Valamir or Valamer (c. 420 – 469) was an

Ostrogoth 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 ...

ic king in the former Roman province of

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now wes ...

from AD 447 until his death. During his reign, he fought alongside the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...

against the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

and then, after

Attila the Hun Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and Ea ...

's death, fought against the Huns to consolidate his independent control over a large group of Goths.Heather, Peter. The fall of the Roman Empire. A new history. Paperback 2006, Pan Books, . Hardback London, Macmillan, 2005. . pp 356–357. Valamir was the son of Vandalarius and cousin to king

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 ...

. An important and trusted

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...

, Valamir participated in Attila's raids of the provinces of the Danube (447), and commanded an Ostrogothic contingent of Attila's force at the

Battle of Chalons The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (or Fields), also called the Battle of the Campus Mauriacus, Battle of Châlons, Battle of Troyes or the Battle of Maurica, took place on June 20, 451 AD, between a coalition – led by the Roman general ...

. After Attila's death (453), Valamir, by force and diplomacy, became the leader of the large grouping of Goths who were settled by the Emperor

Marcian Marcian (; la, Marcianus, link=no; grc-gre, Μαρκιανός, link=no ; 392 – 27 January 457) was Roman emperor of the East from 450 to 457. Very little of his life before becoming emperor is known, other than that he was a (personal as ...

in Pannonia. In the subsequent fight for independence from the Huns from 456 to 457, Valamir defeated the sons of Attila. In 459 Valamir's Ostrogoths did not receive their accustomed annual tribute from the Romans and felt that

Theoderic Strabo Theodoric (or Theoderic) Strabo ( la, Theodericus; died 481) was a Gothic chieftain who was involved in the politics of the Eastern Roman Empire during the reigns of Emperors Leo I, Zeno and Basiliscus. He was a rival for the leadership of the Os ...

was getting more honour than they were. Valamir and his brothers therefore attacked Illyricum from 459 to 462, when the emperor

Leo I The LEO I (Lyons Electronic Office I) was the first computer used for commercial business applications. The prototype LEO I was modelled closely on the Cambridge EDSAC. Its construction was overseen by Oliver Standingford, Raymond Thompson and D ...

agreed to pay the Goths 300 pounds of gold yearly. During a

Sciri The Sciri, or Scirians, were a Germanic people. They are believed to have spoken an East Germanic language. Their name probably means "the pure ones". The Sciri were mentioned already in the late 3rd century BC as participants in a raid on the ...

an raid, just before the

Battle of Bolia The Battle of Bolia, was a battle in 469 between the Ostrogoths ( Amal Goths) and a coalition of Germanic tribes in the Roman province of Pannonia. It was fought on the south side of the Danube near its confluence with the river Bolia, in presen ...

, Valamir was thrown from his horse and killed.

Jordanes Jordanes (), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat widely believed to be of Goths, Gothic descent who became a historian later in life. Late in life he wrote two works, one on Roman history (''Romana ...

in his

Getica ''De origine actibusque Getarum'' (''The Origin and Deeds of the Getae oths'), commonly abbreviated ''Getica'', written in Late Latin by Jordanes in or shortly after 551 AD, claims to be a summary of a voluminous account by Cassiodorus of th ...

may have confused his name (Βαλαμέρ in the

Greek alphabet The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BCE. It is derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and was the earliest known alphabetic script to have distinct letters for vowels as we ...

), giving "

Balamber Balamber (also known as Balamir, Balamur and many other variants) was ostensibly a chieftain of the Huns, mentioned by Jordanes in his ''Getica'' ( 550 AD). Jordanes simply called him "king of the Huns" () and writes the story of Balamber crushin ...

" a fictitious existence as a king of the Huns about 375.

References

{{Authority control Ostrogothic kings Amali dynasty Gothic warriors Huns Ancient Hungary 420 births 465 deaths 5th-century monarchs in Europe 5th-century Ostrogothic people