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Theodoric II, ''Teodorico'' in
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
and
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, ( 426 – early 466) was the eighth King of the
Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...
, from 453 to 466.


Biography

Theoderic II, son of
Theodoric I Theodoric I ( got, Þiudarīks; la, Theodericus; 390 or 393 – 20 or 24 June 451) was the King of the Visigoths from 418 to 451. Theodoric is famous for his part in stopping Attila (the Hun) at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451, wher ...
, obtained the throne by killing his elder brother
Thorismund Thorismund (also Thorismod or Thorismud, as manuscripts of our chief source confusingly attestJordanes, ''De origine actibusque Getarum'' (''Getica'') 81, 174, 190, 201 and elsewhere.) ( 420–453), became king of the Visigoths after his father Th ...
. The English historian
Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, is k ...
writes that "he justified this atrocious deed by the design which his predecessor had formed of violating his alliance with the empire." In late 458 the Western Roman Emperor,
Majorian Majorian ( la, Iulius Valerius Maiorianus; died 7 August 461) was the western Roman emperor from 457 to 461. A prominent general of the Roman army, Majorian deposed Emperor Avitus in 457 and succeeded him. Majorian was the last emperor to make ...
entered
Septimania Septimania (french: Septimanie ; oc, Septimània ) is a historical region in modern-day Southern France. It referred to the western part of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis that passed to the control of the Visigoths in 462, when Septi ...
to attack Theodoric and reclaim the province for the empire. Majorian defeated Theodoric at the
Battle of Arelate The Battle of Arelate was fought in 458 near Arelate (Arles) between Western Roman Emperor Majorian and Visigothic king Theodoric II. After the assassination of Flavius Aetius in 454, the Visigoths began to expand their kingdom at the expense of ...
, forcing the Visigoths to abandon Septimania and withdraw west to
Aquitania Gallia Aquitania ( , ), also known as Aquitaine or Aquitaine Gaul, was a province of the Roman Empire. It lies in present-day southwest France, where it gives its name to the modern region of Aquitaine. It was bordered by the provinces of Gallia ...
. Under the new treaty with the Romans, the Visigoths had to relinquish their recent conquests in
Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispani ...
and return to federate status. However, after the assassination of Majorian in 461, Theodoric recaptured Septimania and invaded Hispania again. Theodoric sided with
Ricimer Flavius Ricimer ( , ; – 18/19 August 472) was a Romanized Germanic general who effectively ruled the remaining territory of the Western Roman Empire from 461 until his death in 472, with a brief interlude in which he contested power with Ant ...
and the new emperor
Libius Severus Libius Severus (died 465), sometimes enumerated as Severus III, was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 461 to his death in 465. A native of Lucania,Cassiodorus, ''Chronicle''; ''Chronica Gallica of 511'', 636. Severus was the fourth of ...
against Majorian’s magister militum per Gallias
Aegidius Aegidius (died 464 or 465) was the ruler of the short-lived Kingdom of Soissons from 461 to 464/465AD. Before his ascension, he became '' magister militum per Gallias'' (Master of the Soldiers for Gaul) serving under Majorian, in 458AD. An arde ...
. Theodorics' army was defeated by Aegidius at Aurelianum and his brother Frederic died in battle, which Kulikowski writes "would have important consequences for the Gothic succession." Theodoric was himself murdered in 466 by his younger brother
Euric Euric ( Gothic: ''* Aiwareiks'', see ''Eric''), also known as Evaric, or Eurico in Spanish and Portuguese (c. 420 – 28 December 484), son of Theodoric I, ruled as king (''rex'') of the Visigoths, after murdering his brother, Theodoric II, fr ...
, who succeeded him to the throne.Ian Wood, The Merovingians Kingdoms:450-751, (Longman Group, 1994), 16.


Described by a Roman

The Gallo-Roman
Sidonius Apollinaris Gaius Sollius Modestus Apollinaris Sidonius, better known as Sidonius Apollinaris (5 November of an unknown year, 430 – 481/490 AD), was a poet, diplomat, and bishop. Sidonius is "the single most important surviving author from 5th-century Gaul ...
wrote a famously vivid and gushing letter to his brother-in-law Agricola describing the king and his court:


References


External links


Edward Gibbon, ''History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,'' chapter 36
{{DEFAULTSORT:Theodoric 02 466 deaths Balt dynasty Assassinated Gothic people 5th-century murdered monarchs 5th-century Visigothic monarchs Year of birth unknown