Aoric (Latinized ''Aoricus'') was a Thervingian

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...

('' reiks'' and ''

kindins Kindins is a Gothic word (attested only in the Gothic Bible, translating Greek ἡγεμών) that is identified by some scholars as the vernacular title for what may have been a political or judicial position among the 4th century Goths, identifi ...

'') who lived in the 4th century. Aoric was son of

Ariaric Ariaric also known as Ariacus was a 4th-century Thervingian Gothic pagan ruler ('' reiks'', ''kindins'') He was succeeded by Geberic. In 328, Constantine the Great constructed a bridge across the Danube and built fortifications in the territ ...

and father of

Athanaric Athanaric or Atanaric ( la, Athanaricus; died 381) was king of several branches of the Thervingian Goths () for at least two decades in the 4th century. Throughout his reign, Athanaric was faced with invasions by the Roman Empire, the Huns and a ...

, he was raised in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

, where a statue was erected in his honour. He was recorded by Auxentius of Durostorum leading a persecution of Gothic Christians in 347/348.

Herwig Wolfram Herwig Wolfram (born 14 February 1934) is an Austrian historian who is Professor Emeritus of Medieval History and Auxiliary Sciences of History at the University of Vienna and the former Director of the . He is a leading member of the Vienna S ...

noted that "alliteration, variation, and rhythm in the line of names Athanaric, Aoric, Ariaric resemble the 'ideal type' of Hadubrand, Hildebrand, Heribrand". He considered the similarities and comparison suggested that all three kings were members of the Balti dynasty.

References

{{reflist Gothic kings Balt dynasty 4th-century monarchs in Europe 4th-century Gothic people