Valaris ( el, Οὐάλαρις, died 542) was a

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 ...

soldier who fought for the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the larg ...

against the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

in the

Gothic War Gothic War may refer to: *Gothic War (248–253), battles and plundering carried out by the Goths and their allies in the Roman Empire. *Gothic War (367–369), a war of Thervingi against the Eastern Roman Empire in which the Goths retreated to Mont ...

. Valaris was part of Totila's army engaged at the Battle of Faventia. Before the battle, Valaris approached the Romans on his horse and challenged any of them to do single combat with him. Procopius (''Gothic War'', III.4.21–29) describes Valaris as a man of great physical size and martial skill. His martial appearance terrified the Roman soldiers, and only a Persarmenian officer named

Artabazes Artavasdes is the Hellenized form of the Iranian name . Variant renderings in Greek include (), (), and (); in Armenian (); and in Latin or . People with this name include: Persian satraps * Artabazos I of Phrygia (flourished 5th century BC ...

stood forth to accept the challenge. The duel was conducted on horseback, and Artabazes was able to hit Valaris on his right side with his spear, mortally wounding him. Valaris did not fall, however, being buttressed by his spear that was braced against a rock. While Artabazes was pushing his spear into his enemy trying to finish him off, Valaris' spear, standing almost upright, cut Artabazes' neck. Although the wound was not immediately fatal, it caused a great outpour of blood, which could not be halted. Valaris died on the spot, and Artabazes succumbed to the wound three days later. While Artabazes was nurturing his wound in the rear, however, the Battle of Faventia resulted in a great victory for Totila's Ostrogoths.

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* *{{cite book , editor-last = Dewing , editor-first = Henry Bronson , title=Procopius, with an English translation by H.B. Dewing, in Seven Volumes. Vol. IV: History of the Wars, Books VI ontinuedand VII , year = 1962 , orig-year= 1924 , series = The Loeb Classical Library , publisher = William Heinemann Ltd. (London) & Harvard University Press (Cambridge, Mass.) , url = https://archive.org/details/procopiuswitheng04procuoft

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Valaris Issues a Challenge To Personal Combat
Illustration by

Angus McBride Angus McBride (11 May 1931 – 15 May 2007) was an English historical and fantasy illustrator. Early life Born in London to Highland Scots parents, Angus McBride was orphaned as a child, his mother dying when he was five years old, and his f ...

(1996) __NOTOC__ 542 deaths Ostrogothic duellists Gothic warriors 6th-century Ostrogothic people Year of birth unknown People of the Gothic War (535–554) People killed in action

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