Ardarich

Ardarich (Latin name form Ardaricus ) was a king of the East Germanic people of the Gepids in the 5th century AD.

Ardarich was originally a subject of Attila , king of the Huns ; he seems to have been one of his closest confidants and to have had quite a big influence. After Attila's death in 453, however, there were uprisings between the various East Germanic peoples striving for independence from the Huns (including the Gepids , Heruler , Skiren , Rugier and probably parts of the Ostrogoths ) between the Danube and the Carpathian Arch. After the victory of a "Germanic coalition" led by Ardarich in the battle on the Nedao River in Pannonia (454), the loosely joined Huns fell apart, the cohesion of which was mainly due to Attila's personality. Ardarich skilfully exploited the collapse of the Hunnic area and founded the Gepids empire between the Danube, Tisza, Alto and Carpathians, which lasted until the 6th century.

literature

• Lars Börner: Ardarich and the Gepids . In: Attila and the Huns. Book accompanying the exhibition . Edited by the Historisches Museum der Pfalz, Speyer. Stuttgart 2007, pp. 303-307.