Goar (Alane)

Goar (* before 390; † around 450) was a leader of the Alans when they invaded Gaul in 406 . He then joined the Romans and subsequently played a role in the regional history of Gaul.

Life

In the Silversternacht 406/407 the Asdinigischen and Silingischen Vandals used together with Quads , Alans , Suebi and Alamanni the weakness of the Roman Empire, which was busy with the defense of the Visigoths in Italy, to cross the Rhine near Mainz . The Alans were under the command of Goars and Respendials . They probably came from Pannonia , where the Alans are mentioned around 380. Franconian federates of Rome tried to fight the invading Teutons, and they succeeded in killing Godigisel , the leader of the Asdingian Vandals, but the Franks were repulsed by Alan troops under Respendial. According to the report of Gregory of Tours (based on the now lost historical work of Renatus Profuturus Frigeridus ) Goar “went to the Romans”, although it is unclear whether he fought against his own people when he crossed the Rhine in 406. In any case, he stayed in Gaul while the Germans moved on to the Iberian Peninsula.

In the year 411 Goar then appears in connection with the usurpation of Jovinus , who rose to become emperor in Mainz with the help of the Burgundians under Gundahar ; Goar was also involved in this. Already in 407 Constantine III. also declared emperor in Gaul. Constantine was in 411 by troops under the military leader Constantius III. who were loyal to Emperor Honorius , besieged in Arles , defeated and beheaded this autumn. Now Jovinus threatened that he would march against Constantius with Burgundians, Alamanni, Franks and Alans; Goar was probably also in his wake. The Visigoths had meanwhile plundered Rome and were marching towards Gaul and it was initially unclear how their leader Athaulf would intervene in the Gallic throne rivalries. He finally decided to side with Honorius and defeated Jovinus in Valence. What happened to Jovinus' Germanic supporters is not recorded.

In 414 the Visigoths turned again against the Romans, whose base in Bazas (in today's Gironde department ) they besieged, supported by alan troops. According to the report of Paulinus von Pella , the leader of the Alans (possibly Goar) had changed sides and defected to the Romans, whereupon the Visigoths had to break off the siege and turned to Spain. For the year 446, a confrontation between Bishop Germanus of Auxerre and Alans under an "Eochar" is reported; Here, too, identification with Goar is uncertain, especially since the Alans in Gaul were in the meantime under the rule of a Sambida. In any case, the Alans who were involved in the above-mentioned incidents are certainly the same who fought in 451 on the Catalaunian fields on the side of the Romans, Visigoths and Franks against the Huns under Attila . At this point, however, Goar is likely to have already been dead.

The most important sources for the Alans in Gaul are, besides Gregory of Tours, Olympiodoros of Thebes , Paulinus of Pella and Constantius of Lyon .

literature

• John Martindale, John Morris: The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire . Vol. 2, Cambridge 1980, pp. 514 f.