Summary
Highlights
In 378 AD, Gothic refugees under Fritigern destroyed a Roman field army at Adrianople, resulting in the death of Emperor Valens. These Goths, fleeing the Huns, sought refuge in the Roman Empire. Over time, various Gothic groups, including the Ostrogoths, aimed for a secure home within Roman territory.
After Adrianople, Gothic warbands integrated into the Roman army. Groups settled in Pannonia and Moesia as federated allies. In 386, another Greuthungi group was attacked while crossing the Danube, with survivors settling in Anatolia.
Alaric, a prominent Gothic leader, helped Theodosius defeat Eugenius in 394 but received little reward, causing resentment. The death of Theodosius sparked rivalries in the Roman court. Gainas, a Goth, eliminated Rufinus but alienated the Constantinopolitan elite. When Tribigild rebelled, Gainas joined him and marched on the capital, but public riots led to a massacre of Goths, causing Gainas to flee and die.
In 410 AD, Alaric's Goths sacked Rome, then crossed into Gallia, becoming known as "Visigoths." The Gothic groups remaining around the Danube became the "Ostrogoths." Many Eastern Goths came under Hunnic rule, fighting in Roman provinces. After Attila's death, the Goths gained independence. Theodemir's son, Theodoric, was born during this time.
As the Hunnic empire crumbled, Ostrogoths settled in Pannonia. Valamir, along with his brothers Vidimir and Theodemir, shared power. They raided Illyria until given tribute by Emperor Leo, sending young Theodoric to Constantinople as a hostage. After border conflicts and victories against the Suebi and other tribes, Theodoric returned, defeating Sarmatians and reconquering Singidunum.
Famine in Pannonia forced the Goths to migrate. Vidimir's group went west to Italia and merged with Visigoths. Theodemir's group went east, eventually settling in Macedonia. Theodoric peacefully succeeded his father. A rivalry emerged between Theodoric the Amal and Theodoric "Strabo" of the Thracian Goths for imperial favor.
Zeno supported Theodoric the Amal to attack Strabo, but the Goths did not receive promised reinforcements. After skirmishes and negotiations, Zeno sided with Strabo. Strabo later died in 481. Theodoric the Amal raided Thessaly and received the title of Magister Militum Praesentalis and consul from Zeno, ultimately uniting the Ostrogoths under Amali leadership by eliminating Rekitach, Strabo's son.
The Ostrogoths, facing insufficient imperial tributes, rebelled again. Theodoric allied with the Rugian king Frideric and besieged Constantinople. In 488, Theodoric and Zeno made a deal: Theodoric would defeat Odoacer in Italia and rule on behalf of the emperor, finally providing land for his people. The Ostrogoths departed from Novae.
The Ostrogoths faced hostile Gepids at the Ulca River, securing a victory. They defeated Odoacer at the Isonzo River and Verona. After betrayals and shifting alliances, including reinforcements from the Visigoths, Theodoric decisively defeated Odoacer at the Adda River, leading to a long siege of Ravenna. Odoacer attempted a sally but was pushed back. The Rugians under Frideric later defected but eventually returned to Ostrogothic allegiance. After a blockade, Odoacer surrendered in 493, agreeing to co-rule. Ten days later, Theodoric assassinated Odoacer and massacred his supporters, taking full control of Italia.
Theodoric married Audofleda, sister of Clovis. The Ostrogothic elite settled in urban centers like Ravenna and Rome. Theodoric revoked a decree against Italians who didn't support him and codified laws in the Edictum Theodorici, applying to both Goths and Romans. He released Burgundian prisoners and married his daughter to Gundobad's son, Sigismund, and ensured Liguria's recovery. Byzantium recognized Theodoric as King of Italia on behalf of the emperor in 497.
The Acacian schism, a doctrinal dispute between Rome and Constantinople, continued. Theodoric, as an Arian, mediated the papal election of Symmachus and Laurentius, eventually siding with Symmachus. He promoted religious toleration, building Arian churches while acknowledging Italia's Chalcedonian majority.
In 500 AD, Theodoric visited Rome, presenting himself as a benevolent monarch and restoring the annual grain subsidy. He forged alliances through marriages: his sister Amalafrida married the Vandal king Thrasamund, and his daughter Theodegotha married Alaric II of the Visigoths. The papal schism persisted until Theodoric definitively ended it by deposing Laurentius and exiling him, leaving Symmachus as pope.
Tensions rose in Gallia, leading to the Battle of Vouillé where Clovis defeated and killed Alaric II. Theodoric sought alliances with Heruli and Thuringians. The Ostrogoths intervened directly in Gallia, relieving the siege of Arelate and pushing back the Franco-Burgundian forces under General Ibba, solidifying Gothic positions in southern Gallia. The Byzantine imperial fleet supported the Franks by raiding Apulia.
Boethius, a Roman senator and scholar, became Consul and served in Theodoric's court. Theodoric helped Provence recover from war, reinstating the Praetorian Prefecture of Gallia. Gesalec, the Visigothic king, lost favor and was replaced by Amalaric, with Theodoric exercising tutelage over the Visigothic kingdom. Gesalec, attempting to regain power with Vandal support, was defeated and executed.
The Acacian schism ended in 519 with Justin I's ascension. Eutharic, Theodoric's son-in-law and chosen heir, became consul, symbolizing Theodoric's vision for his kingdom. However, Eutharic's early death, Sigismund's murder of Theodoric's grandson Sigeric, and Amalafrida's death in Vandal Africa dissolved Theodoric's alliance network. Relationships with Constantinople deteriorated due to persecutions of Arians and growing Roman senatorial influence. Theodoric's paranoia led to the execution of Boethius and the imprisonment of Pope John I.
The Ostrogoths retaliated against the Franks for Sigeric's murder, annexing Burgundian territory. Theodoric planned to build a fleet, but died in August 526, after ruling Italia for three decades. He was buried in a mausoleum in Ravenna. His teenage grandson Athalaric succeeded him with his mother Amalasuintha as regent. Amalasuintha pursued good relations with Constantinople and the Roman elite. The Visigoths under Amalaric ended their suzerainty to the Ostrogoths.
A brief papal schism occurred in 530, resolved with Dioscorus' death. Amalasuintha's attempt to educate Athalaric in Roman ways was resisted by the Ostrogothic nobility. Athalaric's premature death led Amalasuintha to appoint her cousin Theodohad as co-ruler. Theodohad, however, had Amalasuintha assassinated, giving Emperor Justinian a casus belli for war. Despite Theodohad's diplomatic efforts, war began with Roman invasions of Illyria and Sicily.
Belisarius swiftly conquered Sicily. Brutal fighting in Dalmatia led to gothic victories, but Salona was retaken by imperials. Theodohad's attempts at negotiation failed as he felt emboldened by a halt in Roman advances and a revolt in Africa. He surrendered Provence to the Franks for support. The imperials captured Naples after discovering a secret passage. The Gothic army, disillusioned with Theodohad's leadership, replaced him with Vitiges, who had Theodohad killed. Vitiges married Amalasuintha's daughter Mataswintha to legitimize his rule.
A Gothic counter-attack in Illyria failed to reclaim Salona. Vitiges, with 30,000 men, besieged Rome, leading to a year-long conflict. Despite outnumbering the Romans, the Goths struggled, and Vitiges' reputation declined. During the siege, he ordered a massacre of senators in Ravenna, pushing Cassiodorus to leave. After abandoning the siege of Rome and failing to recapture Ariminum, Vitiges' forces began to crumble.
Famines plagued Italia, and Mediolanum defected to the Romans. Uraias, Vitiges' nephew, recaptured Mediolanum with Burgundian aid, leading to a brutal massacre. In 539, Frankish king Theodebert invaded the Po valley, attacking both Romans and Goths, but withdrew due to disease. Auximum fell, and Ravenna was besieged. Vitiges, facing internal struggles and supply issues, offered peace to Justinian, but Belisarius refused. Belisarius then tricked Vitiges, captured him, and returned to Constantinople.
With Vitiges deposed, Ildibad became the new king, inflicting a decisive defeat on the imperial army at Treviso. Political rivalries led to the deaths of Ildibad and Uraias. Eraric, elevated by the Rugians, negotiated with Constantinople, alienating the Ostrogothic nobility who then supported Totila. Totila became king, decisively defeating the Romans at Faventia and continuing a winning streak against a disorganized Roman army weakened by an ongoing war with Persia and a plague.
Totila marched south, besieging Florentia and Naples, both falling to his forces. He continued military campaigns while negotiating with Constantinople, though his peace overtures were ultimately rejected by Justinian. The Ostrogoths besieged Rome, eventually capturing it after a failed relief attempt by Belisarius. Totila showed mercy but partially destroyed the city walls. Belisarius later reoccupied Rome, forcing Totila to return and face another unsuccessful attempt to retake the city.
In 548, after the deaths of Visigothic kings Theudis and Theudigisel, diplomatic ties with Hispania were severed. In 549, Totila recaptured Rome after bribing Isaurian soldiers and subsequently pillaged Sicily. Constantinople sent Germanus with a large army, but he died. A Gothic fleet raided imperial territory, conquering Corsica and Sardinia, but their siege of Ancona failed due to a decisive Roman naval victory. Narses, replacing Germanus, advanced into Italia, defeating and killing Totila at the Battle of Taginae in 552. Narses then captured Rome.
Teia succeeded Totila, but was defeated and killed at the Battle of Mons Lactarius. Although small pockets of resistance remained and the Franks invaded as Gothic allies, they were ultimately crushed by Narses. The Ostrogothic army capitulated at Campsa in 555. The last strongholds of Verona and Brixia fell in 562, marking the definitive end of the Ostrogothic kingdom. The remaining Ostrogoths either left Italia or disappeared from historical records.