The Gothic Wars

Whatever the catalyst was—murder of his friend Amalasuintha, or just a desire to avenge Rome and Romans against the Goths—Byzantine Emperor Justinian I decided it was time to re-assert control over the western provinces of the once mighty Roman Empire.

Justinian had recently recovered much of North Africa from the Vandals. That military action in 533 had been swift under his general Belisarius, and he hoped for a similar outcome in Italy. He prepared by sending gifts of gold to the Frankish rulers, hoping they would not interfere.

Justinian sent Belisarius to Sicily. He also sent Mundus to the Gothic province of Dalmatia. Mundus was a Gothic military commander who had been allied with Theodoric the Great. After Theodoric's death he allied himself with the Byzantine Empire. Mundus was mortally wounded did when a large Gothic army arrived. Theodahad, the current ruler of the Ostrogoths in Italy, emboldened by this victory, imprisoned the Byzantine ambassadors. Justinian sent a new leader and army that did manage to conquer Dalmatia, and told Belisarius to cross to talk. The Gothic army went to Italy.

Belisarius had landed with an army and navy in Sicily in 535. The conquest of Sicily was quick and easy, and Belisarius was ready to cross to Italy. Theodohad sent an offer to Justinian: have Sicily, recognize me as the ruler in Italy, and later you can have Italy.

Belisarius made good progress, heading northward and took Naples after three weeks, then Rome, entering through the Porta Asinaria (see illustration). Theodahad's inability to stem this tide angered dispeople, who deposed him and made Vitiges king in 536. Vitiges abandoned Rome for the Gothic capital of Ravenna, married Amalasuintha's daughter Matasuntha to tie himself more closely to the lineage of Theodoric the Great, and gathered a large army to march back to Rome.

Vitiges besieged Rome and the Byzantines, who did not have enough soldiers to exit the city and drive the Goths away. The siege of Rome lasted from March 537 until March 538. How it was finally broken will be told tomorrow.

Amalasuintha

The Ostrogothic prince Eutharic took as his wife Amalasuintha, daughter of Theodoric the Great. Eutharic was in line to succeed Theodoric as king of the Ostrogoths, but he died too soon. After Theodoric died, however, Eutharic's and Amalasuintha's son Athalaric became king.

There was a bit of a problem that the Ostrogoths had with Amalasuintha, however. When Theodoric died in 526, Athalaric (516 - 534) was only 10 years old, and so Amalasuintha as regent wielded the real power in the kingdom.

Although it was an Ostrogothic kingdom, Amalasuintha was raising her son with Roman education and customs. She was a friend of and influenced by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. Grammar, rhetoric, languages and studying the classics was being stressed, rather than military training and learning Gothic customs and history. A carved diptych from about 530 shows her along with Athalaric, portraying the equal importance she gave to their public roles. There is a bust on the Capitoline Hill thought to possibly be Amalasuintha (see illustration).

Athalaric started partying and drinking heavily. In 533, after a particularly large celebration, the rumor started that he was ill. He died in October 534 from (it is assumed) excessive drinking and diabetes.

With no clear successor, Amalasuintha arranged a consortium of regents to make it appear that she was sharing power publicly, but privately she still held the reins. She ruled as queen, and named her cousin Theodahad (a nephew of Theodoric) as a co-ruler, hoping that having a male alongside would look better.

Theodahad did not agree with Amalasuintha's pro-Roman approach to governing, however. He was a member of the Gothic aristocracy, with a very different idea of how to rule the kingdom. Amalasuintha executed some people whom she thought threatened her power. She also demeaned Theodahad, forcing him to return some lands in Tuscany that he had taken by force.

Eventually, Theodahad had her removed from power and imprisoned on an island in Lake Bolsena in central Italy. On 30 April 535, while she was bathing, she was murdered. Some scholars believe that the murder was arranged by Justinian's wife, Theodora, because she thought Amalasuintha was a love rival. Others claim it was done solely to create a context for Justinian to attack the Ostrogoths and try to annex much of Italy.

In fact, Justinian did launch the Gothic War as a result, so I guess we should talk about that next (and find out what happened to Theodahad). See you tomorrow.