Ostrogoths - the new masters of Italy

Odoacer ruled calmly in Italy for 16 years, but his end was sad. In the winter of 489, new hordes of Germans crossed into Italy through the icy Alpine passes - these were the Ostrogoths, former allies of Attila, who fought with him on the Catalaunian fields. Their king, Theodoric, spent ten years as a hostage in Constantinople as a child, and for the rest of his life he was imbued with reverence for the culture of the Romans and Greeks. This did not prevent him, however, having become the Ostrogothic king, from time to time to threaten the Byzantines with war. And sometimes Theodoric was their ally and crushed the enemies of the empire. The Byzantine emperor Zeno was afraid of Theodoric, he cajoled him in every possible way. In the end, Zeno found a way to get rid of the overly powerful and restless barbarian. The emperor invited Theodoric to go with his tribe to conquer Italy. Zeno wanted to achieve two goals: to return Italy by the hands of Theodoric to the power of the empire again, and to send the Ostrogoths away from Constantinople.

Theodoric defeated the army of Odogkra and for three years besieged impregnable Ravenna, where Odoacer himself took refuge. In the end, Theodoric and Odoacer agreed that they would share power between themselves and rule Italy together. But just a few days later, Theodoric killed the “co-ruler” at a feast and ordered the destruction of all his supporters.

So in the north of Italy arose the kingdom of the Ostrogoths, led by Theodoric. For several decades, peace and order reigned in the land tormented by invasions. As the Gothic historians wrote (however, obviously exaggerating), “even gold and silver could be put on the road and long later found it inviolable.” Neighboring barbarian kingdoms and Byzantium treated Theodoric with reverence and apprehension.

Unlike many other barbarian kings, Theodoric understood that in order for his kingdom to be strong, it was necessary to teach the alien Goths and much more numerous Romans to live in peace with each other. That is why he brought many noble, influential Romans closer to him, showed respect to the Roman Senate. Theodoric was delighted with the city of Rome and allocated money from the treasury for the restoration of buildings that had fallen into disrepair over the past decades of uninterrupted unrest. Other Roman cities were also rebuilt, especially the capital of Theodoric - Ravenna.

Theodoric, like most Goths, was a Christian, but adhered to the Arian doctrine.

As early as the end of the 4th c. the Arian bishop Ulfilas converted part of the Goths to Christianity. He even translated the Bible into the Goth language. To do this, he had to create a Gothic script based on Greek. Part of Ulfila's translation has been preserved, thanks to which we now know much more about the Gothic language than about the languages ​​\u200b\u200bof other barbarian tribes of that time.

The Romans considered the Arians heretics and feared religious persecution on their part. However, under Theodoric, the Aryan-Goths did not try to force their interpretation of Christianity on the Romans. “We cannot prescribe faith,” the king said, “for you cannot force a person to believe.” Theodoric retained many Roman government institutions, all official papers were written in Latin under him. He addressed his fellow tribesmen with an appeal: “The Romans are your neighbors in possession, so let love unite them with you!”

Theodoric also liked the Roman laws already because, in accordance with them, the ruler has much more power than the leader of the tribe according to Gothic customs. Theodoric did not want to share a single drop of his power either with the assembly of the people or with the elders of the Goths. He once said to himself: “Only our will binds us, and not the conditions set by others. We can, thanks to the mercy of God, everything, but we believe that only what is worthy of praise is appropriate for us.

The fate of the "last Roman"

For all the foresight of Theodoric, his policy was ultimately unsuccessful. Ordinary Goths did not understand why they should reckon with the inhabitants of the country they conquered, as their king wanted. And among the Romans there were enough dissatisfied with the fact that the Germans were in charge in Italy, that the former citizens of the empire, which had conquered almost the whole world, were now deprived of the right to bear arms. Some longingly dreamed of the glory of Rome, of the valor of its legions, others hoped that the Byzantine emperor would remember Italy and free her from the rule of the barbarians. Distrust, suspicion between the Goths and the Romans did not weaken over time, but intensified, and the difference in faith played an important role here. Theodoric was informed that the noble Romans were plotting to overthrow the government of the Goths. The former peacefulness of the king disappeared in an instant. On his orders, the pope was killed and several noble Romans were executed. The most famous of them was Severinus Boethius.

Boethius is sometimes called "the last Roman". He was a superbly educated man, which for that troubled era was the exception rather than the rule. But, in addition, Boethius became a well-known philosopher, writer, author of textbooks on music, arithmetic, logic, translator of the works of Greek thinkers into Latin. His textbooks and translations enjoyed success in European schools until the very end of the Middle Ages - almost a thousand years! The work of Boethius became, as it were, a testament to a fading ancient culture.

Theodoric at first highly valued Boethius not only as a philosopher, but also as a politician, and trusted him with the most important posts in the kingdom. In the last few years of his life, Boethius was, as we would say, Theodoric's first minister. But, believing the denunciation, the king immediately imprisoned his former favorite, and soon ordered his execution. Sitting in prison awaiting execution, Boethius, instead of begging for mercy, wrote his most famous book, full of dignity and spiritual firmness, "Consolation of Philosophy."

Philosophy itself, to which he was devoted all his life, seemed to appear in prison to Boethius in the form of a beautiful and majestic woman. She talks with Boethius about life and death, about justice and luck, about whether evil rules the world or whether good is still stronger ... And in these long conversations, despair and resentment give way to calmness and courage in Boethius' soul ... Centuries later after the execution of Boethius, many generations of Europeans read The Consolation of Philosophy in the most bitter moments of their lives in order to strengthen their spirit...

The death of the Ostrogothic kingdom

The aged Theodoric outlived Boethius by only a year. After the death of the king, who earned the nickname of the Great from his descendants, many songs were composed about him, glorifying his wisdom and valor. But the kingdom he founded lasted only thirty years. Quarrels broke out among Theodoric's successors. Then the Byzantine emperor Justinian decided to defeat the Ostrogoths and bring Italy under his control. He sent a large army under the command of the best general Belisarius, but the war with the bravely resisting Goths dragged on for many years. Only in 555 - exactly thirty years after the execution of Boethius - Byzantium finally coped with the Ostrogothic kingdom. Italy was again under the rule of the emperor - now the eastern one. But the triumph of Byzantium was short-lived.

From the north, new Germanic tribes fell upon Italy. The Romans called them "Langobards" - "long-bearded." They were, perhaps, the most frightening of all that Italy has seen over the past century and a half. It was said about the Lombards that they were "wild with a more terrible savagery than the savagery of the Germans usually happens." The country was subjected to a terrible defeat. The new Lombard kingdom occupied almost all of northern Italy. There, only Ravenna remained behind Byzantium, as well as the islands in the Adriatic Sea, on which Venice subsequently grew. The extreme south of Italy was still in the hands of Byzantium, and Rome was under the authority of the pope.

Jordanes on how Theodoric went to retake Italy from Odoacer

But here Theodoric, being in alliance with the empire of Zeno and enjoying all the benefits in the capital, heard that his tribe ... did not live quite well and not in full prosperity. Then he chose, according to the tried and tested custom of his tribe: it is better to earn food by labor than to enjoy the benefits of the Roman Empire in inaction, and people to vegetate in a miserable state. Having reasoned with himself in this way, he said to the emperor: “Although we, who are in the service of your empire, do not lack anything, however, if your piety honors me, let it listen favorably to the desire of my heart.” When he was given the opportunity to speak with his usual friendliness, he said: "The Hesperian side ( "Hesperia" means "West". The Greeks called Italy the "Hesperian side".), which was recently ruled by the power of your predecessors, and that city is the head and ruler of the world - why do they rush like on waves, subject to the tyranny of the king of torquilings and horns? ( This refers to Odoacer and his barbarian army.). Send me with my tribe, and if you command, and here you will free yourself from the burden of costs, and there, if with the help of the Lord I will win, the glory of your piety will shine.

It is useful, if I remain victorious, that I, your servant and son, own this kingdom by your gift, and not the one unknown to you who is ready to oppress your senate with a tyrannical yoke, and part of your state with the slavery of captivity. If I can win, I will own your giving, your grace; if I am defeated, your piety will not lose anything, but even, as we said, it will gain expenses (for the maintenance of the Ostrogoth tribe).

Although the emperor was bitter about his departure, nevertheless, hearing these words and not wanting to grieve him, he confirmed what he wanted, and let him go, enriched with many gifts, entrusting him with the Senate and the people of Rome.

From The Consolation of Philosophy by Severinus Boethius

O my pet, how can I leave you and not share with you the burden that those who hate my very name have brought upon you! After all, it is not the custom of philosophy to leave an innocent unaccompanied on a journey, should I be afraid of accusations, and will new slanders frighten me? Have you now for the first time felt that wisdom is endangered by bad morals? Was it not in ancient times, even before the age of our Plato, that I often encountered stupidity and recklessness in the great battle? And during his lifetime, didn’t his teacher Socrates, with my help, achieve victory over an unjust death? about ... Seneca ... memories of which are not so long ago and widely known. What led to their death was nothing else than the fact that they, brought up in my customs and instructions, by their actions sharply differed from bad people. Therefore, it should not be surprising that in the sea of ​​\u200b\u200blife we ​​are shaken by storms, us, which are most likely to arouse the displeasure of the worst people. Their host, though numerous, is deserving of contempt, for it is not ruled by any leader, but is driven only by reckless delusion and unbridled fury. If someone, putting up an army against us, turns out to be stronger, our leader pulls her defenders into the fortress, and the enemies get only things of no value for plunder. And we look down with laughter at how they seize the most despicable of things, and we are protected and shielded from this furious attack by such a rampart that the attacking warriors of stupidity cannot even hope to overcome.



Visigoths or Visigoths(Visigoth, West Goth, i.e. Western Goths), a powerful people of Germanic origin, who lived in the first centuries of our era from the Dnieper to the Tisza, while the Ostrogoths (Eastern Goths) of the same tribe lived from the Don to the Dnieper. When the Ostrogoths, weakened by division, fell under the rule of the Huns in the beginning of the Great Migration of Peoples, the Visigoths went to the mountains and received from the Byzantine emperor Valens permission to settle in the devastated province of Moesia (later Romania). But soon Valens, repentant that he hastened to let the violent Goths into the borders of his state, stopped listening to their complaints about Roman officials, especially during the terrible famine that raged in Moesia. Driven to despair, the Goths rebelled under the command of their leader Fridigern, devastated Moesia and Thrace (Bulgaria), and defeated Valens in a bloody battle. battle of Adrianople(378), in which this emperor himself died.

Own state in one of the most powerful eastern branches of the Germans - Visigoths- formed before the final collapse of the Western Roman Empire. Displaced at the end of the 4th c. from the Danubian lands by the Huns during the Great Migration of Peoples, the Visigoths first infiltrated the Eastern Roman Empire, and at the beginning of the 5th century. - to Italy. Relations with the Roman Empire among the Visigoths were originally based on a military-federative alliance. But by the middle of the century it had become nominal. During the 5th century Visigoths entrenched in southern Gaul and northern Spain.

At this time, the Visigothic society was experiencing an accelerated process of formation of a proto-state. Until the middle of the 5th c. People's assemblies played the main role in governance. In the second half of the 5th c. the royal power was strengthened: the kings appropriated the right to create a court, to issue laws. There was a special relationship between the kings and the military nobility, which gradually intercepted the right to elect kings from the people's assemblies. The basis for consolidating the power of the nobility was land grants made on behalf of the king. Under King Eirich, the most important remnants of military democracy were eliminated among the Visigoths, a code of laws was published (using the Roman experience), special judges and administrators appeared - committees.

At the beginning of the VI century. the Visigoths were forced out of southern Gaul by the Franks (the northern branch of the Germans) and formed Kingdom of Toledo (VI - VIII centuries) in Spain.

Typically for a barbarian state, the Kingdom of Toledo was internally poorly organized, the importance of the central government was small. Territorially, the kingdom was divided into communities (civitas), inherited from the Roman provinces, and into thousands; they all retained significant self-rule rights. Statehood was represented by the royal palace, whose importance increased by the 6th century, and meetings of the nobility, where the main state-political affairs were decided.

Power king was selective and unstable. Only at the end of the VI century. one of the Visigothic rulers managed to give it some stability; during the 6th century kings were regularly deposed by being killed. Royal Palace(or court) embodied the only centralized administrative principle, palace services from the end of the 5th century. began to acquire national significance. The lower administration was made up of various kinds of officials appointed and removed by the king; for their service they received a monetary salary. Tiufada had a special status - the commander of the Visigothic "thousand", who also judged the Goths (the Gallo-Roman population was subject to its own justice).

The most important role in the Visigothic state was played by meetings of the nobility - curtains. They elected kings, passed laws, decided some court cases. The Hardings met without a definite system, but their consent was necessary for major political decisions. In the 7th century along with them, the church councils of Toledo became important in the life of the kingdom, where not only church, but also national affairs were decided. The large role of meetings of the military, church and administrative nobility of the Visigoths in the state implied an increase in its positions in the social system: already from the 6th century. here a hierarchy of landed property was formed, which created different levels of social subordination and privilege.

The Visigoths left some institutions of Roman statehood in the occupied lands intact: customs duties, coins, and the tax system (land tax and trade tax).

Elements of the pre-state system of the Germans were preserved longer than others in military organization. The army was based on territorial militias, which were assembled by special rulers; it was entitled to part of the spoils of war. The germ of the new standing army was the garrisons stationed in important fortresses. From the end of the 7th century in the army, features characteristic of the feudal service system appeared: the nobility and large landowners are obliged to participate in campaigns with their people.

The evolution of the Visigothic state in the direction of a new statehood was interrupted by the invasion of Spain by the Arabs and their conquest in the 8th century. Kingdom of Toledo.

Ostrogothic kingdom

Another part of the East German branch of the tribes - Ostrogoths- after a short federal union with the Eastern Roman Empire, she formed her own state in Italy. Territory Ostrogothic kingdom (493 - 555) also covered the Alpine Gaul (modern Switzerland, Austria, Hungary) and the coast of the Adriatic Sea. The Ostrogoths seized in their favor up to a third of the lands of the former Roman landowners, previously captured by previous conquerors.

Unlike other Germanic peoples, the Ostrogoths practically retained in their kingdom the former state apparatus of the Roman Empire; the Roman and Gallo-Roman populations continued to be subject to their own right, their own administration. The Senate, the praetorian prefect, the municipal authorities continued to exist - and they all remained in the hands of the Romans. The Gothic population was subject to the management established on the basis of the German military tribal tradition, which at the same time was nationwide.

King's power among the Ostrogoths was very significant from the very time of the mastery of Italy. He was recognized for the rights of legislation, minting coins, appointing officials, conducting diplomatic relations, and financial powers. This power was considered to be above the law and outside the laws. A special manifestation of royal power, which began to intensively form new social and legal ties in the state, was the right of patronage (tuitio). Protection could be provided in the right, in cognizance, in the imposition of taxes or fines - to individuals, who thereby acquired a special status of being indebted to the king or his free servants. There was no strict order of inheritance of power; in times of war, kings were elected by the army, but more often this was influenced by councils of the nobility or councils of elders, which, however, were no longer permanent institutions. The remnants of military democracy among the Ostrogoths were weaker: at the end of the 5th century. there were practically no similarities of popular meetings.

A significantly greater role (than it was even in the Roman Empire) was played by Royal Council. It was both a military council and the highest judicial body. It was made up of the king's advisers, his squire, the palace entourage - the committee. The Committee was in charge of the appointment of church ministers and the determination of taxes.

Palace Administration(the emerging central administration) was made up of the royal master of chancellery (according to the late Roman model), whose competence was limited only to the affairs of the palace, the personal secretary of the monarch - the quaestor, committees of sacred bounty and patrimony (managing state finances and royal estates, respectively). In the main state administration was carried out through territorial rulers and special envoys.

Locally, in special districts, all power belonged to the Gothic committees, or counts, appointed by the king. They had military, judicial, administrative and financial powers over both the Gothic and Roman populations, they controlled the activities of other officials in their territory. Their tasks also included "preservation of calm" on their lands, police activities. In the border areas, the role of rulers was played by dukes(duces), which, in addition to administrative, military and judicial power, also possessed some legislative rights in their territory. Conditional unity in the work of such a semi-state administration should have been brought by royal envoys - sayons, who were entrusted with a variety of cases, mainly to control other rulers and officials (without assigning their functions), to eliminate offenses or especially important incidents. Their powers also applied equally to both the Roman and the Gothic population. The dukes and counts also commanded the Gothic army, which in Italy was already permanent and was on state support.

The traditions of the Roman administrative system not only influenced the powers of many branches of government in the kingdom. Outwardly, the city administration remained completely Roman, the Roman tax system and the organization of food purchases were completely preserved. The continuity in the state organization was so great that, in fact, two statehoods were preserved in the kingdom - one for the Romans, the other for the Gothic, each with its own army, courts (civil, in criminal cases there was a single court of counts), practically with its own supreme power . This distinction was also based on social prohibitions (for example, Gothic-Roman marriages were not allowed).

The Ostrogothic kingdom turned out to be short-lived (in the middle of the 6th century Italy was conquered by Byzantium). But the political system that developed in it was an important historical example of the significant influence of the traditions of the Roman Empire on the formation of a new statehood.

Frankish state of the Merovingians

At the end of the 5th century in Northern Gaul (modern Belgium and Northern France), the early state of the Franks was formed - the most powerful union of the northern Germanic tribes. The Franks came into contact with the Roman Empire in the 3rd century, settling from the northern Rhine regions. In the second half of the 4th c. they settled in Gaul as federates of Rome, gradually spreading their possessions and getting out of the power of Rome. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Franks (who also called themselves Salic) captured the remnants of Roman possessions in Gaul, defeating the independent semi-kingdoms that had formed there. On the conquered lands, the Franks settled mainly in whole communities, clans, taking part of the empty lands, part of the land of the former Roman treasury, and part of the local population. However, in the main relations between the Franks and the Gallo-Roman population were peaceful. This further ensured the formation of a completely new socio-ethnic community of the Celtic-Germanic synthesis.

During the conquest of Gaul, the Franks raised the leader of one of the tribes - Clovis. By 510, he succeeded in destroying the other leaders and declaring himself, as it were, the representative of the Roman emperor (nominally maintaining political ties with the empire was one way of proclaiming his special rights). During the VI century. remnants of military democracy were preserved, the people still participated in the legislation. However, the importance of royal power gradually grew. To a large extent, this was facilitated by an increase in the income of the kings, who established a regular collection of taxes in the form of polyudya. In 496 (498 -?) Clovis with his retinue and part of his fellow tribesmen adopted Christianity, which ensured the support of the Gallo-Roman church for the emerging statehood.

Previously, the state of the Franks was weakly centralized, reproducing the tribal division in the territorial structure. The country was subdivided into counties, counties - into districts (pagi), former Roman communities; the lowest unit, but very important, was the hundred. Districts and hundreds retained self-government: the district and hundreds of people's assemblies resolved court cases, were in charge of the layout of taxes. The count was not a general ruler, he ruled only the king's possessions in the county (in other areas such rulers were called satsebarons); by virtue of dominal rights, he had judicial powers and administrative powers in relation to the subject population.

The basis of state unity was originally predominantly military organization. The annual meeting of the militia - the "March fields" - played a significant role in solving state and political issues, in particular war and peace, the adoption of Christianity, etc. By the end of the 6th century. they are out of the ordinary. But in the seventh century restored again, although they have acquired a different content. By the 7th century not only Franks, but also the Gallo-Roman population, not only free, but also dependent land holders - litas, began to be attracted to military service. Military service began to turn into a national duty, and the "March Fields" became for the most part reviews of the military service population.

By the 8th century there has been a significant increase royal power. It has practically lost contact with the institution of the leader of military democracy, but the correct legacy of power has not yet been established: the dynasty Merovingian, leading from Clovis from the Merovean family, more retained royal power. Legal monuments of the era began to mention the legislative rights of kings, the sacred nature of royal power, the exclusivity of its rights. There was even an idea of ​​high treason (which means that obligatory submission to state institutions of royal power was implied).

The center of public administration in the VI century. became royal court. Under King Dagobert (VII century), they established themselves as permanent positions of a referendary (he is also the keeper of the king's seal), a royal count (high judge), head of finance, treasure keeper, and abbot of the palace. The courtyard and the immediate surroundings, mostly church, formed royal council, which influenced the conclusion of contracts, the appointment of officials, land grants. Officials for special cases, financial, commercial and customs agents were appointed by the king and removed at his discretion. The dukes had a somewhat special position - the rulers of several united districts.

Occurred up to twice a year gatherings of nobility(bishops, counts, dukes, etc.), where general political matters, mainly ecclesiastical ones, were decided, and about grants. The most numerous and important were the spring ones, the autumn ones were narrow in composition and more palace-like.

One of the most important powers of the royal power was the issuance of grants - land holdings. First of all, such awards touched the royal warriors, who from service soldiers began to turn into vassals - in the 7th century. the term itself came into use in relation to this layer of the royal environment. Control over land holdings and service strengthened the nationwide powers of the royal palace.

By the end of the VI - the beginning of the VII century. changes affected the position of the county authorities. The counts became the main figure in the local administration, they were given the powers of the former committees of the empire in command of the garrisons, the judiciary, and the control of officials. This tradition in the formation of statehood was all the more real because more than half of those known for the 6th century. Frankish regional rulers-counts were Gallo-Romans in origin. Such connection with local communities naturally strengthened decentralization tendencies.

But by its very nature, the early Frankish state was not stable. From the turn of the VI-VII centuries. a noticeable separation of three regions of the kingdom began: Neustria (northwest with a center in Paris), Austrasia (northeast), Burgundy. By the end of the 7th century Aquitaine stood out in the south. The regions differed markedly in the composition of the population, the degree of feudalization, and the administrative and social system.

The fluid collapse of the state first of all caused a weakening of royal power (all the more so since back in 511, when dividing power between the heirs of Clovis, the church council declared a peculiar structure in the form of a "shared kingdom"). At the end of the 7th century real powers were in the hands of the royal mayordoms- rulers of palaces in certain areas. Mayordoms took over the business of land grants, and with it control over the local aristocracy and vassals. The last Merovingian kings withdrew from power (for which they received the nickname "lazy kings" in history).

Another part of the East German branch of the tribes - Ostrogoths- after a short federal union with the Eastern Roman Empire, she formed her own state in Italy. Territory Ostrogothic kingdom (493 - 555) also covered the Alpine Gaul (modern Switzerland, Austria, Hungary) and the coast of the Adriatic Sea. The Ostrogoths seized in their favor up to a third of the lands of the former Roman landowners, previously captured by previous conquerors.

Unlike other Germanic peoples, the Ostrogoths practically retained in their kingdom the former state apparatus of the Roman Empire; the Roman and Gallo-Roman population continued to obey their own law, their own administration. The Senate, the praetorian prefect, the municipal authorities continued to exist - and they all remained in the hands of the Romans. The Gothic population was subject to the management established on the basis of the German military tribal tradition, which at the same time was nationwide.

King's power among the Ostrogoths was very significant from the very time of the mastery of Italy. The rights of legislation, minting coins, appointing officials, conducting diplomatic relations, and financial powers were recognized as occupations. This power was considered to be above the law and outside the laws. A special manifestation of royal power, which began to intensively form new social and legal ties in the state, was right of patronage(tuitio). Protection could be provided in the right, in jurisdiction, in the imposition of taxes or fines - to individuals, who thereby acquired the special status of being indebted to the king or his free servants. There was no strict order of inheritance of power; during the war, the kings were elected by the army, but more often this was influenced by the councils of the nobility or the councils of elders, which, however, were no longer permanent institutions. The remnants of military democracy among the Ostrogoths were weaker: at the end of the 5th century. there were practically no similarities of popular meetings.

A significantly greater role (than it was even in the Roman Empire) was played by Royal Council. It was both a military council and the highest judicial body. It was made up of the king's advisers, his squire, the palace entourage - comitat. The Committee was in charge of the appointment of church ministers and the determination of taxes.

Palace Administration(the emerging central administration) constituted the royal Master of Chancery(according to the late Roman model), whose competence was limited only to the affairs of the palace, the personal secretary of the monarch - the quaestor, committees of sacred bounties and patrimony (managing state finances and royal estates, respectively). In the main state administration was carried out through territorial rulers and special envoys.

On the ground, in special districts, all power belonged to the Gothic committees, or counts, appointed by the king. They had military, judicial, administrative and financial powers over both the Gothic and Roman populations, they controlled the activities of other officials in their territory. Their tasks also included "preservation of calm" on their lands, police activities. In the border areas, the role of rulers was played by dukes(duces), which, in addition to administrative, military and judicial power, also possessed some legislative rights in their territory. Conditional unity in the work of such a semi-state administration should have been brought by royal envoys - sayons, who were entrusted with a variety of cases, mainly to control other rulers and officials (without assigning their functions), to eliminate offenses or especially important incidents. Their powers also applied equally to both the Roman and the Gothic population. The dukes and counts also commanded the Gothic army, which in Italy was already permanent and was on state support.

The traditions of the Roman administrative system not only influenced the powers of many branches of government in the kingdom. Outwardly, the city administration remained completely Roman, the Roman tax system and the organization of food purchases were completely preserved. The succession in the state organization was so great that in the kingdom, in fact, two states- one for the Romans, the other - Gothic, each with its own army, courts (civil, in criminal cases there was a single court of counts), practically with its own supreme power. This distinction was also based on social prohibitions (for example, Gothic-Roman marriages were not allowed).

The Ostrogothic kingdom turned out to be short-lived (in the middle of the 6th century Italy was conquered by Byzantium). But the political system that developed in it was an important historical example of the significant influence of the traditions of the Roman Empire on the formation of a new statehood.

To the content General history of state and law

See also:

Introduction

Kingdom of the Ostrogoths (Goth. Ostrogutans ziudangardi) - an unstable late antique early feudal state formation, created during the seizure of Roman territory by one of the Germanic tribes - the Ostrogoths. Ravenna remained the capital of the state (as in the era of the late Western Roman Empire). The Kingdom of the Ostrogoths lasted from 489 to 553, when the entire territory of the kingdom "returned" to the Eastern Roman Empire. The kingdom included Italy, Sicily, the Cis-Alpine regions, Dalmatia and Provence (since 510).

1. Background

The Ostrogoths are the eastern branch of the Goth tribe. They settled and established their power in the province of Dacia, but at the end of the 4th century they fell under the rule of the Huns, while maintaining their political organization. After the death of Attila, the collapse of the state of the Huns began, the Ostrogoths gained independence. Under the emperor Marcian, a huge number of Ostrogoths settled in the province of Pannonia as federates. But due to the fact that the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, Leo I Makella, did not pay salaries to the Ostrogoths, the latter attacked and ravaged the province of Illyria and made an alliance with Genseric to attack Byzantium. In 461, a peace was concluded between the Ostrogoths and the Eastern Roman Empire, as a result of which Theodoric Amal, son of Theodemer Amal, was sent as a hostage to Constantinople, where he received a Roman education. After that, for several years, many Goths served the Roman Empire and had a strong military and political influence.

By the middle of the 5th century, the Western Roman Empire and its values ​​were in deep decline. In 476, the power of the last Romanesque emperor, Romulus, was replaced by Odoacer.

2. Kingdom of Odoacer

In 476 Odoacer, a Germanic magister militum, overthrew the Roman emperor Romulus Augustulus and declared himself Rex Italiae(King of Italy). In 477, Flavius ​​Zeno recognized Odoacer as a patrician and Roman governor. Odoacer retained the Roman administrative system and actively cooperated with the Roman Senate. In 477, he succeeded in driving the Vandals out of Sicily, and in 480, after the death of Julius Nepos, he conquered Dalmatia.

3. Conquest of Italy by the Goths

In 488, Emperor Zeno accused Odoacer of supporting the rebel Illus and made an agreement with Theodoric. According to the agreement, Theodoric, in the event of a victory over Odoacer, became the ruler of Italy as the representative of the emperor.

In the autumn of 488, Theoderic with his people (their number is estimated at about 100 thousand people) set out from Moesia, passed through Dalmatia and, having crossed the Alps, entered Italy at the end of August 489. The first encounter with Odoacer's army took place near the Isonzo River on 28 August. Odoacer was defeated and retreated to Verona, where a month later a new battle took place, ending with the victory of Theodoric. Odoacer fled to his capital, Ravenna, and most of his army surrendered to the Goths.

In 490, Odoacer launched a new campaign against Theoderic. He managed to take Milan and Cremona and besiege the main forces of the Goths in Pavia. However, after that, the Visigoths intervened in the conflict. Odoacer had to lift the siege of Pavia, and on August 11, 490, he suffered a crushing defeat on the Adda River. Odoacer again fled to Ravenna, after which the Senate and most of the cities of Italy declared support for Theodoric.

The Goths began to besiege Ravenna, but, having no fleet, they could not block it from the sea, so the siege of the heavily fortified city dragged on. It was not until 492 that the Goths built a fleet and were able to capture the harbor of Ravenna, completely blockading the city. Six months later negotiations began with Odoacer. An agreement was reached on February 25, 493. Theoderic and Odoacer agreed to divide Italy between them. However, at the feast that marked this event, Theodoric killed Odoacer (March 15), followed by the extermination of Odoacer's soldiers and supporters. From that moment on, Theodoric became the ruler of Italy.

4. Reign of Theodoric

Like Odoacer, Theoderic appears to have been regarded as a patrician and viceroy of the emperor in Italy, which was recognized by the new emperor Anastasius in 497. However, in fact, he was an independent ruler.

After the conquest of Italy, the administrative system that existed in the kingdom of Odoacer was preserved, while government positions were occupied almost exclusively by the Romans. The Roman Senate continued to function, being largely an advisory body. The laws of the Empire were preserved, the Roman population lived according to them, but their own traditional law extended to the Goths. On the other hand, serving in the army and holding military posts were exclusively a matter of the Goths.

The Goths settled mainly in northern Italy and kept themselves apart from the Roman population. This was facilitated by the difference in their faith: the Goths were Arians, while the Romans were Nikenians. However, unlike the Visigoths and Vandals, the Ostrogoths were distinguished by religious tolerance.

5. Rulers of the Ostrogoths

Theodoric the Great ( Thiudoric) 489-526

Atalarich ( Atthalaric) 526-534

Theodahad ( Thiudahad) 534-536

Vitiges ( Wittigeis) 536-540

Ildebad ( Hildibad) 540-541

Erarich ( Heraric, Ariaric) 541

Totila ( Baduila) 541-552

Theia ( Theia, Teja) 552-553