Kingdom of the Ostrogoths
| Kingdom of the Ostrogoths | ||||||||||
| Vassal state of the Byzantine Empire | ||||||||||
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 The Ostrogothic Kingdom at its greatest extent.
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| Capital |
Ravenna (493 to 540) |
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| Languages | Vulgar Latin, Gothic | |||||||||
| Religion |
Arianism Chalcedonian Christianity |
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| Government | Monarchy | |||||||||
| King | ||||||||||
| • | 493–526 | Theoderic (first) | ||||||||
| • | 552–553 | Teia (last) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Late Antiquity | |||||||||
| • | Battles of Isonzo and Verona | 489 | ||||||||
| • | Fall of Ravenna | 493 | ||||||||
| • | Start of Gothic War | 535 | ||||||||
| • | Battle of Mons Lactarius | 553 | ||||||||
| Area | ||||||||||
| • | 493 | 525,000 km² (202,704 sq mi) | ||||||||
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| Today part of | ||||||||||
The Ostrogothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of Italy (Latin: Regnum Italiae), was established by the Ostrogoths in Italy and neighbouring areas from 493 to 553.
In Italy the Ostrogoths, led by Theoderic the Great, killed and replaced Odoacer, a Germanic soldier, erstwhile-leader of the foederati in Northern Italy, and the de facto ruler of Italy, who had deposed the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, Romulus Augustulus, in 476. Under Theoderic, its first king, the Ostrogothic kingdom reached its zenith, stretching from modern France in the west into modern Serbia in the southeast. Most of the social institutions of the late Western Roman Empire were preserved during his rule. Theodoric called himself Gothorum Romanorumque rex ("King of the Goths and Romans"), demonstrating his desire to be a leader for both peoples.
Starting in 535, the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire invaded Italy under Justinian I. The Ostrogothic ruler at that time, Witiges, could not defend successfully and was finally captured when the capital Ravenna fell. The Ostrogoths rallied around a new leader, Totila, and largely managed to reverse the conquest, but were eventually defeated. The last king of the Ostrogothic Kingdom was Teia.
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. But 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 Theoderic Amal, son of Theodemir of the Amals, was sent as a hostage to Constantinople, where he received a Roman education.
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Wikipedia