Theodoric II ( 426 – early 466) was the eighth King of the
Visigoths
The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...
, from 453 to 466.
Biography
Theoderic II, son of
Theodoric I, obtained the throne by killing his elder brother
Thorismund. The English historian
Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English essayist, historian, and politician. His most important work, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1789, is known for ...
writes that "he justified this atrocious deed by the design which his predecessor had formed of violating his alliance with the empire." In late 458 the
Western Roman Emperor,
Majorian
Majorian (; 7 August 461) was Western Roman emperor from 457 to 461. A prominent commander in the Late Roman army, Western military, Majorian deposed Avitus in 457 with the aid of his ally Ricimer at the Battle of Placentia (456), Battle of Place ...
entered
Septimania
Septimania is a historical region in modern-day southern France. It referred to the western part of the Roman province of '' Gallia Narbonensis'' that passed to the control of the Visigoths in 462, when Septimania was ceded to their king, Theod ...
to attack Theodoric and reclaim the province for the empire. Majorian defeated Theodoric at the
Battle of Arelate
The Battle of Arles was fought in 458 near Arelate (Arles) between Western Roman Emperor Majorian and Visigothic king Theodoric II. After the assassination of Flavius Aetius in 454, the Visigoths began to expand their kingdom at the expense ...
, forcing the Visigoths to abandon Septimania and withdraw west to
Aquitania. Under the new treaty with the Romans, the Visigoths had to relinquish their recent conquests in
Hispania
Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...
and return to federate status. However, after the assassination of Majorian in 461, Theodoric recaptured Septimania and invaded Hispania again. Theodoric sided with
Ricimer and the new emperor
Libius Severus
Libius Severus, sometimes enumerated as Severus III, was Western Roman Empire, Western Roman emperor from November 19, 461 to his death on November 14, 465. A native of Lucania,Cassiodorus, ''Chronicle''; ''Chronica Gallica of 511'', s:la:Chroni ...
against Majorian's magister militum per Gallias
Aegidius. Theodorics' army was defeated by Aegidius at Aurelianum and his brother Frederic died in battle, which Kulikowski writes "would have important consequences for the Gothic succession." Theodoric was himself murdered in 466 by his younger brother
Euric, who succeeded him to the throne.
See also
*
Gothic War in Spain (456)
The Gothic War in Spain of 456 was a military operation of the Visigoths commissioned by the West Roman emperor Avitus. This operation consisted of an extensive campaign aimed at reclaiming the Spanish provinces of Lusitania and Betica that we ...
*
Gothic War (457-458) 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 Mo ...
Described by a Roman
The Gallo-Roman
Sidonius Apollinaris wrote a famously vivid and gushing letter to his brother-in-law Agricola describing the king and his court:
This description was later largely copied by the German chronicler
Rahewin when describing
Frederick Barbarossa
Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...
in the 12th century.
References
External links
Edward Gibbon, ''History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,'' chapter 36
{{DEFAULTSORT:Theodoric 02
466 deaths
Balt dynasty
Assassinated Gothic people
5th-century murdered monarchs
5th-century Visigothic monarchs
Year of birth unknown