Athalaric
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Athalaric (; 5162 October 534) was the
king of the Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations who ...
in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
between 526 and 534. He was a son of
Eutharic Eutharic Cilliga (Latin: ''Flavius Eutharicus Cillica'') was an Ostrogothic prince from Iberia (modern-day Spain) who, during the early 6th century, served as Roman Consul and "son in weapons" (''filius per arma'') alongside the Byzantine emperor J ...
and
Amalasuntha Amalasuintha (495 – 30 April 534/535) was a ruler of Ostrogothic Kingdom from 526 to 535. She ruled first as regent for her son and thereafter as queen on throne. A regent is "a person who governs a kingdom in the minority, absence, or disabili ...
, the youngest daughter of
Theoderic the Great Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal ( got, , *Þiudareiks; Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ), was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy ...
, whom Athalaric succeeded as king in 526. As Athalaric was only ten years old, the regency was assumed by his mother,
Amalasuntha Amalasuintha (495 – 30 April 534/535) was a ruler of Ostrogothic Kingdom from 526 to 535. She ruled first as regent for her son and thereafter as queen on throne. A regent is "a person who governs a kingdom in the minority, absence, or disabili ...
. His mother attempted to provide for him an education in the Roman tradition, but the Gothic nobles pressured her to allow them to raise him as they saw fit. As a result, Athalaric drank heavily and indulged in vicious excesses, which ruined his constitution.


References


Sources

*


Further reading


Letters of Cassiodorus, Book VIII
from
Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the ...

Procopius 'Wars' Book V
trans. H. P. Dewing * Peter Heather, ''The Goths'' (Oxford, Blackwell, 1996). 516 births 534 deaths 6th-century kings of Italy Ostrogothic kings Amali dynasty Ancient child rulers 6th-century monarchs in Europe 6th-century Ostrogothic people {{Europe-royal-stub