Athalaric

Athalaric (Template:Langx; Template:Circa 516Template:Snd2 October 534) was the king of the Ostrogoths in Italy between 526 and 534. He was a son of Eutharic and Amalasuintha, the youngest daughter of Theodoric the Great,<ref name="oxfordreference">Template:Cite book</ref> whom Athalaric succeeded as king in 526.Template:Sfn Athalaric was described to live a hedonistic lifestyle by Procopius of Caesarea.<ref name=skull>Template:Cite journal</ref> His mother managed the kingdom during his reign, and he died as a teenager.<ref name="jstor">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Life

Athalaric's grandfather was Theodoric the Great (470–526). His area of rule encompassed Italy, southern Spain, southern France, and the western Balkans.<ref name="Theoderic">Template:Cite journal</ref> Theodoric died in 526,<ref name="Theoderic"/> when Athalaric became his successor.<ref name="jstor"/>

Athalaric was about ten years old, so his mother, Amalasuintha, held all the real power, which allowed her to make decisions about the kingdom's politics and negotiate with foreign rulers like Justinian I, at least within the 530s.<ref name=vit17>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp For example, around 533, she had Emperor Justinian protect the Ostrogothic Kingdom.<ref name=vit17/>Template:Rp

Amalasuintha also controlled the type of education Athalaric would undergo. According to Procopius, the Goth aristocracy desired Athalaric to be raised in Gothic, but Amalasuintha wanted him to resemble the Roman rulers.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Amalasuintha adhered to Roman learning and customs that were especially objectionable to other Goths, as they saw it as cowardly and submissive.<ref name=vit17/>Template:Rp Eventually, Amalasuintha was forced to accept the will of her fellow Goths by allowing Athalaric to spend time with other boys around his age. It is not clear how effective his Roman education was.<ref name=vit17/>Template:Rp It is also unknown who his Gothic teacher was, but generally, the Gothic aristocracy in the palace exerted fierce pressure on the monarchy and focused on military education instead of grammar and rhetoric, which would be done in Roman education.<ref name=vit17/>Template:Rp

Athalaric drank heavily and indulged in vicious excesses, which ruined his constitution.Template:Sfn After a large party in 533, rumors spread that Athalaric was ill.<ref name=vit17/>Template:Rp Athalaric's condition worsened, and he died later in October of 534, probably from a combination of excessive drinking and disease, probably diabetes.<ref name="jstor"/>

In 1838, a burial was discovered in the hills of Bologna and the corpse was attributed to Athalaric by numismatist Filippo Schiassi. The skull was donated by archbishop Carlo Oppizzoni to physicist Luigi Calori and is now on display at the Anatomical Wax Museum of Bologna, while the rest of the skeleton was reburied in a now-lost location. A modern analysis has attributed the skull to a 50-year-old male who lived in the 16th-17th century, making the traditional identification with Athalaric implausible.<ref name=skull/>

• Reverse of a nummi with the legends: DN ATHAL/ARICV. It show Athalaric as a warrior holding a spear and shield.<ref name=vit17/>Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  Reverse of a nummi with the legends: DN ATHAL/ARICV. It show Athalaric as a warrior holding a spear and shield.<ref name=vit17/>Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Alleged skull of Athalaric at the Anatomical Wax Museum of Bologna, now believed to have belonged to a middle-aged, 16th-17th century man.<ref name=skull/>
  Alleged skull of Athalaric at the Anatomical Wax Museum of Bologna, now believed to have belonged to a middle-aged, 16th-17th century man.<ref name=skull/>

Sources

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Further reading

• Letters of Cassiodorus, Book VIII from Project Gutenberg
• Procopius 'Wars' Book V, trans. H. P. Dewing
• Peter Heather, The Goths (Oxford, Blackwell, 1996).