The great king of the Ostrogoths and regent of the Visigoths Theodoric was king of the Ostrogoths, ruler of Italy, regent of the Visigoths and viceroy of the Eastern Roman Empire. He was born in 454 AD in what is now the border region of Austria and Hungary. The son of a king, he travelled as a child to Byzantium as a hostage against his father’s good conduct and as was traditional for those in his position benefited from the education his more cultured circumstances offered. This enabled him to become a master of the military art providing him with skills and knowledge which served him well when he took power as monarch. He was 31 years old before he returned to his own people. At the behest of the Byzantine Emperor Zeno. Theodoric invaded King Odoacer’s Italian kingdom fighting battles at Isonzo, Verona, Adda and Ravenna between 488 and 493 AD. The invasion established his power base and his influence with the emperor since Odoacer had been a troublesome vassal ruler and the Ostrogoths now were able to occupy much needed new territory for expansion. Allied with the Franks, Theodoric campaigned successfully against the Vandals, but as is often the case for those with dynastic aspirations his conquests and political machinations did not long survive his death in 526. Nevertheless Theodoric was a significant figure in Europe during the final phase of the Western Roman Empire and this account will offer much to students of the period.
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