Europe · The migration period
Ostrogoths
489–493
The Ostrogoths ("eastern Goths") were the people descended from the Greuthungi, who had been subjugated by the Huns in the 370s. After the collapse of Hunnic power at Nedao (454), they regained independence in Pannonia under the Amal dynasty (kings Valamir, Thiudimer, and Videmir).
- Existed
- 489–493
- Shown on the map
- AD 455–499
- Peak area
- 421k km²
- Region
- Europe
Overview
The Ostrogoths ("eastern Goths") were the people descended from the Greuthungi, who had been subjugated by the Huns in the 370s. After the collapse of Hunnic power at Nedao (454), they regained independence in Pannonia under the Amal dynasty (kings Valamir, Thiudimer, and Videmir). Their greatest ruler, Theodoric the Great (Theodoric the Amal, r. 471/475–526), spent part of his youth as a hostage in Constantinople, absorbing Roman culture, and later manoeuvred between serving and threatening the Eastern Empire.
Decline and legacy
In 488 the Eastern Roman emperor Zeno — eager to be rid of a dangerous neighbour and to reclaim Italy indirectly — commissioned Theodoric to overthrow Odoacer, the Germanic king ruling Italy since 476. Theodoric led the Ostrogothic people into Italy, winning the battles of the Isonzo and Verona (489) and Milan; the war culminated in the long siege of Ravenna. In 493, after a negotiated agreement to rule jointly, Theodoric personally murdered Odoacer at a banquet in Ravenna and massacred his followers, making himself master of Italy. This founded the Ostrogothic Kingdom (entry 36). The Ostrogoths as a people were Arian Christians and remained a distinct warrior élite atop the Roman population of Italy.
Common questions
- What were the Ostrogoths?
- The Ostrogoths ("eastern Goths") were the people descended from the Greuthungi, who had been subjugated by the Huns in the 370s. After the collapse of Hunnic power at Nedao (454), they regained independence in Pannonia under the Amal dynasty (kings Valamir, Thiudimer, and Videmir).
- When did the Ostrogoths exist?
- The Ostrogoths existed 489–493. On this map they are drawn AD 455–499.
- How large were the Ostrogoths?
- At their greatest extent drawn on this map, the Ostrogoths covered about 421,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives them across the years they are drawn, not necessarily their greatest extent in history.
- How did the Ostrogoths end?
- In 488 the Eastern Roman emperor Zeno — eager to be rid of a dangerous neighbour and to reclaim Italy indirectly — commissioned Theodoric to overthrow Odoacer, the Germanic king ruling Italy since 476. Theodoric led the Ostrogothic people into Italy, winning the battles of the Isonzo and Verona (489) and Milan; the war culminated in the long siege of Ravenna.
Sources
This compendium cites its sources once for the whole document rather than per territory. Its bibliography names the English Wikipedia articles for each territory and its key figures as the primary basis, with Encyclopædia Britannica, the World History Encyclopedia, and academic and primary sources — Jordanes, Procopius, Gregory of Tours, Bede, Ammianus and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, read through the secondary literature. The article this entry is anchored on:
- Wikipedia — Ostrogoths en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostrogoths
This entry was last updated .
This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made
Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.
Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).
See the Ostrogoths in their world
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