Witichis

Witichis (also Vitigis or Wittiges ; † probably 542) was king of the Ostrogoths from 536 to 540 .

Life

Witichis, who did not come from the Amal royal family but had military experience, led the Ostrogoths in the war of defense against the Eastern Roman troops of Emperor Justinian . Witichis had been proclaimed king after the fall of Theodahad , although he did not belong to the Amal family; however, he then married Matasuentha from the Amal family. Originally a royal bodyguard, he had emerged as a successful military leader since 530. His defensive measures against the imperial troops under Belisarius were initially successful, but he failed bloody in the attempt to take Rome, which was occupied by Eastern Roman troops.

When the situation for the Goths became more and more hopeless, Witichis Prokopios of Caesarea is said to have sent a secret embassy to Persia to persuade the Sassanids to attack the Roman eastern provinces. The Great King Chosrau I then actually attacked Eastern Stream in 540, but this relief came too late for Witichis. After he had holed up in Ravenna , the imperial army master Belisarius was able to enter the city in the spring of 540 without a fight. The king fell into the hands of the Byzantines. According to the contemporary witness Prokopios, he had previously agreed to the request of Gothic nobles to propose to Belisarius the imperial dignity of the West . Witichis was brought to Constantinople and treated there with great honor. Justinian I appointed him patricius and provided him with a generous pension. This ended the first phase of the Gothic War .

reception

Witichis is a main character in Felix Dahn's novel A Battle for Rome . Sometimes Witichis is speculatively considered as a model for Wittich in the legend of Dietrich von Bern .

literature

In addition to general descriptions of Justinian's wars (for literature, see there):

• Wilhelm Enßlin : Witigis. In: Pauly-Wissowa RE II 17 (1961), Sp. 395-400 (with all relevant sources).
• Ludwig Rübekeil:  Witiges. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 34, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2007, ISBN 978-3-11-018389-4 , pp. 150–153. (Introductory article)
• Herwig Wolfram: The Goths. 4th edition, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-406-33733-3 .

Remarks

1. ↑ The author also wrote the article about Witichis in the ADB:
   Felix Dahn:  Vitigis . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 40, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1896, pp. 75-82.

predecessor	Office	successor
Theodahad 534-536	King of the Ostrogoths	Hildebad 540-541