Eutharic

Eutharic was born around AD 480 to a noble Ostrogoth family of the Amali line.Burns, A History of the Ostrogoths, p. 92 Eutharic's ancestry has been traced back through his father Veteric, son of Berismund, son of Thorismund, son of Hunimund, son of Hermanaric, son of Achiulf.Jones, Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire Eutharic grew up in Iberia (modern-day Spain) where he had a reputation for being "a young man strong in wisdom and valor and health of body".Bury, History of the Later Roman Empire, p. 151.Jordanes, Getica, [http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/%7Evandersp/Courses/texts/jordgeti.html#LVIII p. 298] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091022052216/http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~vandersp/Courses/texts/jordgeti.html#LVIII |date=2009-10-22 }} He was later to become the "son in arms" (filius per arma) to the Byzantine emperor Justin I, a role which indicated a part of his early life may have been spent as a soldier.Amory, People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489–554, p. 65

Eutharic's status in both the Gothic and Roman world was elevated by the attentions of Theodoric the Great to whom he was related distantly through their mutual connection with Hermanric.Goetz, Regna and Gentes, p. 93 Hermanric was an Ostrogoth chief who ruled much of the territory north of the Black Sea. Eutharic was descended through five generations from Hermanric, whilst Theodoric was a descendant of Hermanric's older brother Vultwulf.O'Donnell, Cassiodorus, Ch. 2

By the late 5th century Theodoric was king of the Ostrogoths, ruling from Ravenna in Italy and a close ally of the Roman Emperor Zeno. Following the death of a rival, Theodoric Strabo, Theodoric the Great received the titles of patricius and magister militum from Zeno and in 484 he was appointed consul.{{cite web|url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~whosyomama/2/24048.htm|title=Ancestors of King Theodoric|publisher=Ancestry.com|access-date=5 Nov 2009}} Though there was tension between Theodoric and Zeno's successor Anastasius I, the emperor who followed Anastasius, Justin I, sought reconciliation with Theodoric whose influence in the Gothic world would make him a powerful ally.Mitchell, "A history of the later Roman Empire, AD 284–641", p. 120Barker, Justinian and the Later Roman Empire, p. 148 Having worked throughout his life to establish a kingdom and strengthen relations with both the church and Rome, Theodoric was keen to establish a dynasty. His marriage to Audofleda, however, had produced only a daughter, Amalasuintha. Therefore, to achieve his ambitions, Theodoric would have to ensure he chose a son-in-law with an ancestry equal in strength to his own. His investigations into the Gothic royal lines, which were by this time widely distributed across Europe, led him to Iberia. Here he discovered Eutharic, the last heir of a related branch of the Amali, who had recently assumed the regency of Spain.Gibbon, The history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire p. 155

More recent studies, however, suggest that Eutharic's Amali ancestry may have been a deliberate invention on the part of Theodoric to aid his ambitions of establishing dynastic credibility.Wolfram, History of the Goths, p. 328 According to Gesta Theoderici Eutharic belonged to the Gothic house of Alan rather than the house of Amal.Bachrach, A history of the Alans, p. 97 Whilst Jordanes, in his history of the Goths, does make reference to Eutharic's prudentia et virtus, or pride and valour, this too may have been a fabrication on the part of Theodoric.Amory, People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489–554, p. 58 & p. 451 Those qualities were recognised as requirements of Gothic ethnographic ideology, expressed in their code of civilitas. It would have been highly beneficial for Theodoric's chosen son-in-law to possess them.

In AD 515 Eutharic answered a summons by Theodoric the Great and moved to the Ostrogothic court at Ravenna. Here he was given Amalasuintha in marriage.Hodgkins, Theoderic the Great, ch. 13. It was Theodoric's intention that this union would create a long-lasting dynastic connection between the previously sundered Ostrogoths and Visigoths. Theodoric also named Eutharic his presumptive heir.

Whilst in Italy, Eutharic played an important political role within Theodoric's kingdom. With a court background he had the ability to serve in government and he was respected by the Romans, who admired his liberality and magnificence.Bradley, The Goths from the Earliest Times to the End of the Gothic Dominion in Spain, p. 176 Catholic writers of the time, however, indicate that, whilst his father-in-law was renowned for policies of toleration, Eutharic acted more like a "bigoted Arian".

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In 498, as the Empire's nominal vice-regent in Italy, Theodoric had been granted the right to nominate the Western candidate for each year's consular pair. He was, however, bounded by a restriction: to select only a Roman citizen for the position. To advance Eutharic's standing in the world, Theodoric wished him to be made consul for the year 519. To get around the restriction, and as a favour to Theodoric, Justin himself nominated Eutharic.Mitchell, A History of the Later Roman Empire, AD 284–641, p. 118; Bury, History of the Later Roman Empire, Vol. 1, Ch. 13, p. 455

The nomination was successful, and in January 519 Eutharic took up the position of Western Consul. By granting him Roman citizenship, accepting him as co-consul and calling him a "son in arms", Emperor Justin I sought to restore ties with Theodoric, strained during the reign of Anastasius I Dicorus. He showed further favour to Eutharic by conceding the senior consulship to him.Heather, The Goths, p. 253; Wolfram, History of the Goths, p. 328 It is reported that at the celebrations to mark the assumption there were "magnificent shows of wild beasts procured from Africa"Cassiodorus, Chron., ib., sub a., 1364 and that a visiting diplomat, the patricius Symmachus, Martindale 1980, p. 1043 sent by the eastern Imperial court to Italy, was "amazed at the riches given to the Goths and the Romans".Cassiodorus, Chron., 1364

During this period Eutharic was eulogised by Cassiodorus in the Senate.The eulogy was recorded in an oration of which a fragment is preserved, Var. ix.25 In it he compared Eutharic to great consuls of the past. The short Chronicle, which Cassiodorus wrote to congratulate Eutharic on his consulship, is noted for focusing on Eutharic's accession to a position of high civilian honour, rather than any military victories, as had been more common for past Gothic nobility.Amory, People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489–554, p. 66 Eutharic's time as consul is portrayed largely as a time of prosperity for the western Roman empire with the code of civilitas being promoted. In March 519, the Acacian schism which had separated the Eastern and Western Christian churches for the previous 35 years was ended and the churches reconciled. In addition to the prosperity felt by the peoples of the Roman empire, Eutharic's year of consulship has also been described as seeming like "[a year] of bright promise for the Ostrogothic kingdom".Amory, People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489–554, p. 67

The contemporary Catholic chronicle of the Anonymus Valesianus portrays Eutharic in a negative light, charging him with taking the Jews' side in anti-Jewish disturbances in Ravenna over the Jewish congregation's rights to their synagogue; this prompted a conflict between the Arians and Catholics, as Eutharic was Arian.Amory, People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489–554, p. 215 It is thought that the outrage expressed by the Catholics at this action was prompted by the perception that Eutharic symbolized the recent reconciliation between the Eastern and Western Churches brought about under the direction of Theodoric.

Eutharic died in 522 at the age of 42, less than three years after his consulship.Barker, Justinian and the Later Roman Empire, p. 269 His death caused problems for Theodoric who never succeeded in his desire to establish a strong Gothic dynasty.Heather, The Goths, p. 253 Though Eutharic and Amalasuintha had a son, Athalaric, born in 516, and a daughter, Matasuntha, the dynasty was never established convincingly.Bury, History of the Later Roman Empire, p. 152. Theodoric named Athalaric as his heir in 526, and Athalaric's mother Amalasuintha acted as regent for her son following Theodoric's death that year. Athalaric died in October 534 at the age of 18.Heather, The Goths, p. 262 To maintain her power, Amalasuintha brought her cousin Theodahad, also Theodoric's nephew, to the throne. Though he was made to swear fealty to Amalasuintha, Theodahad felt insecure and in December 534 had her imprisoned on an island in Lake Bolsena where she was eventually murdered on 30 April 535.

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;Primary Sources

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;Secondary Sources

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{{s-bef

| before = Anastasius Paulus Probus
Moschianus Probus Magnus,
Post consulatum Agapiti (West)

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{{s-ttl

| title = Roman consul

| years = 519

| regent1 = Iustinus Augustus I

}}

{{s-aft

| after = Rusticius,
Vitalianus

}}

{{end}}

{{good article}}

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Category:6th-century Ostrogothic people

Category:6th-century western Roman consuls

Category:Amali dynasty

Category:522 deaths

Category:Year of birth unknown