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83-526: Atessa (locally L'Atésse ) is a municipality in the province of Chieti , Abruzzo , south-eastern Italy . It is part of the Val di Sangro mountain community. It is the largest municipality in the province by extension and eighth by population. The town is located in the lower valley of the Sangro river. Its area, with its 11,003 hectares, is the largest in the province and includes a small part decentralized from

166-547: A Western Roman Emperor in all but name, since he ruled a large part of the former Western Roman Empire described as a Res Publica , had received the former Western imperial regalia from Constantinople in 497 which he used, was referred to by the imperial title princeps by the Italian aristocracy and exercised imperial powers recognized in the East, such as naming consuls. As a young child of an Ostrogothic nobleman, Theodoric

249-413: A building erected by M. Vectius Marcellus and Helvidia Priscilla. There are also remains of large reservoirs and of an ancient theatre. In the early 21st century, new archeological excavations are under way on the site of the former Campo Sportivo. The old part of the town ( centro storico ) features a number of interesting buildings and churches dating from the 12th to the 18th century, including: Below

332-688: A famine—he offered Theodoric Strabo the command once belonging to Theodoric. Enraged by this betrayal, Theodoric turned his wrath against the communities in the Rhodope Mountains , where his forces commandeered livestock and slaughtered peasants, sacked and burned Stobi in Macedonia and requisitioned supplies from the archbishop at Heraclea . Gothic plundering finally elicited a settlement from Zeno, but Theodoric initially refused any compromise. Theodoric sent one of his confidants, Sidimund, forward to Epidaurum for negotiations with Zeno. While

415-420: A few interested parties among the Italian nobility. Wiemer contends that these few sources, close to Theodoric and of a doubtful impartiality, should not be used to infer the general opinion toward Theodoric from all classes of the Italian population or among the residents of Constantinople. He further states that this vision of Theodoric's position fails to address the duality of his rule; namely, having to retain

498-650: A great mansion, known as Palazzo Farnese, which was never completed due to her death. After the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy in 1860, Ortona became one of the first sea resorts on the Adriatic Sea . On 9 September 1943, the royal family of the House of Savoy left German -occupied Italy from the port of Ortona. The defensive Gustav Line was established by the Germans at Ortona, extending towards Cassino on

581-411: A host of other impressive and glorious buildings, all reiterating to their respective inhabitants their own importance within a newly revived and reinvigorated Roman Empire and connecting such ideas with the intervention of a caring and devoted princeps , Theodoric. He constructed a "Great Basilica of Hercules " next to a colossal statue of the hero himself. To promote Arianism, the king commissioned

664-810: A number of sandy and rocky beaches, is the protected natural area of the Riserva Naturale di Punta Aderci, whose beaches were voted in 2014 3rd of the top 20 beaches in Italy. The origins of Ortona are uncertain. Presumably, it was first inhabited by the Frentani , an Italic population. In 2005, during works near the Castle, a Bronze Age settlement was discovered, and the Roman town largely coincided with this first settlement. Some sections of paved roads and urban walls, as well as some archaeological findings are

747-451: A payment to Constantinople of some 300 pounds' worth of gold each year. Theodoric was well educated by Constantinople's best teachers. His status made him valuable, since the Amal family from which he came (as told by Theodoric), allegedly ruled half of all Goths since the third century AD. Historian Peter Heather argues that Theodoric's claims were likely self-aggrandizing propaganda and that

830-663: A reference to the Goths' tradition of an origin in Scandinavia, the architect decorated the frieze with a pattern found in 5th- and 6th-century Scandinavian metal adornments. The Palace of Domitian on the Palatine Hill was reconstructed, using the receipts from a specially levied tax; while the city walls of Rome were rebuilt, a feat celebrated by the Senate of Rome with a gilded statue of Theodoric. The Senate's Curia,

913-748: A small Arian cathedral, the Hagia Anastasis , which contains the Arian Baptistery . Three more churches built by Theodoric in Ravenna and its suburbs, S. Andrea dei Goti, S. Giorgio and S. Eusebio, were destroyed in the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. Theodoric built the Palace of Theodoric for himself in Ravenna, modeled on the Great Palace of Constantinople. It was an expansion of an earlier Roman structure. The palace church of Christ

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996-523: A splendid 14th-century gothic portal, among the most elegant in the Abruzzi Gothic style. The Coronation of the Virgin sculpture group in the portal lunette is also magnificent, attributed to the school of Nicola di Guardiagrele. Under the colonnaded portico, next to the lateral door, is the splendid fresco by Andrea De Litio (1473) portraying Saint Christopher. In the interior, completely rebuilt in

1079-406: A subsequent cholera epidemic that hit the area between 1816 and 1817 deprived it of any improvement. The city preserves the historical center in 17th-century, late Renaissance style, with few remains of the ancient medieval walls in the urban gates of San Michele, San Giuseppe, San Nicola and Santa Margherita. The city is divided into two sections: the first is the oldest, represented by the bulk of

1162-485: A treaty was signed making the kings joint rulers of Italy. Theodoric entered Ravenna on 5 March 493, and a banquet celebrating the treaty was organized on 15 March. At this feast, Theodoric, after making a toast, drew his sword and struck Odoacer, splitting him in two from collarbone to thigh. Along with Odoacer, Theodoric had the king's most loyal followers slaughtered as well, making him the master of Italy. With Odoacer dead and his forces dispersed, Theodoric now faced

1245-511: A warrior, Theodoric crossed the Danube with six thousand warriors, defeated the Sarmatians and killed Babai; this moment likely crystallized his position and marked the beginning of his kingship, despite not actually having yet assumed the throne. Perhaps to assert his authority as an Amali prince, Theodoric kept the conquered area of Singidunum for himself. Throughout the 470s, sometimes in

1328-677: Is Mario Pupillo. Chieti's cathedral was first constructed during the 9th century but was reconstructed during the 13th century. The province contains the National Archaeology Museum of Abruzzo, in Italian the Museo Archeologico Nazionale d'Abruzzo , which contains items from the area prior to Roman rule. It was first settled by the Osci people near the Pescara River. In around 1000 BCE it

1411-572: Is hard to overestimate this one-time servant and eventual victim of Theodoric for his influence on philosophy, particularly Christian philosophy, throughout the Middle Ages. Boethius' treatises and commentaries became textbooks for medieval students, and the great Greek philosophers were unknown except for his Latin translations. The execution of Boethius did nothing to dissipate tensions between Arians and Catholics but merely raised additional questions about barbarian imperial legitimacy. Theodoric

1494-417: Is one of four provinces in the region of Abruzzo , on the eastern coast of Italy. It is the most easternmost province in the region and is bounded to the northeast by the Adriatic Sea . The province of Pescara lies to the north and the province of L'Aquila to the northwest. To the south lies the province of Isernia and the province of Campobasso lies to the south east, both these provinces being part of

1577-683: The Burgundian and Vandal kingdoms. Theodoric died in 526 and was buried in a grand mausoleum in Ravenna . He lived on as the figure Dietrich von Bern in Germanic heroic legend . Theodoric was born in AD 454 in Pannonia on the banks of the Neusiedler See near Carnuntum , the son of king Theodemir , a Germanic Amali nobleman, and his concubine Ereleuva . This was just a year after

1660-671: The Ostrogoths (475–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy between 493 and 526, regent of the Visigoths (511–526), and a patrician of the Eastern Roman Empire . As ruler of the combined Gothic realms, Theodoric controlled an empire stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Adriatic Sea . Though Theodoric himself only used the title 'king' ( rex ), some scholars characterize him as

1743-557: 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 Symmachus arrested on charges of treason related to the alleged plot. For his role, Theodoric had Boethius executed in 524. Despite the complex relationship between Theodoric and his son-in-law, the Catholic Burgundian king Sigismund ,

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1826-596: The Theatre of Pompey , the city aqueducts, sewers and a granary were refurbished and repaired and statues were set up in the Flavian Amphitheatre . In 522 the philosopher Boethius became his magister officiorum (head of all the government and court services). Boethius was a Roman aristocrat and Christian humanist, who was also a philosopher, poet, theologian, mathematician, astronomer, translator and commentator on Aristotle and other Greek luminaries. It

1909-654: The West Roman emperors after Honorius (395–423). Theodoric devoted most of his architectural attention to his capital, Ravenna. He restored Ravenna's water supply by repairing an aqueduct originally built by Trajan . According to the chronicles of Cassiodorus, a number of cities were renewed by Theodoric's building enterprises, some of which even surpassed the ancient wonders. Historian Jonathan J. Arnold quips: Northern cities like Ravenna, Verona, Pavia, Milan, Parma, Como, Aquileia, and still others received new or improved walls, palaces, aqueducts, churches, baths, and

1992-570: The 18th century following an earthquake, crumbling stucco-work in the Baroque style and a shrine of the same period set off a 15th-century fresco representing the Madonna of the Milk. In addition to Santa Maria Maggiore, there are several other churches and palazzi or mansions of various ages which are of architectural interest, including S. Nicola di Bari (founded in the 4th century), the convent of

2075-617: The Amal dynasty was more limited than modern commentators presume. Until 469, Theodoric remained in Constantinople where he spent formative years "catching up on all the Romanitas " it had taken generations of Visigothic Balthi to acquire. Theodoric was treated with favor by the emperor Leo I. He learned to read, write and perform arithmetic while in captivity in the Eastern Empire. When Leo heard that his imperial army

2158-632: The Apostles. Province of Chieti The province of Chieti ( Italian : provincia di Chieti ; Abruzzese : pruvìngie de Chjìte ) is a province in the Abruzzo region of Italy . Its provincial capital is the city Chieti , which has a population of 50,770 inhabitants. The province has a total population of 387,649 inhabitants as of 2017 and spans an area of 2,599.58 square kilometres (1,003.70 sq mi). The province contains 104 comuni ( sg. : comune ). Its provincial president

2241-657: The Cathedral of San Leucio, and at its end, towards the plain of the Sangro, from the fortified church of Santa Croce; while the second section is crossed by the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, and passes through the Arch 'Ndriano (former Porta San Nicola), from Piazza Garibaldi to the hill of San Cristoforo, from the votive column raised on the top. Church of San Domenico (1566) - church with an unfinished Baroque façade, with rich frescoed interior. There are scenes of

2324-722: The Chapuchins (1599), Palazzo De Lucia (16th century), Palazzo Elisii (15th-18th century), the cloister of the Palazzo Comunale Piazza San Francesco (17th century) and Palazzo Marini (1391). Museums include: The province of Chieti is twinned with: Theodoric the Great Theodoric (or Theoderic ) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal , was king of

2407-668: 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. 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

2490-609: The Danubian provinces of Dacia Ripensis and Moesia Inferior as well as the adjacent regions. 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. In 487, Theodoric began his aggressive campaign against Constantinople, blockading

2573-526: The Ostrogoths had thrown off nearly a century of domination by the Huns . To this end, historian Hans-Ulrich Wiemer states that, "Theodoric’s childhood was spent at a time of violent conflicts between non-Roman groups attempting to fill the power vacuum created by the collapse of Attila’s empire". His Gothic name, which is reconstructed by linguists as *Þiudareiks , translates into "people-king" or "ruler of

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2656-530: The Redeemer survives and is known today as the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo . It was Theodoric's personal church of worship and was modeled specifically according to his tastes. An equestrian statue of Theodoric was erected in the square in front of the palace. Statues like these were symbols of the ancient world, and Theodoric's equestrian likeness was meant to convey his status as the undisputed ruler of

2739-729: The Roman envoy and Theodoric were negotiating, Zeno sent troops against some of Theodoric's wagons, which were under the protection of his able general Theodimund. Unaware of this treachery, Theodoric's Goths lost around 2,000 wagons and 5,000 of his people were taken captive. Theodoric settled his people in Epirus in 479 with the help of his relative Sidimund . In 482, he raided Greece and sacked Larissa. Bad luck, rebellions and poor decisions left Zeno in an unfortunate position, which subsequently led him to seek another agreement with Theodoric. In 483, Zeno made Theodoric magister militum praesentalis and consul designate in 484, whereby he commanded

2822-570: The Roman judicial system. The Goths, meanwhile, lived under their own laws and customs. In 519, when a mob had burned down the synagogues of Ravenna, Theodoric ordered the town to rebuild them at its own expense. 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

2905-452: The Vandal kingdom when he died of dysentery in the summer of 526. 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, to seek accommodation with the senate, and maintain peace with the emperor. Suddenly

2988-620: The barbarian states and he successfully ruled most of Italy for thirty-three years following his treachery against Odoacer. 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. Theodoric extended his hegemony over the Burgundian and Vandal kingdoms (along with Visigothic royals) through marriage alliances. He had married

3071-451: The barbarians alike, since as he mused, Rome's great buildings were witness to its grandeur, power, and thereto instructed his architects to restore all that was "ancient". His preservation efforts were designed to elicit awe and admiration in future generations. The fame of Theodoric's building works reached far-away Syria . In the aggregate, Theodoric's building program saw more extensive new construction and restoration than that of any of

3154-577: The battles of Isonzo and Verona in 489. Once again, Theodoric was pressed by Zeno in 490 to attack Odoacer . Theodoric's army was 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. For several years, the armies of Odoacer and Theodoric vied for supremacy across the Italian peninsula. Theodoric besieged Odoacer in Ravenna until 2 February 493, when

3237-482: The beginning of the Quaternary, rest on clayey soils (blue-gray clays), the result of the sedimentation in the open sea of terrigenous materials . The large hills are thus constituted, on which are found the majority of the districts, connected by a dense network of secondary roads to the most important ones of the valley bottom. The origins of Atessa according to some sources date back to the fifth century AD, after

3320-495: The city was gained by Charles V of France . Chieti was made the capital of Abruzzo Citra under its period of rule by the House of Bourbon . The province of Chieti contains Ortona, a town founded by Fretani people for trading with the Greeks, which was the scene of a World War II battle between German and predominantly British and Canadian forces; over 2,000 civilians died and the town was largely destroyed. The province of Chieti

3403-484: 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. 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,

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3486-642: The course of the 6th century; Arnold alludes to local and contemporary sources such as Magnus Felix Ennodius 's Vita beatissimi viri Epiphani episcopi Ticinensis ecclesiae , Cassiodorus 's Variae and Laudes or the Pars Posterior of the Anonymus Valesianus , arguing therefrom that Rome in the West did not fall in 476, but merely awaited a "proper Roman emperor to rule it". According to Arnold, these two sources ultimately reveal that Theodoric

3569-584: The emperor and frequently raided East Roman territory. At the behest of Zeno, in 489 Theodoric attacked Odoacer , the king of Italy, emerging victorious in 493. As the new ruler of Italy, he upheld a Roman legal administration and scholarly culture while promoting a major building program across Italy. In 505 he expanded into the Balkans , and by 511 he had brought the Visigothic Kingdom of Spain under his direct control and established hegemony over

3652-815: The fall of the Western Roman Empire . In the Middle Ages it was a fief of various lords including: the Courtenay or Cortinaccio, Philip I of Flanders , the Maramonte, the Counts of Monteodorisio, king Ferdinand I of Naples and the Colonna . After the abolishment of feudalism in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (early 19th century), the land was in misery. There was a brief recovery, but

3735-497: The first half of the 15th century its walls were built, and during this period Ortona fought with the nearby town of Lanciano in a fierce war that ended in 1427. On June 30, 1447, ships from Venice destroyed the port of Ortona; consequently the king of Sicily at that time commissioned the construction of a Castle to dominate the renovated port. In 1582 the town was acquired by Margaret of Parma , daughter of Emperor Charles V and Duchess of Parma . In 1584 Margaret decided to build

3818-466: The greater history of the Mediterranean dating back to the era of Alexander the Great . 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

3901-522: The help of Etzel against his usurping uncle, Ermenrich . Only the Old High German Hildebrandslied still contains Odoacer ( Old High German : Otacher ) as Dietrich's antagonist. The 13th century Norse Þiðreks saga , based on lost Low German sources, moves the location of Dietrich's life to Westphalia and northern Germany. The legends paint a generally positive picture of Dietrich, with only some influence visible from

3984-488: The hill on which the town is located, the beach resort town of Marina di Vasto offers a large sandy beach and several hotels and other facilities. Further north the coast becomes rocky and features interesting pebble and stone beaches and coves, as well as the typical trabocchi , that are typical wooden fishing machines of the Southern Abruzzo coast. Amongst the most interesting natural areas, also featuring

4067-403: 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. In 511, the Visigothic Kingdom was brought under Theodoric's direct control, forming a Gothic superstate that extended from the Atlantic to

4150-425: The loyalty of both Romans and Goths alike. Wiemer posits that, "The “Roman” interpretation of Theodoric has recently been taken to extremes in the theory that Theodoric was virtually a Western Roman emperor in Italy. According to this view, Theodoric restored the Roman Empire in the West, which he ruled as princeps Romanus . » Demonstrating his doubts on this, Wiemer points out how during Theodoric's rule, he kept

4233-401: The main rivers, the Sangro to the west and the Osento to the east. The subsoil consists of one of the last ridges where there are ancient stratified sandy deposits, visible in the numerous outcrops of the escarpments, with an ocher-yellow color. These sediments, evidence of the permanence of the coastline in this place and the following regression of the sea between the end of the Pliocene and

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4316-410: The name of the empire itself, Theodoric launched campaigns against potential Gothic rivals and other enemies of the Eastern Empire, which made him an important military and political figure. One of his chief rivals was the chieftain of the Thracian Goths Theodoric Strabo (Strabo means "the Squinter"), who had led a major revolt against the emperor Zeno . Finding common ground with the emperor, Theodoric

4399-480: The negative traditions of the church. There is an ongoing debate among modern historians as to how qualify the nature of power Theodoric wielded in his domains. Traditionalists have argued for some time that Theodoric was a Germanic king, citing as their frame of reference later Byzantine sources—written during the Gothic war —that brand him as a barbarian king, who merely mimicked Roman customs. One scholar, Jonathan J. Arnold, advocates that this nature changed during

4482-450: The once united Goths were split and Theodoric's grandson Amalaric ruled the newly independent Visigothic kingdom for the next five years. Theodoric was married once. He had a concubine in Moesia , name unknown, with whom he had two daughters: By his marriage in 493 to the pagan Audofleda —the sister of Clovis, who was baptized an Arian at the time of their wedding—Theodoric had one daughter: After his death in Ravenna in 526, Theodoric

4565-429: The only remains of this period. Ortona remained a part of the Roman Empire i.e., the Byzantine Empire for several centuries, before it was annexed by the Kingdom of the Lombards . In 803 the Franks incorporated Ortona into the county of Chieti . From that date on, the town remained tied to Chieti and its territory. In 1258 the relics of the Apostle Thomas were brought to Ortona by the sailor Leone Acciaiuoli. In

4648-441: The opposite side of Italy. Ortona offered the Allies a supply port on the Adriatic and was fiercely defended by the Germans attracted the attention of that the international press in the struggle between the German paratroopers and the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade. This led to this battle being known as "Little Stalingrad". The biggest church in Guardiagrele is Santa Maria Maggiore of which it has been written: The façade presents

4731-429: The people". In 461, when Theodoric was seven or eight years of age, he was taken hostage in Constantinople to secure the Ostrogoths' compliance with a treaty Theodemir had concluded with the augustus Leo I (ruled 457–474). Under the terms of the treaty, the Pannonian Goths were required to "surrender a hostage of royal descent" to the emperor's court; in this case that hostage was Theodoric. The treaty also secured

4814-410: The period 1951 to 1971, the number of people employed in agriculture in Chieti fell from over 80% to around 45%, the number employed in industry tripled to around 20% and the number employed in the service sector , tripled to around 30%. Under the church of SS. Pietro e Paolo and the adjoining houses are extensive substructures (in opus reticulatum and brickwork) of the 1st century CE, belonging to

4897-418: The problem of settlement for his people. 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. Such considerations led him to the conclusion that it was best to settle the Ostrogoths in three concentrated areas: around Pavia , Ravenna and Picenum . Theodoric's kingdom was among the most "Roman" of

4980-404: The region of Molise . The provincial capital is Chieti , situated on a ridge a few miles inland and just south of the River Aterno-Pescara , which flows into the sea at nearby Pescara . There has been a movement by farmers away from the land and the area. The outflow has been greatest from the hilly and mountainous areas, where the holdings are small and worked by the families who own them. In

5063-404: The remaining Burgundian territory and ruled for a decade. 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. Theodoric was incensed and planned an expedition to restore his power over

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5146-426: 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 , which outlined Theodoric's position as an imperial colleague. 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

5229-423: The rest of the territory, south of the hamlet of Tornareccio. It includes a series of promontories that reach the vast floodplain of the Sangro. The village of Atessa winds on top of a relief from the crescent-shaped plant, isolated on the surrounding countryside, whose highest point is 473 meters, at the Villa Comunale. The watercourses that run through the municipal territory are numerous, mostly tributaries of

5312-461: The restraint shown by Theodoric in refraining to use titles such as Imperator , Imperium or Augustus was aimed at sparing the pride of the Eastern monarchy and ensuring Byzantium of its seniority, but that this did not diminish Theodoric's claim to the purple in the West. This view is however rejected by other scholars, such as Theodoric's most recent biographer, Hans-Ulrich Wiemer. He claims that Jonathan J. Arnold takes at face value comments of

5395-522: The ruins of the Western Empire, possessed a fraction of his statesmanship and political vision; and when he died ... Italy lost the greatest of her early medieval rulers, unequalled until the days of Charlemagne . Theodoric is an important figure in Germanic heroic legend as the character Dietrich von Bern ( Old High German : Deotrīh ), known in Old Norse as Þjóðrekr or Þiðrekr , and Old English as Þēodrīc . In German legends, Dietrich becomes an exile from his native kingdom of Lombardy, fighting with

5478-449: The same person—whereby Theodoric's Arian beliefs were tolerated under two separate emperors—the fact remained that to most clergy across the Eastern Empire, Theodoric was a heretic. At the end of his reign quarrels arose with his Roman subjects and the Byzantine emperor Justin I over the matter of Arianism. These quarrels ultimately led to the martyrdom of Boethius and Pope John I by starvation in 524 and 526, respectively. Relations between

5561-400: The sister of the mighty Frankish king, Clovis —likely in recognition of Frankish power. 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 . In 504–505, Theodoric extended his realms in the Balkans by defeating the Gepids, acquiring the province of Pannonia. Theodoric became regent for

5644-409: The transition from "antiquity to the Middle Ages in the Latin West" according to historian Michael Kulikowski—wrought the final blows to Theodoric's once dominant kingdom. Theodoric promoted the rebuilding of Roman cities and the preservation of ancient monuments in Italy. In 500, Rome itself was given special attention by Theodoric, who wanted to restore the structures previously damaged by time and

5727-411: The two enjoyed a mutual peace for fifteen years. 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. Meanwhile, Sigismund's Arian brother Godomar established himself as king over

5810-411: The two ethnic groups—Italo-Romans and Goths—clearly separated. For instance, only Goths could carry certain military equipment (swords, lances, shields, and helmets) or assume key positions in the military hierarchy, and the hairstyles between Goths and Romans remained distinctive, let alone their language. Wiemer also avows that the Eastern court never formally acknowledged Theodoric as a Western Emperor,

5893-462: The two realms deteriorated, although Theodoric's military abilities dissuaded the Byzantines from waging war against him. After his death, that reluctance faded quickly. Seeking to restore the glory of ancient Rome , Theodoric ruled Italy during one of its most peaceful and prosperous periods and was accordingly hailed as a new Trajan and Valentinian I for his building efforts and his religious toleration. His far-sighted goals included taking what

5976-481: The western empire. Theodoric the Great was interred in Ravenna, but his bones were scattered and his mausoleum was converted to a church after Belisarius conquered the city in 540. His mausoleum is one of the finest monuments in Ravenna. Unlike all the other contemporary buildings in Ravenna, which were made of brick, the Mausoleum of Theodoric was built completely from fine quality stone ashlars . Possibly as

6059-406: The year 511". 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". 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." Much like

6142-472: Was actually viewed both by the Italian nobility and the Eastern court in Constantinople as a legitimate Western Roman emperor. Arnold built his case on the fact that Theodoric widely used the title of princeps for himself, and employed the term Res Publica to describe the domain he ruled. These titles, although archaic, were customarily reserved for the emperor and his empire. Thereto Arnold explains that

6225-444: Was best from Roman culture and combining it with Gothic energy and physical power as a way into the future. Relatively amicable relations between Goths and Romans also make Theodoric's kingdom notable. Memories of his reign made him a hero of medieval German legends , as Dietrich von Bern, where the two figures have represented the same person. Historian John Julius Norwich wrote: No other Germanic ruler, setting up his throne on

6308-648: Was conquered by Marsi and Marrucini people. The city was also lived in by the Greeks, who named it Teate. It was conquered by the Romans in 305 BCE but after the fall of Rome in 476 CE, Theodoric the Great gained ownership of the city and it was subsequently used as a Lombard fortress. The city was then owned by the Franks, the Normans , the Hohenstaufen , the Angevins and Aragonese rulers until strong control over

6391-437: Was established, which highlighted the tensions between the Eastern Empire and the West. The new augustus , Justin I —who replaced Anastasius, a man with whom Theodoric had good relations—was under the influence of his nephew 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. Theodoric's good relations with

6474-541: 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 Rugian king Frideric , the son of Theodoric's cousin Giso. Theodoric moved with his people towards Italy in the autumn of 488. On the way he was opposed by the Gepids , whom he defeated at Sirmium in August 489. Arriving in Italy, Theodoric won

6557-576: Was of the Arian (nontrinitarian) faith , and in his final years he was no longer the disengaged Arian patron of religious toleration that he had seemed earlier in his reign. "Indeed, his death cut short what could well have developed into a major persecution of Catholic churches in retaliation for measures taken by Justinian in Constantinople against Arians there." Despite the Byzantine caesaropapism , which conflated imperial and ecclesiastical authority in

6640-528: Was retreating from the Goths near Pannonia, he sent Theodoric home with gifts and no promises of any commitments. On his return in 469/470, Theodoric assumed leadership over the Gothic regions previously ruled by his uncle, Valamir , while his father became king. Not long afterwards near Singidunum (modern Belgrade ) in upper Moesia , the Tisza Sarmatian king Babai had extended his authority at Constantinople's expense. Legitimizing his position as

6723-544: Was rewarded by Zeno and made commander of East Roman forces, while his people became foederati or federates of the Roman army. In 471, Theodoric was recognized as King of the Ostrogoths by 6,000 Goths that had previously rebelled against the Hunnic ruler Dengizich in 467–468. Zeno attempted to play one Germanic chieftain against another and take advantage of an opportunity sometime in 476/477 when—after hearing demands from Theodoric for new lands since his people were facing

6806-410: Was succeeded by his grandson Athalaric . Athalaric was at first represented by his mother Amalasuintha, who served as regent between 534 and 535. The kingdom of the Ostrogoths, however, began to wane and the personal union of the Gothic tribes, once brought together by Theoderic, collapsed following his demise. The subsequent campaigns into Italy by Justinian—whose long reign from 527 to 565 delineates

6889-681: Was taken as a hostage to Constantinople, where he spent his formative years and received an East Roman education ( paideia ). Theodoric returned to Pannonia around 470, and throughout the 470s he campaigned against the Sarmatians and competed for influence among the Goths of the Roman Balkans, gaining recognition as King in 471. The emperor Zeno made him a commander of the Eastern Roman forces in 483 and consul in 484. Nevertheless, Theodoric remained in constant hostilities with

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