Theoderich Strabo

This article deals with the Eastern Roman army master Theoderich Strabo; regarding his namesake see Theodoric the Great and Theodoric .

Theodorich "Strabo" ("the Schieler"; † 481 ) was an Eastern Roman army master of Eastern Gothic descent.

Like his namesake and rival Theodoric the Great, Theodoric came from the Amal family , but from a different sidelines; his father's name was Triarius. Theoderich Strabo was one of those Goths who had settled in Eastern Roman territory after the death of Attila and from then on were repeatedly in Roman service as foederati . He was related to Aspar and after his death in 471 demanded his post as master of the army . At the same time he was proclaimed to be their rex by the Ostrogoths , who settled as federates in Thrace and had been Aspar's support . After some hesitation - and the resulting military actions by Theodoric - the Eastern Roman Emperor Leo agreed. Theodoric then exercised the post of Supreme Army Master in the East in the years 473/474, 475/476 and 478/479 (magister militum praesentalis) , while at the same time trying to recruit his relative Theoderich, who led another group of warriors and later “the great “Was named as a political rival for imperial favor and as a military power factor to secure a permanent good position in the Eastern Empire for himself and his followers. At least as long as Theoderich Strabo was in a leading position in Constantinople , the efforts of the other Theodoric to influence himself were unsuccessful.

Theoderich Strabo was killed in a riding accident in 481. After his death, the influence of Gothic warriors at the court, which was no longer as dominant as in Aspar's time, was completely pushed back in favor of the Isaurians , before they too were disempowered. Most of Strabo's followers joined the other Theodoric after his death and accompanied him to Italy in 489.

literature

• Guido M. Berndt : Theoderich vs. Theodoric. To the competition of Gothic warlords in the east of the Roman Empire . In: Bulletin of the National Archaeological Institute 44, 2018, pp. 441–451.
• John B. Bury : History of the Later Roman Empire. From the death of Theodosius I. to the death of Justinian. Volume 1. New York NY 1958, p. 412 ff.
• Malcolm Errington: Malchus of Philadelpheia, Emperor Zenon and the Two Theodoric . In: Museum Helveticum 40, 1983, pp. 82–110.
• Peter J. Heather : Goths and Romans. 332-489. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1991, ISBN 0-19-820234-2 .
• Herwig Wolfram : The Goths. From the beginning to the middle of the sixth century. Draft of a historical ethnography. 4th edition. Beck, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-406-33733-3 .
• Herwig Wolfram: Theoderich Strabo. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde . Volume 30: Style - Tissø. 2nd, completely revised and greatly expanded edition. de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 2005, ISBN 3-11-018385-4 , p. 419.