Theodahad 534 536 Ostrogoth minted in Rome

Theodahad, also known as Thiudahad ( la,

Flavius The gens Flavia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Its members are first mentioned during the last three centuries of the Republic. The first of the Flavii to achieve prominence was Marcus Flavius, tribune of the plebs in 327 and 323 BC; ...

Theodahatus , Theodahadus, Theodatus; 480 – December 536) was king of the Ostrogoths from 534 to 536.

Early life

Born at in

Tauresium Tauresium (Latin; mk, Тауресиум), today as Gradište ( mk, Градиште), is an archaeological site in North Macedonia, approximately southeast of the capital Skopje. Tauresium is the birthplace of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (ca. ...

, Theodahad was a nephew of

Theodoric 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 ...

through his mother

Amalafrida Amalafrida (fl. 523), was the daughter of Theodemir, king of the Ostrogoths, and his wife Erelieva. She was the sister of Theodoric the Great, and mother of Theodahad, both of whom also were kings of the Ostrogoths. In 500, Theodoric, ruler over ...

. He is probably the son of Amalafrida's first husband because her second marriage was about 500 AD. His sister was

Amalaberga Amalaberga was the daughter of Amalafrida, daughter of Theodemir, king of the Ostrogoths. Her father is unknown, her uncle was Theodoric the Great. Around 510, she was married to Hermanfrid, son of the Thuringian ruler Bisinus and his Lombar ...

. His father's identity remains unknown. He may have arrived 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 ...

with Theodoric and was elderly at the time of his accession. Massimiliano Vitiello states the name "Theodahad" is a compound of 'people' and 'conflict'. Before becoming king, his kinswoman

Amalaswintha 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 ...

ruled. During her rule, potential enemies were murdered or humiliated. Theodahad was accused of land grabbing and forced to return land he had supposedly stolen. Letters written in the name of King Theodoric to Theodahad imply that the land was taken by force.

King

After the death of Theodahad's nephew Athalaric, the queen regent Amalaswintha chose to associate Theodahad with her in the monarchy. This was likely to help legitimize her rulership, as the Goths were skeptical about a female ruler. Theodahad's previous conflicts with his cousin did not take long to resurface. He arrested his first cousin Amalaswintha, former regent of the Ostrogoths from 526 to October 534, while they co-ruled as queen and king. He imprisoned her in the spring of 535 on an island in

Lake Bolsena Lake Bolsena ( it, Lago di Bolsena) is a lake of volcanic origin in the northern part of the province of Viterbo called ''Alto Lazio'' ("Upper Latium") or ''Tuscia'' in central Italy. It is the largest volcanic lake in Europe. Roman historic ...

. When Amalaswintha was assassinated while in custody, his enemies claimed he acquiesced to her murder. Since her assassination would likely separate him from her power base, this was unlikely. Political instability within the kingdom served as a pretext for

Byzantine 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 ...

general

Belisarius Belisarius (; el, Βελισάριος; The exact date of his birth is unknown. – 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under the emperor Justinian I. He was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean terr ...

to intervene in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and Italy, in the service of Emperor

Justinian Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

, causing the

Gothic Wars The Gothic Wars were a long series of conflicts between the Goths and the Roman Empire between the years 249 and 554. The main wars are detailed below. Gothic War (249–253) (Goths under Cniva against the Roman Empire) The War was probably in ...

. When his ineffectiveness in the war caused Theodahad to lose control,

Witiges Vitiges or Vitigis or Witiges (died 542) was king of Ostrogothic Italy from 536 to 540. He succeeded to the throne of Italy in the early stages of the Gothic War of 535–554, as Belisarius had quickly captured Sicily the previous year and ...

sent Optaris to retrieve him dead or alive. Optaris murdered Theodahad after overtaking him on the Via Flaminia. According to Procopius, Theodahad's throat was cut. When Optaris returned with news of the former king's death, the Goths elected Witigis as their king. He was notable for his adoration for

Neoplatonic philosophy Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some ide ...

and poetry over martial prowess. His focus on erudition instead of bellicosity, in a time when Italy was consumed by turmoil, is claimed to be a reason for his downfall.M. Vitiello, ''Theodahad: A Platonic King at the Collapse of Ostrogothic Italy'' (2014).Lillington-Martin, C. (2016), a review of ''Theodahad: A Platonic King at the Collapse of Ostrogothic Italy'' by Massimiliano Vitiello (2014) for University of Toronto Quarterly, Issue 85:3 (2016), 470-472. https://dx.doi.org/10.3138/utq.85.3.470.

In fiction

Theodahad makes an appearance in

Felix Dahn Felix Dahn (9 February 1834 – 3 January 1912) was a German law professor, German nationalist author, poet and historian. Biography Ludwig Julius Sophus Felix Dahn was born in Hamburg as the oldest son of Friedrich (1811–1889) and Constanze ...

's 1876 historical novel ''Ein Kampf um Rom'', which appeared in English translation in 1878 as '' A Struggle for Rome''. In the book he is depicted as weak and subservient to his wife, Gothelinda, who is portrayed as the true culprit behind Amalaswintha's murder. Theodahad also appears (as "Thiudahad") as a character in

L. Sprague de Camp Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and works of non-fiction, including biog ...

's 1939 alternate history novel '' Lest Darkness Fall''.

References

External links

Theodahad
in Medieval Lands {{Authority control 480s births 536 deaths 6th-century kings of Italy Ostrogothic kings Amali dynasty Assassinated Gothic people 6th-century murdered monarchs 6th-century monarchs in Europe People of the Gothic War (535–554) Year of birth unknown 6th-century Ostrogothic people