Athanaric

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Athanaric († January 21, 381 in Constantinople ) was a leader of the Terwingen in the second half of the 4th century . He became particularly known because of the war against the emperor of the Roman eastern empire Valens and his persecution of Christians. Its importance lies primarily in the fact that he was the first ruler of the Goths, about whom a number of details are known.

The Terwingen , as the Visigoths were called at that time, settled in Dacia outside the Roman Empire from the end of the 3rd century . If the situation on the Danube was relatively calm until then, from 365 onwards there were conflicts between the Romans and Terwingen.

While Valens was on a campaign, Procopius usurped the throne in Constantinople . This requested troops from the Terwingen according to the contract. When Terwingian soldiers arrived in Constantinople in 366, however, Procopius was already dead. The Terwings refused to support the new usurper Marcellus and withdrew again. On the way back, they were arrested in Thrace by Roman troops. When Valens, back in Constantinople, had ousted Marcellus, he took the support of the Terwingen as an occasion to arm for war.

The tribal council of the Terwingen elected Athanaric, possibly a member of the Balthen clan, as the judge king , kindins . As such, he was a temporary monarch who was not allowed to leave the tribe's territory. Its task was to ward off external threats.

The following year, 367, the war began. From the spring onwards, Roman troops moved into Dacia via the Danube. Athanarich constantly avoided direct confrontation. The Romans devastated the country and withdrew at the end of the year. A catastrophic flood in 368 prevented the war from continuing, but at the same time dramatically deteriorated the Terwingen's supply situation. When the Romans crossed the Danube again the following year, Athanaric was therefore ready to negotiate. Since he was not allowed to enter Roman territory according to his oath, he met with the Roman Emperor Valens on a ship in the middle of the Danube. Finally, he made an offer of peace, which Valens agreed to. The negotiated contract made Terwingen a little worse than the previous contract of 332.

Until 372, on the orders of Athanaric, there was systematic persecution of Christians against the strong Arian minority under the Terwingen. The opposition formed under Fritigern , who converted to Arianism and thus won the support of Valens. Between the years 372 and 376 the Terwingen experienced civil war-like conditions in which Athanarich initially had the upper hand.

From 376 Athanaric began with defensive measures against the Huns , possibly with a wall construction. The Huns attacks, however, became more violent and successful. Athanarich increasingly lost his mandate, large parts of the Terwingen overflowed to Fritigern. With the permission of the Romans, he then led them into the territory of the empire. Athanaric and his Terwingen left Gutþiuda and went to Caucaland ; there is no news of Athanaric for the next four years.

During his absence, there were repeated revolts and military conflicts because of the logistical problems of the Romans in supplying the Terwingen. They finally culminated in the Battle of Adrianople in 378, in which the Romans were defeated and Valens was killed.

In the year 380 Athanaric was expelled from the Caucaland under unknown circumstances , whereupon he sought protection with the Romans. On January 11, 381 he arrived in Constantinople, where he was received with honor by Valens' successor Theodosius I. On January 21, 381 Athanaric died unexpectedly and received a glamorous state funeral.

A year later, in 382, ​​the Terwingen received the epoch-making federal treaty , which set the trend for the future barbarian policy of the empire.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ammianus Marcellinus (27,5,9) calls Athanaric a iudex gentis , "judge of the people", Gothic kindins .
personal data
SURNAME Athanaric
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Judge King of the Terwingen
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd century or 4th century
DATE OF DEATH January 21, 381
Place of death Constantinople