Athalaric

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Athalaric (* 516 ; † October 2, 534 ) (Got. Aþalareiks) was king of the Ostrogoths on the Italian peninsula. He was the grandson of Theodoric the Great and became king when he died in 526.

When Athalaric ascended the throne, he was only ten years old, so contradiction was to be feared. For this reason his mother Amalasuntha was installed as regent; his father Eutharich had died earlier. However, like the king's minority, this regulation contradicted the Gothic tradition; a guardian usually had to be a man, but Theodoric had expressly appointed his daughter Amalasuntha, who herself probably did not take over the reign without her own ambition. Although all government decisions were made in the name of Athalaric and the name Amalasunthas does not appear in laws or on coins, it was she who determined the guidelines of politics for the next few years. At her request, Athalaric also enjoyed a Roman education, which, however, met with the reservation of the Gothic nobles. Athalaric also accommodated the Roman elites in the Ostrogothic empire and the Catholic clergy, but in the last years of his reign he seems to have tried, with the help of some Gothic nobles (who disliked Amalasuntha's pro-Roman politics), to free himself from his mother's decisive influence.

Allegedly, Athalaric became addicted to alcohol and led a dissolute life, which led to his early death. Subsequently, his mother and her relative Theodahad shared rulership, but the Ostrogothic Empire soon fell apart (→ Gothic War ).

literature

predecessor Office successor
Theodoric the Great King of the Ostrogoths
526-534 		Amalasuntha
personal data
SURNAME Athalaric
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of the Ostrogoths on the Italian peninsula
DATE OF BIRTH 516
DATE OF DEATH October 2, 534