Editing Ostrogoths (section)

===War with Byzantium (535–554)===
{{Main article|Gothic War (535–554)}}

[[File:Theodahad 534 536 Ostrogoth minted in Rome.jpg|thumb|upright|Coin of [[Theodahad]] (534–536), minted in [[Rome]] – he wears the barbaric [[moustache]].]]

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.{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|p=334}} [[Provence]] was added to the dominion of the new Ostrogothic king Athalaric and through his daughter [[Amalasuntha]] who was named regent.{{sfn|Waldman|Mason|2006|p=576}} 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;{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|pp=332–333, 337–340}} however, the usurping ushered in more bloodshed. Atop this infighting, the Ostrogoths faced the doctrinal challenges incurred from their Arian Christianity, which both the aristocracy of Byzantium and the papacy strongly opposed—so much that it brought them together.{{sfn|Wallace-Hadrill|2004|p=36}}

The weakness of the Ostrogothic position in Italy now showed itself, particularly when Eastern Roman Emperor [[Justinian I]] enacted a law excluding pagans—among them Arian Christians and Jews—from public employment.{{sfn|Wallace-Hadrill|2004|p=36}} The Ostrogothic King Theodoric reacted by persecuting Catholics.{{sfn|Wallace-Hadrill|2004|p=36}} Nonetheless, Justinian always strove to restore as much of the Western Roman Empire as he could and certainly would not pass up the opportunity. Launched on both land and sea, Justinian began his war of reconquest.{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|p=339}} In 535, he commissioned [[Belisarius]] to attack the Ostrogoths following the success he had in North Africa against the Vandals.{{sfn|Halsall|2007|pp=500–501}} It was Justinian's intention to recover Italy and Rome from the Goths.{{sfn|Halsall|2007|p=501}} 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.{{sfn|Oman|1902|pp=89–90}} After recuperating from siege warfare, Belisarius marched north, taking Mediolanum ([[Milan]]) and the Ostrogoth capital of Ravenna in 540.{{sfn|Halsall|2007|pp=502–503}}
[[File:Totila fa dstruggere la città di Firenze.jpg|thumb|left|Totila razes the walls of [[Florence]]: illumination from the Chigi manuscript of [[Giovanni Villani|Villani's ''Cronica'']]]]
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 since Justinian wanted to make Witiges a vassal king in Trans-Padane Italy.{{sfn|Oman|1902|p=91}} 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.{{sfn|Halsall|2007|p=503}} 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.{{sfn|Bauer|2010|p=208}} With the fall of Ravenna, the capital of the kingdom was brought to [[Pavia]], which became the last center of Ostrogothic resistance against Eastern Roman rule.{{sfn|Thompson|1982|pp=95–96}}


As soon as Belisarius was gone, the remaining Ostrogoths elected a new king named [[Totila]]. Under the brilliant command of Totila, the Goths were able to reassert themselves to a degree. For a period of nearly ten years, control for Italy became a seesaw battle between Byzantine and Ostrogothic forces.{{sfn|Bauer|2010|p=210}} 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.{{sfn|Halsall|2007|p=504}}

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 [[Battle of Taginae|Taginaei]], where he was slain.{{sfn|Halsall|2007|p=504}} 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.{{sfn|Oman|1902|pp=95–96}} 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".{{sfn|Cantor|1994|p=105–107}} 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.{{sfn|Halsall|2007|pp=505–512}} Military success or defeat and political legitimacy were interrelated in barbarian society.{{sfn|Halsall|2007|p=512}}

Nevertheless, according to Roman historian [[Procopius of Caesarea]], the Ostrogothic population was allowed to live peacefully in Italy with their Rugian allies under Roman sovereignty. They later joined the Lombards during their conquest of Italy.{{efn|''De Bello Gothico'' IV 32, pp.&nbsp;241–245; this reference stems from the pen of the Byzantine historian, Procopius, who accompanied Justinian's leading general, Belisarius, on his exploits between 527 and 540. This included the campaigns against the Ostrogoths, which is the subject of ''De Bello Gothico''.}}