Goar

Goar
King of the Alans
Reign	before 406 – late 440s
Successor	Sangiban

Goar (born before 390, died between 446 and 450) was a leader of the Alans in 5th-century Gaul. He led his followers over the Rhine during the multi-tribe invasion of Gaul in 406, but quickly joined the Romans, and subsequently played a role in the internal politics of Gaul.

Goar is first mentioned in Gregory of Tours's description of the barbarian invasion across the Rhine on December 31, 406. A number of tribes took part in this invasion, including Goar's Alans, another party of Alans led by Respendial, the Asding Vandals led by Godigisel, the Siling Vandals, and several groups of Suevi. It is not stated where these groups originated from, though most historians identify these Alans with those settled by Gratian in Pannonia c. 380.

According to Gregory, the Roman-allied Franks attacked the Asding Vandals by Mainz while they were in the midst of crossing, killed Godigisel, and were on the verge of exterminating the tribe. But at that point the other Alan king, Respendial, came to the Vandals' rescue and defeated the Franks, "although Goar had gone over to the Romans." It's unclear from Gregory's account whether Goar actually joined the Franks in fighting his co-invaders; but in any case, he remained in Gaul while the Vandals, Sueves, and Respendial's Alans continued into Spain.

Goar next appears in 411, when he and Gundahar, king of the Burgundians, joined in setting up the Gallo-Roman senator Jovinus as Roman Emperor at Mainz (as described by Olympiodorus of Thebes). At the time, another usurping emperor, Constantine III, was being besieged at Arles by Honorius' general, the future emperor Constantius III. Constantine's supporters in northern Gaul defected to Jovinus, contributing to Constantine's defeat. Jovinus then threatened Constantius with "Burgundians, Alamanni, Franks, Alans, and all his army" (presumably including Goar). Jovinus' usurpation was put down two years later, however, when the Visigoths entered Gaul after their sack of Rome the previous year. The Visigothic king Athaulf, after a period of indecision, sided with the government of Honorius in Ravenna and defeated Jovinus at Valentia. The Alan and Burgundian response to this defeat is not recorded.

...
Wikipedia