Aoric (Latinized ''Aoricus'') was a Thervingian Gothic

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

(''

reiks Reiks (; pronunciation ; Latinized as ''rix'') is a Gothic title for a tribal ruler, often translated as "king". In the Gothic Bible, it translates to the Greek '' árchōn'' (ἄρχων). It is presumably translated as '' basiliskos'' (βα ...

'' and '' kindins'') who lived in the 4th century. Aoric was son of

Ariaric Ariaric also known as Ariacus was a 4th-century Thervingian Gothic pagan ruler (''reiks'', '' kindins'') He was succeeded by Geberic. In 328, Constantine the Great constructed a bridge across the Danube and built fortifications in the territ ...

and father of

Athanaric Athanaric or Atanaric (; died 381) was king of several branches of the Thervingian Goths () for at least two decades in the 4th century. Throughout his reign, Athanaric was faced with invasions by the Roman Empire, the Huns and a civil war with C ...

, he was raised in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, where a statue was erected in his honour. He was recorded by Auxentius of Durostorum leading a persecution of Gothic Christians in 347/348.

Herwig Wolfram Herwig Wolfram (born 14 February 1934) is an Austrian historian who is Professor Emeritus of Medieval History and Auxiliary Sciences of History at the University of Vienna and the former Director of the . He is a leading member of the Vienna Schoo ...

noted that "alliteration, variation, and rhythm in the line of names Athanaric, Aoric, Ariaric resemble the 'ideal type' of Hadubrand, Hildebrand, Heribrand". He considered the similarities and comparison suggested that all three kings were members of the

Balti dynasty The Balt dynasty Roger Collins, ''Visigothic Spain, 409–711'' (Blackwell, 2008), p. 45.A. Barbero and M. I. Loring, "The Formation of the Sueve and Visigothic Kingdoms in Spain", in Paul Fouracre (ed.), ''The New Cambridge Medieval History'', Vol ...

References

{{reflist Gothic kings Balt dynasty 4th-century monarchs in Europe 4th-century Gothic people