Editing Gepids (section)

=== Kingdom of the Gepids ===
[[File:Gepid kingdom 6th century.png|thumb|right|alt=Map of Gepidia|''Gepidia'' at its largest territorial extent]]
[[File:Selección de piezas de la segunda tumba principesca de Apahida.jpg|thumb|Selection of pieces from the second princely tomb of [[Apahida]]]]

After the Battle of Nedao, the Hunnic Empire disintegrated and the Gepids became the dominant power in the eastern regions of the Carpathian Basin.{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=220}}{{sfn|Bóna|1974|p=14}} According to Jordanes, the Gepids "by their own might won for themselves the territory of the Huns and ruled as victors over the extent of all Dacia, demanding of the Roman Empire nothing more than peace and an annual gift"<ref>''The Gothic History of Jordanes'' (l:264), p. 126.</ref> after their victory.{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=220}}{{sfn|Goffart|2009|p=201}} Emperor [[Marcian]] confirmed their status as the allies of the empire and granted them an annual subsidy of 100 pounds of gold.{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=220}}{{sfn|Bóna|1974|p=14}} The late-5th-century treasures excavated at [[Apahida]] and [[Someșeni]] show that the Gepid rulers accumulated great wealth in the second half of the century.{{sfn|Kharalambieva|2010|p=249}}

The Gepids joined a coalition formed by the Suebi, [[Sciri]], Sarmatians and other peoples formed against the Ostrogoths who had settled in Pannonia.{{sfn|Bóna|1974|p=15}}{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|pp=264-265}} However, the Ostrogoths routed the united forces of their enemies in the [[Battle of Bolia]] in 469.{{sfn|Bóna|1974|p=15}} After the Ostrogoths left Pannonia in 473, the Gepids captured [[Sirmium]] (now [[Sremska Mitrovica]] in [[Serbia]]), a strategically important town on the road between Italy and Constantinople.{{sfn|Goffart|2009|p=201}}

In 489, {{ill|Thraustila (king)|lt=Thraustila|fr|Thraustila (roi)|it|Traustila (monarca)}}, King of the Gepids, tried to hinder the Ostrogoths from crossing the river [[Vuka (river)|Vuka]] during [[Theodoric the Great]]'s campaign against Italy, but the Ostrogoths [[Battle of Sirmium (489)|routed]] Thraustila's army.{{sfn|Goffart|2009|p=201}}{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|p=280}} The Gepids also lost Sirmium to the Ostrogoths, according to [[Walter Pohl]].{{sfn|Kharalambieva|2010|p=251}} In short, according to [[Walter Goffart]], Thraustila's son, Thrasaric, "regained control of Sirmium but possibly under Ostrogothic underlordship".{{sfn|Goffart|2009|p=202}} Theodoric the Great dispatched one ''comes'' Pitzia to launch a campaign against the Gepids who either tried to capture Sirmium or wanted to get rid of Theodoric's [[suzerainty]] in 504.{{sfn|Kharalambieva|2010|p=251}}{{sfn|Goffart|2009|p=202}}{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|p=321}} Comes Pitzia expelled the Gepid troops from Sirmium without much resistance.{{sfn|Bóna|1974|p=15}}{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=221}} For some time the Gepids relinquished from the city and built good relationship with the Ostrogoths under [[Elemund|King Elemund]]. This safety attracted part of the [[Heruli|Heruls]] to take refuge in Gepidia from the neighborhood of the aggressive [[Lombards|Langobards]]. [[Wacho]] married Elemund's daughter in return.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nagy |first=Margit |title=A gepida királyság (454-567) |year=1984 |trans-title=The Gepid kingdom (454-567) |quote=A gepidák egy időre lemondtak Sirmiumról, és Elemund királyuk idejében valószínűleg békés kapcsolatokat építettek ki az itáliai keleti gót királysággal. (...) A langobardok királya, Wacho, aki a Dunántúl északi területeinek elfoglalásával a gepidák szomszédságába került, Ostrigotót, Elemund gepida király leányát vette feleségül. A két nép kapcsolata kezdetben békésnek mutatkozott}}</ref>

In an attempt to take advantage of the death of Theodoric the Great in 526, the Gepids invaded the region of Sirmium in 528 or 530, but [[Vitiges]] defeated them.{{sfn|Goffart|2009|p=202}}{{sfn|Bóna|1974|p=15}}

The Gepids reached the zenith of their power after 537, settling in the rich area around [[Singidunum]] (today's [[Belgrade]]). For a short time, the city of [[Sirmium]] (present-day [[Sremska Mitrovica]]) was the center of the Gepid State and the king [[Cunimund]] minted golden coins in it.<ref name="dekanski.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.dekanski.com/AD/Mitrovica/CivitasStDemetrii.htm|title = Civitas Sancti Demetrii}}</ref> [[Justinian I]], angered by their expansion, made an alliance with the [[Lombards]], who, under [[Alboin|King Alboin]], dealt a disastrous defeat on the Gepids in 552. After the [[Battle of Asfeld]], Alboin had a drinking cup made from the skull of Cunimund.<ref>Which occasioned his death later in Italy, at the hands of an assassin sent by [[Rosamund (Gepid)|Rosamund]], Cunimund's daughter; as told in [[Procopius]], in [[Paulus Diaconus]] and in [[Andreas Agnellus]]</ref>

In 539, most of the [[Byzantine army]] was in [[Sasanian Empire|Persia]], so the Gepids and Heruls plundered [[Moesia]], killing ''[[magister militum]]'' [[Calluc]], while the [[Franks|Frankish]] king [[Theudebert I]] raided [[Northern Italy]]. According to [[Jordanes]], the clashes were the bloodiest since [[Attila]], and the [[Population of the Byzantine Empire|Romans]] were obliged to pay heavy taxes and recognize new Gepid occupation zones.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nagy |first=Margit |title=A gepida királyság (454-567) |year=1984 |language=hu |trans-title=The Gepid kingdom (454-567) |quote=539-től a császári seregek nagy részét a gót háború mellett a perzsák elleni háborúba vitték. A seregek távollétét kihasználva a gepidák és a csatlakozott herulok nyomban a Duna vidéki császári területek felé terjeszkedtek. Ugyanekkor a gepidák zövetségese, Theudebert frank király Észak-Itáliában kezdeményezett támadást. A gepida fronton - Jordanes szerint - Attila óta nem látott véres ütközetre került sor, melyben maga a bizánci hadmester, Kalluk is elesett. A császár a nehéz helyzetben a gepidák évi adójának fizetésére és a megszállt területek elismerésére kényszerült.}}</ref> [[Thurisind]], new king of Gepidia attempted to expel the [[Lombards]] from [[Pannonia]], and both peoples asked for help from the Byzantines. [[Justinian I]] sent his army against the Gepids, however it was routed on the way by the [[Heruli]]ans and the sides signed a two-year truce. Revenging what he felt as a betrayal, Thurisind made an alliance with the [[Kutrigurs]] who devastated [[Moesia]] before end of the armistice. The Langobard and Roman army joined together and defeated the Gepids in 551. In the battle, [[Audoin|Audoin's]] son, [[Alboin]] killed [[Thurisind|Thurisind's]] son, [[Turismod]].<ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last1=Köpeczi |first1=Béla |url=https://mek.oszk.hu/03400/03407/html/index.html |title=History of Transylvania |last2=Bóna |first2=István |last3=Makkai |first3=László |last4=Mócsy |first4=András |last5=Szász |first5=Zoltán |volume=II |translator-last=Kovrig |translator-first=Bennett |chapter=The Kingdom of the Gepids |chapter-url=https://mek.oszk.hu/03400/03407/html/33.html}}</ref>

====List of Gepid kings====
*[[Fastida]], fl. c. 250
*[[Ardaric]], fl. c. 454
*{{ill|Giesmus|fr}}, fl. early 480s
*{{ill|Thraustila (king)|lt=Thraustila|fr|Thraustila (roi)|it|Traustila (monarca)}}, fl. 488
*{{ill|Thrasaric|fr}}, fl. 505
*[[Mundus (general)|Mundus]], d. 536<ref>Son of Giesmus. He does not appear to have actually ruled, but he is called a king by [[George Kedrenos]]. See [[Patrick Amory]], ''People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489–554'' (Cambridge University Press, 1997), pp. 397–99.</ref>
*[[Elemund]], ?–548
*[[Thurisind]], 548–c.560
*[[Cunimund]], c.560–567