnic movements
Their recorded history begins with their independence from the remains of the Hunnic Empire following the death of Attila the Hun
in 453. Now allied with the Huns' former vassals, the Gepids, the Ostrogoths under Theodemir broke the Hunnic power of Attila's
[23]
sons in the Battle of Nedao in 454, although the Ostrogoth contribution to the battle's success was minimal.

The Ostrogoths now entered into relations with the Empire, and were settled on lands in Pannonia, becoming foederati (federates) to
the Byzantines.[19] During the greater part of the latter half of the 5th century, the East Goths played in south-eastern Europe nearly
the same part that the Western Goths (Visigoths) played in the century before. They were seen going to and from, in every
conceivable relation of friendship and enmity with the Eastern Roman power, until, just as the West Goths had done before them,
they passed from the East to the West. Unchallenged by the now-dissipated power of the Huns, the Ostrogoths under Valamir were
themselves powerful and absorbed elements from other, smaller tribes, such as the Scirii. A dispute with the Eastern Roman emperor
at Constantinople caused Valamir to lead his Ostrogoths against him. With the barbarians at the gates, Emperor Leo I agreed to pay an
annual subsidy of gold.[24]

Kingdom in Italy
The greatest of all Ostrogothic rulers, the future Theodoric the Great
(whose Gothic name meant "leader of the people") of Ostrogothic
Kingdom (Regnum Italiae, "Kingdom of Italy")[b], was born to
Theodemir in or about 454, soon after the Battle of Nedao. His
childhood was spent at Constantinople as a diplomatic hostage,
where he was carefully educated.[25] The early part of his life was
taken up with various disputes, intrigues and wars within the
Byzantine empire, in which he had as his rival Theodoric Strabo of
the Thracian Goths, a distant relative of Theodoric the Great and son Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy
of Triarius. This older but lesser Theodoric seems to have been the
chief, not the king, of that branch of the Ostrogoths that had settled
within the Empire earlier. Theodoric the Great, as he is sometimes distinguished, was sometimes the friend, sometimes the enemy, of
the Empire.[19] In the former case he was clothed with various Roman titles and offices, as patrician and consul; but in all cases alike
he remained the national Ostrogothic king.[24] Theodoric is also known for his attainment of support from the Catholic Church and
on one occasion, he even helped resolve a disputed papal election.[26] During his reign, Theodoric, who was an Arian, allowed
freedom of religion, which had not been done before. However, he did try to appease the Pope and tried to keep his alliance with the
church strong. He saw the Pope as an authority not only in the church but also over Rome itself. His ability to work well with the
.[27]
Italy's nobles, members of the Roman Senate, and the Catholic Church all helped facilitate his acceptance as the ruler of Italy

Theodoric sought to revive Roman culture and government and in doing so, profited the Italian people.[28] It was in both characters
together that he set out in 488, by commission from the Byzantine emperor Zeno, to recover Italy from Odoacer. In 489, the Rugii, a
Germanic tribe who dwelt in the Hungarian Plain, joined the Ostrogoths in their invasion of Italy under their leader Frideric.[29] By
493 Ravenna was taken, where Theodoric would set up his capital. It was also at this time that Odoacer was killed by Theodoric's
own hand.[30] Ostrogothic power was fully established over Italy, Sicily, Dalmatia and the lands to the north of Italy. Around 500,
Theodoric celebrated his thirtieth anniversary as King of the Ostrogoths.[31] In order to improve their chances against the Roman
Empire the Ostrogoths and Visigoths began again to unite in what became a loose confederation of Germanic peoples.[32] The two
branches of the nation were soon brought closer together; after he was forced to become regent of the Visigothic kingdom of
Toulouse, the power of Theodoric was practically extended over a large part of Gaul and over nearly the whole of the Iberian
peninsula. Theodoric forged alliances with the Visigoths, Alamanni, Franks and Burgundians, some of which were accomplished
through diplomatic marriages.[32]

The Ostrogothic dominion was once again as far-reaching and splendid as it was in the time of Hermanaric; however it was now of a
wholly different character. The dominion of Theodoric was not a barbarian but a civilized power. His twofold position ran through
everything. He was at once king of the Goths and successor, though without any imperial titles, of the Western Roman emperors. The
two nations, differing in manners, language and religion, lived side by side on the soil of Italy; each was ruled according to its own
[24] Due to his ability to foster and leverage
law, by the prince who was, in his two separate characters, the common sovereign of both.
relations among the various Germanic kingdoms, the Byzantines began to fear Theodoric's power, which led to an alliance between
the Byzantine emperor and the Frankish king, Clovis I, a pact designed to counteract and ultimately overthrow the Ostrogoths. In
some ways Theodoric may have been overly accommodating to both the Romans and other Gothic people as he placated Catholics
and Arian Christians alike. Historian Herwig Wolfram suggests that Theodoric's efforts in trying to appease Latin and barbarian
cultures in kind brought about the collapse of Ostrogothic predominance and also resulted in the "end of Italy as the heartland of late
antiquity."[33] All the years of creating a protective perimeter around Italy were broken down by the Franco-Byzantine coalition.
Theodoric was able to temporarily salvage some of his realm with the assistance of the Thuringians.[34] Realizing that the Franks
were the most significant threat to the Visigothic empire as well, Alaric II, (who was the son-in-law of Theodoric) enlisted the aide of
the Burgundians and fought against the Franks at the urging of the magnates of his tribe, but this choice proved an error and he
[35]
allegedly met his end at the hand of the Frankish king, Clovis.

A time of confusion followed the death of Alaric II who was slain during the Battle of Vouillé. The Ostrogothic king Theodoric
stepped in as the guardian of his grandson Amalaric,[36] and preserved for him all his Iberian and a fragment of his Gallic dominion.
Toulouse passed to the Franks but the Goth kept Narbonne and its district and Septimania, which was the last part of Gaul held by the
Goths, keeping the name of Gothia for many years. While Theodoric lived, the Visigothic kingdom was practically united to his own
dominion. He seems also to have claimed a kind of protectorate over the Germanic powers generally, and indeed to have practically
exercised it, except in the case of the Franks. From 508–511 under Theodoric's command, the Ostrogoths marched on Gaul as the
Vandal king of Carthage and Clovis made concerted efforts to weaken his hold on the Visigoths.[37] On the death of Theodoric in
526, the eastern and western Goths were once again divided.[24][38] By the late 6th century, the Ostrogoths lost their political identity
and assimilated into other Germanic tribes.[32]

The picture of Theodoric's rule is drawn for us in the state papers drawn up, in
his name and in the names of his successors, by his Roman minister
Cassiodorus. The Goths seem to have been thick on the ground in northern
Italy; in the south they formed little more than garrisons.[24] In Theodoric's
view, the Goth was the armed protector of the peaceful Roman; the Gothic
king had the toil of government, while the Roman consul had the honour. All
the forms of the Roman administration went on, and the Roman policy and
culture had great influence on the Goths themselves. The rule of the prince
over distinct nations in the same land was necessarily despotic; the old
Germanic freedom was necessarily lost. Such a system needed a Theodoric to
The mausoleum of Theodoric the Great in
carry it on. It broke in pieces after his death.[24] Meanwhile, the Frankish king
Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna
Clovis fought protracted wars against various enemies while consolidating his
rule, forming the embryonic stages of what would eventually become
Medieval Europe.[39]

War with Byzantium (535–554)

Absent the unifying presence of Theodoric, the Ostrogoths and Visigoths were
unable to consolidate their realms despite their common Germanic kinship. The few
instances where they acted together after this time are as scattered and incidental as
they were before. Amalaric succeeded to the Visigothic kingdom in Iberia and
Septimania. Theodoric's grandson Athalaric took on the mantle as king of the
Ostrogoths for the next five years.[40] Provence was added to the dominion of the
new Ostrogothic king Athalaric and through his daughter Amalasuntha who was
named regent.[32] Both were unable to settle disputes among Gothic elites.
Theodahad, cousin of Amalasuntha and nephew of Theodoric through his sister
, took
over and slew them;[41] however the usurping ushered in more bloodshed.

The weakness of the Ostrogothic position in Italy now showed itself. The Eastern
Coin of Theodahad (534-536),
Roman Emperor Justinian I always strove to restore as much of the Western Roman minted in Rome-he wears the
Empire as he could and certainly would not pass up the opportunity. Launched on barbaric moustache.
both land and sea, Justinian began his war of reconquest.[42] In 535, he
commissioned Belisarius to attack the Ostrogoths following the success he had in
North Africa against the Vandals.[43] It was Justinian's intention to recover Italy and Rome from the Goths.[44] Belisarius quickly
captured Sicily and then crossed into Italy, where he captured Naples and Rome in December of 536. Sometime during the spring of
537, the Goths marched on Rome with upwards of 100,000 men under the leadership of Witiges and laid siege to the city, albeit
unsuccessfully. Despite outnumbering the Romans by a five-to-one margin, the Goths could not loose Belisarius from the former
western capital of the Empire.[45] After recuperating from siege warfare, Belisarius marched north, taking Mediolanum (Milan) and
the Ostrogoth capital of Ravenna in 540.[46]

With the attack on Ravenna, Witiges and his men were trapped in the Ostrogothic capital. Belisarius proved more capable at siege
warfare than his rival Witiges had been at Rome and the Ostrogoth ruler, who was also dealing with Frankish enemies, was forced to
surrender, but not without terms. Belisarius refused to grant any concessions save unconditional surrender in view of the fact that
Justinian wanted to make Witiges a vassal king in Trans-Padane Italy.[47] This condition made for something of an impasse.

A faction of the Gothic nobility pointed out that their own king Witiges,
who had just lost, was something of a weakling and they would need a
new one. Eraric, the leader of the group, endorsed Belisarius and the rest
of the kingdom agreed, so they offered him their crown.[48] Belisarius
was a soldier, not a statesman, and still loyal to Justinian. He made as if
to accept the offer, rode to Ravenna to be crowned, and promptly arrested
the leaders of the Goths and reclaimed their entire kingdom—no halfway
settlements—for the Empire. Fearful that Belisarius might set himself up
a permanent kingship should he consolidate his conquests, Justinian
recalled him to Constantinople with Witiges in tow.[49]

As soon as Belisarius was gone, the remaining Ostrogoths elected a new

king named Totila. Under the brilliant command of Totila, the Goths
Totila razes the walls ofFlorence: illumination were able to reassert themselves to a degree. For a period of nearly ten
from the Chigi manuscript ofVillani's Cronica years, control for Italy became a seesaw battle between Byzantine and
Ostrogothic forces.[50] Totila eventually recaptured all of northern Italy
and even drove the Byzantines out of Rome, thereby affording him the
opportunity to take political control of the city, partly by executing the Roman senatorial order. Many of them fled eastwards for
Constantinople.[51]

By 550 Justinian was able to put together an enormous force, an assembly designed to recover his losses and subdue any Gothic
resistance. In 551, the Roman navy destroyed Totila's fleet and in 552 an overwhelming Byzantine force under Narses entered Italy
from the north. Attempting to surprise the invading Byzantines, Totila gambled with his forces at Taginaei, where he was slain.[51]
Broken but not yet defeated, the Ostrogoths made one final stand at Campania under a chief named Teia, but when he was also killed
in battle at Nuceria they finally capitulated. On surrendering, they informed Narses that evidently "the hand of God was against
them" and so they left Italy for the northern lands of their fathers.[52] After that final defeat, the Ostrogothic name wholly died. The
nation had practically evaporated with Theodoric's death. "The leadership of western Europe therefore passed by default to the
Franks. Consequently, Ostrogothic failure and Frankish success were crucial for the development of early medieval Europe, for
Theodoric had made it "his intention to restore the vigor of Roman government and Roman culture".[53] The chance of forming a
national state in Italy by the union of Roman and Germanic elements, such as those that arose in Gaul, in Iberia, and in parts of Italy
under Lombard rule, was thus lost. The failures of the barbarian kingdoms to maintain control of the regions they conquered were
partly the result of leadership vacuums like those which resulted from the death of Theodoric (also the lack of male succession) and
Totila but additionally as a consequence of political fragmentation amid the Germanic tribes as their loyalties wavered between their
kin and their erstwhile enemies. Frankish entry onto the geopolitical map of Europe also bears into play: had the Ostrogoths attained
more military success against the Byzantines on the battlefield by combining the strength of other Germanic tribes, this could have
changed the direction of Frankish loyalty.[54] Military success or defeat and political legitimacy were interrelated in barbarian
society.[55]

Nevertheless, according to Roman historianProcopius of Caesarea, the Ostrogothic population was allowed to live peacefully in Italy
with their Rugian allies under Roman sovereignty .[c]
. They later joined the Lombards during their conquest of Italy

Culture
Of Gothic literature in the Gothic language we have the Bible of Ulfilas and
some other religious writings and fragments. Of Gothic legislation in Latin we
have the edict of Theodoric of the year 500, and theVariae of Cassiodorus may
pass as a collection of the state papers of Theodoric and his immediate
successors. Among the Visigoths, written laws had already been put forth by
Euric. Alaric II put forth a Breviarium of Roman law for his Roman subjects;
but the great collection of Visigothic laws dates from the later days of the
monarchy, being put forth by King Reccaswinth about 654. This code gave
occasion to some well-known comments by Montesquieu and Gibbon, and has
been discussed by Savigny (Geschichte des römischen Rechts, ii. 65) and
various other writers. They are printed in the Monumenta Germaniae, leges,
tome i. (1902).[56]

Of special Gothic histories, besides that of Jordanes, already so often quoted,

there is the Gothic history of Isidore, archbishop of Seville, a special source of Ostrogoth ear jewels, Metropolitan
the history of the Visigothic kings down to Suinthila (621-631). But all the Museum of Art
Latin and Greek writers contemporary with the days of Gothic predominance
make their constant contributions. Not for special facts, but for a general
estimate, no writer is more instructive than Salvian of Marseilles in the 5th century, whose work, De Gubernatione Dei, is full of
passages contrasting the vices of the Romans with the virtues of the "barbarians", especially of the Goths. In all such pictures we
must allow a good deal for exaggeration both ways, but there must be a groundwork of truth. The chief virtues that the Roman
Catholic presbyter praises in the Arian Goths are their chastity, their piety according to their own creed, their tolerance towards the
Catholics under their rule, and their general good treatment of their Roman subjects. He even ventures to hope that such good people
may be saved, notwithstanding their heresy. This image must have had some basis in truth, but it is not very surprising that the later
[56]
Visigoths of Iberia had fallen away from Salvian's somewhat idealistic picture.

Ostrogothic rulers

Amal dynasty
 Valamir r. 447 – c. 465
Theodemir r. c. 465 – 475
Theodoric the Great r. 475–526
Athalaric r. 526–534
Theodahad r. 534–536

Later kings
Witiges r. 536–540
Ildibad r. 540–541
Eraric r. 541
Totila (also Baduila) r. 541–552
Theia (also Teia(s), Teja) r. 552–553

See also
List of Germanic tribes
Ostrogothic Kingdom
Gothic War (535–554)
Chernyakhov culture
Oium
Wielbark culture

References

Notes
a. Panegyrici Latini XI 17.1 (dated 291)
b. Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator , Variae, Lib. II., XLI. Luduin regi Francorum Theodericus rex.(http://w
ww.thelatinlibrary.com/cassiodorus/varia2.shtml))
c. De Bello Gothico IV 32, pp. 241–245.

Citations
1. Wolfram 1988, p. 24, fn52.
2. Wolfram 1988, p. 24.
3. Wolfram 1988, p. 25.
4. Heather 1996, pp. 52–57, 300–301.
5. Burns 1984, p. 44.
6. Wolfram 1988, p. 387, fn57.
7. Wolfram 1988, p. 26.
8. Wolfram 1988, p. 389, fn67.
9. Wolfram 1988, p. 20.
10. Wolfram 1988, p. 21.
11. Burns 1984, p. 30.
12. Wolfram 1988, pp. 387–388, fn58.
13. Wolfram 1988, p. 387, fn58.
14. Waldman & Mason 2006, p. 574.
15. Dalby 1999, p. 229.
16. Waldman & Mason 2006, p. 572.
17. Encyclopædia Britannica—Ostrogoths (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/434454/Ostrogoth)
18. Bury 2000, p. 25.
19. Waldman & Mason 2006, p. 575.
20. Todd 1999, p. 177.
21. Bury 2000, p. 55.
22. Todd 1999, p. 178.
23. Burns 1984, p. 52.
24. De Puy 1899, p. 2865.
25. Backman 2008, p. 68.
26. Frassetto 2003, p. 338.
27. Frassetto 2003, pp. 338–339.
28. Cantor 1994, p. 109.
29. Waldman & Mason 2006, p. 665.
30. Waldman & Mason 2006, pp. 575–576.
31. Bury 2000, p. 178.
32. Waldman & Mason 2006, p. 576.
33. Wolfram 1988, p. 332.
34. Wolfram 1997, pp. 218–221.
35. Wolfram 1997, p. 155.
36. Larned 1895, p. 134.
37. Wolfram 1997, p. 220.
38. Wolfram 1997, p. 225.
39. Collins 1999, pp. 116–137.
40. Wolfram 1988, p. 334.
41. Wolfram 1988, pp. 332–333, 337–340.
42. Wolfram 1988, p. 339.
43. Halsall 2007, pp. 500–501.
44. Halsall 2007, p. 501.
45. Oman 1902, pp. 89–90.
46. Halsall 2007, pp. 502–503.
47. Oman 1902, p. 91.
48. Halsall 2007, p. 503.
49. Bauer 2010, p. 208.
50. Bauer 2010, p. 210.
51. Halsall 2007, p. 504.
52. Oman 1902, pp. 95–96.
53. Cantor 1994, p. 105–107.
54. Halsall 2007, pp. 505–512.
55. Halsall 2007, p. 512.
56. Chisholm 1910, p. 275.

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