Editing Theodoric the Great (section)

==Reign==
{{Campaignbox Conquest of Italy by Theoderic the Great}}
{{further|Ostrogothic Kingdom}}
[[File:Europe at the death of Theoderic the Great in 526.jpg|thumb|The Ostrogothic Kingdom (in yellow) at the death of Theodoric the Great (AD 526)]]
Seeking further gains, Theodoric frequently ravaged the provinces of the [[Eastern Roman Empire]], eventually threatening Constantinople itself. By 486, there was little disputing the open hostilities between Theodoric and Zeno. The emperor sought the assistance of the Bulgars, who were likewise defeated by Theodoric.{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|p=277}} In 487, Theodoric began his aggressive campaign against Constantinople, blockading the city, occupying strategically important suburbs, and cutting off its water supply; although it seems Theodoric never intended to occupy the city but instead, to use the assault as a means of gaining power and prestige from the Eastern Empire.{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|pp=277–278}}

The Ostrogoths needed a place to live and Zeno was having serious problems with [[Odoacer]]—the Germanic ''foederatus'' and King of Italy—who although ostensibly viceroy for Zeno, was menacing Byzantine territory and not respecting the rights of Roman citizens in Italy. In 488, Zeno ordered Theodoric to overthrow Odoacer. For this task, he received support from [[Rugii|Rugian]] king [[Frideric]], the son of Theodoric's cousin Giso. Theodoric moved with his people towards Italy in the autumn of 488.{{sfn|Heather|2013|p=50}} On the way he was opposed by the [[Gepids]], whom he [[Battle of Sirmium (489)|defeated]] at [[Sirmium]] in August 489.{{sfn|Heather|2013|p=50}} Arriving in Italy, Theodoric won the battles of [[Battle of Isonzo (489)|Isonzo]] and [[Battle of Verona (489)|Verona]] in 489.{{sfn|Heather|2013|pp=50–51}}

Once again, Theodoric was pressed by Zeno in 490 to attack [[Odoacer]].{{sfn|Rosenwein|2009|p=43}} Theodoric's army was [[Battle of Faenza (490)|defeated]] by Odoacer's forces at [[Faenza]] in 490, but regained the upper hand after securing victory in the [[Battle of the Adda River]] on 11 August 490.{{sfn|Heather|2013|p=51}} For several years, the armies of Odoacer and Theodoric vied for supremacy across the Italian peninsula.{{sfn|Delbrück|1990|p=289}} Theodoric [[Siege of Ravenna (490–493)|besieged]] Odoacer in Ravenna until 2 February 493, when a treaty was signed making the kings joint rulers of Italy.{{sfn|Heather|2013|p=51}} Theodoric entered Ravenna on 5 March 493,{{sfn|Elton|2018|p=221}} and a banquet celebrating the treaty was organized on 15 March.{{sfn|Heather|2013|p=51}} At this feast, Theodoric, after making a toast, drew his sword and struck Odoacer, splitting him in two from collarbone to thigh.{{sfn|Norwich|1988|p=179}} Theodoric had the king's most loyal followers slaughtered as well, making him the master of Italy.{{sfn|Halsall|2007|p=287}}

With Odoacer dead and his forces dispersed, Theodoric now faced the problem of settlement for his people.{{sfn|Burns|1991|p=80}} Concerned about thinning out the Amal line too much, Theodoric believed he could not afford to spread some 40,000 of his tribesmen across the entire Italian peninsula.{{sfn|Burns|1991|p=81}} Such considerations led him to the conclusion that it was best to settle the Ostrogoths in three concentrated areas: around [[Pavia]], Ravenna and [[Picenum]].{{sfn|Burns|1991|p=81}} Theodoric's kingdom was among the most "Roman" of the barbarian states and he successfully ruled most of Italy for thirty-three years following his treachery against Odoacer.{{sfn|James|2014|p=83}} He visited Rome in 500 where he stayed for 6 months and held games in the Circus, probably also in the Colosseum, and renewed the grain largesse to the Roman populace, which had perhaps been interrupted since the days of Odoacer.{{sfn|Hodgkin|1896|p=275}}{{efn|Despite how "Roman" Theodoric comes across in the sources, Wiemer highlights the near-total absence of women in Gothic military migrations and settlements in Italy. This male-dominated warrior culture influenced Gothic identity and governance structures, with implications for lineage, social norms, and the composition of Theodoric's court. This aspect is rarely noted in traditional accounts of the period.{{sfn|Wiemer|2023|p=445}} }} 
Theodoric's settlement policy involved granting Gothic warriors land in Italy through a modified version of the Roman ''hospitalitas'' system. According to Wiemer, this provided a means of rewarding Gothic loyalty while avoiding wholesale confiscation of Roman estates. However, it also entrenched social divisions and created enduring tensions.{{sfn|Wiemer|2023|pp=180–185}}
[[File:Theodoric brick.png|thumb|250px|left|Brick with the emblem of Theodoric, found in the [[Temple of Vesta]], Rome. It reads "+REG(nante) D(omino) N(ostro) THEODERICO [b]O[n]O ROM(a)E", which translates as ''With our master Theodoric the Good reigning in Rome [this brick was made]''.]]


Theodoric extended his hegemony over the [[Kingdom of the Burgundians|Burgundian]] and [[Vandal Kingdom|Vandal]] kingdoms (along with Visigothic royals) through marriage alliances. He had married the sister of the mighty Frankish king, [[Clovis I|Clovis]]—likely in recognition of Frankish power.{{sfn|James|2014|pp=86}} He sent a substantial dowry accompanied by a guard of 5,000 troops with his sister [[Amalafrida]] when she married the king of the Vandals and Alans, [[Thrasamund]].{{sfn|James|2014|pp=86–87}} These policies aimed to position Theodoric as the senior monarch among the western barbarian kings.{{sfn|Wiemer|2023|pp=230–238}} In 504–505, Theodoric extended his realms in the Balkans by defeating the Gepids, acquiring the province of Pannonia.{{sfn|Halsall|2007|p=287}} Theodoric became regent for the infant Visigothic king, his grandson [[Amalaric]], following the defeat of [[Alaric II]] by the Franks under Clovis in 507. The Franks were able to wrest control of [[Aquitaine]] from the Visigoths, but otherwise Theodoric was able to defeat their incursions.{{sfn|Heydemann|2016|pp=29–30}}{{sfn|James|2014|p=87}}

In 511, the [[Visigothic Kingdom]] was brought under Theodoric's direct control, forming a Gothic superstate that extended from the Atlantic to the Danube. While territories that were lost to the Franks remained that way, Theodoric concluded a peace arrangement with the heirs of the Frankish Kingdom once Clovis was dead.{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|p=245}} Additional evidence of the Gothic king's extensive royal reach include the acts of ecclesiastical councils that were held in Tarragona and Gerona; while both occurred in 516 and 517, they date back to the "regnal years of Theoderic, which seem to commence in the year 511".{{sfn|Collins|2004|p=41}}

Like Odoacer, Theodoric was ostensibly only a [[viceroy]] for the ''augustus'' in Constantinople, but he nonetheless adopted the trappings of imperial style, increasingly emphasizing his "neo-imperial status".{{sfn|Halsall|2007|p=290}} According to historian Peter Brown, Theodoric was in the habit of commenting that "An able Goth wants to be like a Roman; only a poor Roman would want to be like a Goth."{{sfn|Brown|1989|p=123}} Much like the representatives of the Eastern Empire, Theodoric chose to be clad in robes dyed purple, emulating the imperial colors and perhaps even to reinforce the imperial dispatch of the ''augustus'' [[Anastasius I Dicorus|Anastasius I]], which outlined Theodoric's position as an imperial colleague.{{sfn|Arnold|2014|p=96}} Chroniclers like Cassiodorus added a layer of legitimacy for Theodoric and the Amal tribe from which he came by casting them as cooperative participants in the greater history of the Mediterranean dating back to the era of [[Alexander the Great]].{{sfn|Brown|1989|p=128}} Though he did not adopt the title *imperator*, Theodoric employed many of the ceremonial and symbolic forms associated with Roman emperors, including triumphal entries (*adventus*), and formal addresses to the people (*adlocutio*) of Rome. Wiemer argues that this ceremonial adoption of imperial norms served to legitimize Theodoric’s rule in the eyes of Roman elites.{{sfn|Wiemer|2023|pp=15–16}} In reality—at least in part due to his formidable military—he was able to avoid imperial supervision, and dealings between the emperor and Theodoric were as equals. Unlike Odoacer, however, Theodoric respected the agreement he had made and allowed Roman citizens within his kingdom to be subject to Roman law and the Roman judicial system.{{sfn|Johnson|1988|p=74}} The Goths, meanwhile, lived under their own laws and customs. Theodoric preserved legal distinctions between Goths and Romans by maintaining separate legal traditions. Roman subjects continued to be governed by Roman law, while Gothic military settlers operated under Gothic customary law. This legal bifurcation, according to Wiemer, was central to Theodoric’s vision of coexistence and order in his kingdom. {{sfn|Wiemer|2023|pp=130–135}} Historian Hans-Ulrich Wiemer characterizes Theodoric's rule as based on a principle of “integration through separation,” whereby the Ostrogoths and the Roman population maintained distinct legal and cultural spheres. While Goths served primarily in military roles under their own legal codes, the Roman population continued to be governed by Roman law and staffed the civil administration. This dual structure allowed Theodoric to preserve ethnic identities while ensuring administrative stability in Italy.{{sfn|Wiemer|2023|pp=445–446}} In 519, when a mob had burned down the [[synagogue]]s of Ravenna, Theodoric ordered the town to rebuild them at its own expense.{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=421}}
[[File:Map of The Ostrogothic Kingdom in 523 AD.png|thumb|right|350x350px|Theodoric's empire at the height of its power in 523, with territory marked in blue ruled directly by Theodoric and light blue areas under his hegemony]]
Theodoric experienced difficulties before his death. He had married off his daughter [[Amalasuintha]] to the Visigoth [[Eutharic]], but Eutharic died in August 522 or 523, so no lasting dynastic connection of Ostrogoths and Visigoths was established, which highlighted the tensions between the Eastern Empire and the West.{{sfn|Halsall|2007|p=291}} The new ''augustus'', [[Justin I]]—who replaced Anastasius, a man with whom Theodoric had good relations—was under the influence of his nephew [[Justinian I|Justinian]]; somehow, imperial views hardened against the West and talk of Rome's fall emerged during this period, leading to questions about the legitimacy of barbarian rule.{{sfn|Halsall|2007|p=291}} 

Theodoric's good relations with the [[Roman Senate]] deteriorated due to a presumed senatorial conspiracy in 522, and, in 523, Theodoric had the philosopher and court official [[Boethius]] and Boethius' father-in-law [[Quintus Aurelius Memmius Symmachus|Symmachus]] arrested on charges of treason related to the alleged plot.{{sfn|Halsall|2007|pp=291–292}} For his ostensible role, Theodoric had Boethius executed in 524.{{sfn|Brown|1989|p=132}} Although Theodoric initially promoted religious toleration between Arian Goths and Catholic Romans, tensions escalated in the final years of his reign. The arrest and execution of the Roman senator Boethius on charges of treason marked a turning point. In some ways, this event reflects Theodoric’s increasing political paranoia and declining trust in the Roman aristocracy.{{sfn|Wiemer|2023|pp=331–336, 379–389}}{{efn|Historian Johannes Fried points out that no proof ever emerged that Boethius had committed a crime, but he was brought to his end by the mistrust of Theodoric, who Fried argues was guilty of misjudgment and likely "regretted" his actions.{{sfn|Fried|2015|p=28}}}}{{efn|Two years later (526) Symmachus was also put to death.{{sfn|Boethius|2000|p=xiv}}}}

Despite the complex relationship between Theodoric and his son-in-law, the [[Catholic]] Burgundian king [[Sigismund of Burgundy|Sigismund]], the two enjoyed a mutual peace for fifteen years.{{sfn|Wolfram|1997|p=256}} Then in 522, Sigismund killed his own son—Theodoric's grandson—Sigeric; an act which infuriated Theodoric and he retaliated by invading the Burgundian kingdom, accompanied by the Franks. Between the two peoples, Sigismund's Burgundian forces faced two fronts and were defeated.{{sfn|Wolfram|1997|p=256}} Meanwhile, Sigismund's [[Arianism|Arian]] brother [[Godomar]] established himself as king over the remaining Burgundian territory and ruled for a decade.{{sfn|Wolfram|1997|pp=256–257}}
[[File:Theodoric bronze weight inlaid with silver issued by prefect Catulinus Rome 493 526.jpg|thumb|right|Bronze weight, inlaid with silver, with the name of Theodoric, issued by prefect Catulinus in Rome, 493–526]]
When Theodoric's sister Amalafrida sought to possibly change the direction of Vandal succession following the death of her spouse, the former Vandal king Thrasamund, the new Catholic Vandal king [[Hilderic]] had her, along with the accompanying Gothic retinue, killed.{{sfn|Wolfram|1997|p=256}} Theodoric was incensed and planned an expedition to restore his power over the Vandal kingdom when he died of dysentery in the summer of 526.{{sfn|Wolfram|1997|pp=176, 225}}{{efn|The exact date is given as 30 August 526.{{sfn|Wolfram|1997|p=225}}}} The Gothic king was succeeded by his grandson [[Athalaric]], with Theodoric's daughter [[Amalasuintha]] serving as regent since Athalaric was but ten years of age when Theodoric died. Her role was to carry out the dead ruler's political testament,{{efn|For a short period, Amalasuintha managed affairs for the Ostrogoths admirably, defeating Gepids and Heruli—who attempted to take Pannonia—in 530; she strengthened the relationship with the Burgundians by ceding lands north of Durance, appealed to Constantinople for political asylum when internal factions threatened her, and convinced her cousin Theodahad to make her co-ruler of the Gothic kingdoms before she was betrayed.{{sfn|Wolfram|1997|pp=225–227}}}} to seek accommodation with the senate, and maintain peace with the emperor.{{sfn|Wolfram|1997|p=225}} Suddenly the once united Goths were split and Theodoric's grandson Amalaric ruled the newly independent Visigothic kingdom for the next five years.{{sfn|Wolfram|1997|p=225}}