고구려 문자왕과 고트족 Theodoric the Great 자료

- 문자왕 (491-519)

개요

고구려 제 21대 군주. 삼국사기 기록상으론 한국사 최초로 태손(太孫)으로서 성장하였다.

 

2. 소개

 

삼국유사 왕력 편에는 '명리호(明理好)', '개운(个雲)', '고운(高雲)' 이라는 이름도 전하고 있다. 명리호는 문자명왕의 별호인 명치호왕에서 고려 6대 임금인 성종의 이름 '治(치)'를 피휘한 것이다. 개운은 나운의 변형으로 보이고, 고운은 이름인 고나운을 나자를 빼고 두 글자로 이름을 줄인 중국식 이름으로 보인다.

고구려의 공식 시호는 '국강상 광개토경 평안 호태왕'처럼 길었을 가능성이 큰데 문자명왕, 명치호왕 등의 명칭은 문자 명치 호태왕(文咨 明治 好太王) 같은 형식의 축약일지도 모른다.[2]

장수왕의 아들인 고조다(高助多)의 아들이다.[3] 다만 아버지 고조다가 할아버지인 장수왕보다 먼저 죽어버려서(...) 손자인 나운이 장수왕의 뒤를 잇게 되었다.

 

3. 전성기

교과서 등에서는 흔히 고구려의 전성기가 문자명왕의 치세까지 유지되었다고 나온다. 하지만 기록들을 보면 문자명왕 말년부터 서서히 쇠퇴기에 접어드는 모습이 띄기도 하여, 6세기 중반 고구려 침체기의 근원을 이때부터라고 보는 사람도 있다.

 

3.1. 최대 영토의 주인공?

문자왕 대에 북부여를 흡수하면서 고구려가 최대 영토를 일구었다고 보는 시각이 학계에서도 제기되지만, 반론도 있어 확실하진 않다. 영토를 확장한 것이 아니라 단순히 물길의 침략으로 쫓겨난 부여의 유민을 받아들인 것이며, 부여 영역의 회수는 이후에 이루어진 것으로 보기도 하기 때문이다. 또 이후 당서에 고구려 국경이 기존 2천리에서 동서 3100리로 확장되어 요서의 차오양(영주)에 접했다는 기록이나 통전, 태평환우기에 수나라 시절 고구려 영토가 동서 6천리였다는 기록 등이 전해지기 때문에 일반적으로 인식되는 전성기 이후에도 고구려가 영토를 확장했다고 보기도 한다.[4][5] 

 

3.2. 불교 정책

절을 제법 세웠다. 평양 대동강변에 금강사(金剛寺)를 창건하여 많은 고승들을 배출하였다는 기록이 있는데, 북한 학자들은 금강사가 아마도 청암리 사지에 있는 절과 동일할 것이라는 추측을 하고 있다.

 

4. 실패가 거듭된 대외 정책

4.1. 상실되는 주변국 통제력

 

물길에게 북쪽 변방이 그대로 쓸려나갔고, 거란 등에 대한 통제가 점차 약해지는 상황이 조공 기록에서 드러난다. 특히 북위의 8대 황제인 세종[6]과의 대화를 보면 부여와 섭라가 고구려의 통제에서 벗어나는 바람에 그들이 생산하는 황금과 옥이 조공 품목에서 빠졌다고 하자 이를 두고 세종이 "니네 구역은 너네가 잘 관리해야지."[7]라는 반응을 보이기도 한다. 이는 광개토대왕-장수왕대에 비해 주변 국가들에 대한 통제력이 점점 약화되고 있음을 시사한다.

 

4.2. 지지부진한 남진정책

장수왕 재위 후반기의 남진 정책도 그대로 계승했다. 다만 장수왕의 후광에 미화되는 경향이 있어서 그렇지 정작 기록에 나와있는 남진과 관련된 업적은 생각보다 적은 편이다.

500년 이전까지는 장수왕 시절부터 매년마다 신라를 연례 행사처럼 공격하더니 신라 지증왕이 즉위하는 500년부터는 갑자기 40여년간 신라와의 전쟁이 뚝 끊겨버리는데, 기록상 뭐라고 나오는 건 아니지만 뜬금없이 전쟁이 중단된 것이 양국이 일종의 휴전을 했을 가능성이 있다. 이후 문자명왕은 신라보다는 백제 공격에만 힘을 쏟는다. 그러나 이 마저도 512년 9월 전쟁에서 무령왕에게 패한 뒤로는 전쟁을 오랫동안 하지 않았다.

이때쯤 백제도 무령왕이라는 걸출한 중흥 군주가 나타나서 단순 1:1조차 서서히 버거워지기 시작했고, 신라도 예전에는 고구려가 백제를 공격하면 백제에 지원군을 보내곤 했지만 진흥왕 이전까지는 백제에 지원군을 보낸다거나 하지도 않았다. 결정적으로 521년 11월에 무령왕 본기에는 "백제가 여러번 고구려를 격파하여 비로소 그들과 우호관계를 맺고, 다시 강국이 되었다."라는 문구가 등장한다. 한마디로 고구려의 위세가 이전에 비해 상당히 줄어들었다는 것.

아래는 문자명왕 치세에 벌어진 고구려와 나제동맹간의 전투다.

• 494년 7월 신라와의 살수 벌판에서 승리. 견아성 전투에서 백제의 지원군을 보고 퇴각.(고구려본기, 백제본기)
• 495년 8월 백제의 치양성 전투에서 신라의 원병에 의해 패배.(고구려본기, 백제본기) / 백제 치양성을 포위하고 있던 고구려군이 신라 원군에 의해 궤멸(신라본기)
• 496년 7월 신라 우산성 전투 패배.(고구려본기, 신라본기)
• 497년 8월 신라 우산성 전투 승리.(고구려본기, 신라본기)
• 502년 11월 백제의 침략. 전투결과는 불명.(고구려본기, 백제본기)
• 503년 11월 백제의 수곡성 공격. 전투결과는 불명.(고구려본기)
• 506년 11월 백제를 침공했으나 동장군으로 별다른 소득없이 퇴각.(고구려본기)
• 507년 10월 백제 한성을 공략하려 했으나 백제의 저항으로 퇴각.(고구려본기)
• 512년 9월 백제의 가불, 원산을 무너트리고 포로를 데려옴.(고구려본기) / 고구려가 가불, 원산을 침공했으나 위천 북쪽에서 크게 물리쳤다.(백제본기)

이처럼 수차례 남쪽을 침공했지만 확실한 승리가 기록된 것은 497년 8월에 우산성을 함락한 것 하나 뿐이다. 고구려 영향력 아래에 있던 말갈의 침공이 고구려의 계획이었다고 가정하더라도 506년 7월에 백제의 고목성에서 승리를 거둔 거 하나가 더해질 뿐이다.

하지만 이러한 흐름은 안장왕의 즉위 및 백제에 대한 공세 전환으로 인하여 또 다시 백제가 밀리는 형국이 되어 나제동맹을 다시 활성화시키게 된다.

4.3. 외교

 

북위와는 장수왕 대에 이어 대체로 친선 외교를 지속했다. 허나 거란의 기병을 이용하여 북위의 변방을 약탈하기도 했다. 그런데 이 사람이 죽자 북위 영태후는 동당에서 애도의 의식을 거행했다고 한다.

그외 일본서기에 따르면 사신이 일본에 도착했다는 기록이 나오는데 이는 일본서기에서 처음으로 고(구)려 사신이 등장한 것이다. 아마 이때 처음으로 일본과 "긍정적"인 접촉이 이루어진 듯하다.

무인 백제가 작막고(灼莫古) 장군과 일본의 사나노아히다(斯那奴阿比多)를 보내었는데 고려의 사신 안정(安定) 등이 따라와 내조(來朝)하여 우호를 맺었다.

일본서기, 514년 9월.

 

5. 평가

문자명왕의 앞뒤로 장수왕과 안장왕이 집권을 하다보니 무색무취한 왕, 전성기를 무난히 유지한 왕으로 보이지만 적은 사료로도 상당히 많은 문제를 내제한 왕이라고 평가받을 만하다. 사실 후대인 안장왕이 깔끔하게 뒤처리를 하며 전성기를 유지시켰으니 망정이지, 고구려의 전성기는 광개토대왕과 장수왕 단 2세대로 끝나버렸을 수도 있다. 

이렇게 박한 평가를 받을 수밖에 없는 가장 큰 이유는 외정. 북방, 남방을 가리지 않고 실책을 거듭했다. 북방의 기마민족들인 물길, 거란과 남방에 백제의 동성왕, 무령왕과 같은 중흥 군주들에게 힘에서 밀리기 시작하며 특히 백제와 1:1에서 밀리기 시작한게 문자명왕의 시대다. 덕분에 장수왕 시기에 차지한 한강 유역을 일시적으로 빼앗긴 것으로 추측되는 사료들도 보이며 장수왕 시절부터 지속적으로 추진되던 남진 정책이 중지된 것도 문자명왕의 시기.[8] 또한 지지부진한 외정의 결과 주변의 장악력도 장수왕 시기에 비해 떨어졌고, 고구려의 국력이 이전과 같지 않음을 보여주고 말았다.

 

6. 삼국사기 기록

《삼국사기》 문자명왕 본기
一年 문자왕이 즉위하다 (AD 491)
一年春三月 북위 효문제가 왕의 즉위를 축하하다 (AD 491)
一年夏六月 북위에 조공하다
一年秋八月 북위에 조공하다
一年冬十月 북위에 조공하다 
二年冬十月 지진이 일어나다 (AD 492)
三年春一月 북위에 조공하다 
三年春二月 부여가 항복해오다 (AD 493)
三年秋七月 신라·백제와 전투를 하다 (AD 493)
三年 남제가 문자명왕에게 벼슬을 주다 
三年 북위에 조공하다
三年冬十月 겨울에 날씨가 따뜻하여 꽃이 피다
四年春二月 북위에 조공하다
四年春二月 큰 가뭄이 들다
四年夏五月 북위에 조공하다
四年秋七月 남쪽 바다에 제사를 지내다 (AD 494)
四年秋八月 백제를 공격하니 신라가 백제를 돕다 (AD 494)
五年 남제가 왕의 벼슬을 올려주다
五年秋七月 신라 우산성을 공격하였으나 니하에서 반격을 당하다 (AD 495)
六年秋八月 신라 우산성을 빼앗다 (AD 496)
七年春一月 흥안을 태자로 책립하다 (AD 497)
七年秋七月 금강사를 창건하다 (AD 497)
七年秋八月 북위에 조공하다
八年 백제인이 기근으로 투항해오다 (AD 498)
九年秋八月 북위에 조공하다
十年春一月 북위에 조공하다
十年冬十二月 북위에 조공하다
十一年秋八月 농작물에 병충해가 발생하다
十一年冬十月 지진이 일어나 사상자가 발생하다 (AD 501)
十一年夏四月 양 고조가 왕의 벼슬을 올려주다
十一年冬十一月 백제가 침입하다 (AD 501)
十一年冬十二月 북위에 조공하다
十二年冬十一月 백제가 수곡성을 침략하다 (AD 502)
十三年夏四月 사신이 북위를 방문하여 황제를 면담하다
十五年秋八月 사냥을 하다 (AD 505)
十五年秋九月 북위에 조공하다
十五年冬十一月 백제를 공격하였으나 눈과 추위로 인해 실패하다 (AD 505)
十六年冬十月 북위에 조공하다
十六年 백제를 공격하다 (AD 506)
十七年 양이 조서를 보내 문자명왕의 벼슬을 올려주다
十七年夏五月 북위에 조공하다
十七年冬十二月 북위에 조공하다
十八年夏五月 북위에 조공하다
十九年夏閏六月 북위에 조공하다
十九年冬十一月 북위에 조공하다
二十一年春三月 양에 조공하다
二十一年夏五月 북위에 조공하다
二十一年秋九月 백제 가불· 원산 두 성을 빼앗다 (AD 511)
二十二年春一月 북위에 조공하다
二十二年夏五月 북위에 조공하다 (512)

512-519 : 공백 (7년)

[1] 장수왕의 손자이지만 할아버지 장수왕이 거의 100세 가까이 장수했기에 그 역시 즉위할 당시엔 50세 전후였을 것으로 추정된다. 그러므로 문자명왕 역시 거의 80세 가까이 장수했던 것이다.

[2] 『고구려의 태왕호와 태왕가인식의 확립』(시노하라 히로가타, 2004), 『고구려 태왕호의 제정과 국강형 왕릉입지의 성립』(여호규, 2010)[3] 고조다는 고추대가라는 직책을 겸직했는데 이는 왕족 가운데서도 최상위 호칭으로 고구려가 졸본성-국내성의 도시 국가에서 영토 국가로 성장하면서 흡수한 세력들의 호칭을 왕 아래에 일원화시키면서 등장했고 태자가 겸직했다. 고구려가 5부족 체제였을 때는 왕족인 계루부와 전왕족인 소노부, 왕비족인 절노부의 수장을 고추가라고 해서 별도의 조직을 두었다고 한다. 그런데 계루부의 최고 수장은 당연히 왕이니까 정통 계승자가 고추가의 자리를 차지했다. 신라의 갈문왕이나 백제의 길사와 같이 왕권에 버금가는 세력의 흔적인 것. 태자라는 공식 직위와는 별도로 붙는 타이틀로서 영국의 프린스 오브 웨일스와 비슷하게 볼 수도 있다.

[4] 북한의 경우에는 이 기록을 역사 부도에 적극 반영하는 편이라 남한의 고구려 강역 표시랑 차이를 보이기도 한다. 학계에서는 한국사로 취급하는 왕조 중 역대 강역이 가장 컸던 나라로 척박한 연해주 땅이 많기는 했지만 발해를 추정하는 학자들이 많다.

[5] 국내에서는 경복대학교 교수, 윤용구 인천도시공사 문화재부장, 윤병모 작가, 정원주 한국학중앙연구원 한국학대학원 박사 등이 이쪽 분야를 연구하고 있다고 알려져 있다. 이들은 고구려 동서 6000리라는 표현을 거란과 말갈 방면, 대릉하 하류, 의무려산 이동~연해주 방면으로 뻗은 것으로 보는 편이다. 이정빈은 좀 더 구체적으로 1차 고수 전쟁 이후 수나라가 점차 동진해오면서 요하 하류까지 세력을 넓힌 것으로 보기도 한다. 고구려가 동서 3100리로 요하를 넘어 영주에 이르렀다는 양당서의 기록도 윤용구와 윤병모는 동서 6000리와 뭉퉁그려서 동북쪽과 서북쪽에 있던 거란과 말갈 방면으로 고구려가 세력을 확장한 것으로 본다. 고구려 멸망 후 당나라가 설치한 9주 중에 월희주가 있었는데 발해의 15부 중 회원부, 안원부에 있던 월희말갈로 추정된다.

[6] 선무황제 원각(元恪). 499~515.

[7] 기록상에는 부여와 섭라라고 되어있다. 백제 자체가 부여를 계승했다는 의식을 가지고 있기도 하였으며, 후에 백제 성왕은 국호를 남부여로 바꾸면서까지 자신이 부여를 계승한 진정한 국가이며, 고구려는 부여를 사칭한 국가라는 의식을 제대로 드러내었다.

[8] 이는 중국 왕조가 고구려의 독자적인 세계관을 인정해준 발언이다.

[9] 신라 역시 지증왕~법흥왕~진흥왕 초반까지 내정 개혁에 집중해서, 그 전엔 삼국시대 2강 1약 중 1약 정도였던 신라를 넘어 백제와 고구려의 체제와 국력을 급격히 따라잡는다. 신라왕 내정 업적이 유독 이 시기에 집중되는 것을 보면 신라가 문자명왕 중반부터 삼국간 소모전에서 갑자기 빠졌다는 해석이 단순히 기록 부족을 넘어 신빙성이 있다.

[10] 이러한 기록을 근거로 일각에서는 동성왕 ~ 무령왕 시기에 백제가 다시 고구려군을 밀고 올라와 한강 유역을 장악했지만, 고구려가 다시 공세를 취하기 시작한 안장왕 때 다시 빼앗겼다고 추측하고 있다. 실제로 동성왕에서 무령왕에 이르는 시기 동안 백제가 한강 유역을 지배하였다는 뉘앙스의 기록이 등장하고 있으며 안장왕과 한씨 미녀 설화에도 백제가 한강 유역 지역인 개백현, 그러니까 지금의 경기도 고양시까지 태수를 두고 지배하였다는 언급이 있다.

[11] 고구려에겐 다행히도 다음 대에 안장왕이 다시 국력을 회복, 백제와 전쟁에서 한강 유역을 되찾아 강역을 유지한 것으로 추정된다. 당연히 남방에 대한 공세적 기조도 안장왕 때부터 다시 시작되었다.[12] 애초에 조공은 소국이 대국을 섬긴다는 식의 차원을 넘어 동아시아 특유의 상호 무역 체제로 보는 것이 더 맞는다는 게 현 학계의 중론이다. 명분을 주고 실익을 취하는 것. 때문에 대대로 중국의 북방을 위협했던 흉노와 돌궐 같은 유목 민족 역시 표면상으로는 중국의 왕조와 조공 관계를 맺었다. 고구려 뿐만 아니라 역대 이민족 국가들 역시 중국의 왕조들과 조공 관계를 맺었고, 국력이 강성했던 시기에는 말이 조공이지 상대적으로 대등한 취급을 하거나 아예 상전 노릇을 하는 경우도 있었다. 또 상국 노릇하던 왕조도 임금마다 성향 차이는 있겠지만, 표현에서 마냥 하대하기보단 굉장히 위하고 사모한다는 식의 공손한 표현을 하는 경우도 많았다.

 

(자료 : 문자왕 (491-519), 나무위키)

 

 

** Theodoric the Great (493-526)

 

Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal (Latin: Flāvius Theodorīcus, Greek: Θευδέριχος, Theuderichos), was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy between 493–526,[3] regent of the Visigoths (511–526), and a patrician of the East Roman Empire. As ruler of the combined Gothic realms, Theodoric controlled an empire stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Adriatic Sea.

 

As a young child of an Ostrogothic nobleman, Theodoric was taken as a hostage in Constantinople, where he spent his formative years and received an east Roman education. Theodoric returned to Pannonia around 470, and throughout the 470s he campaigned against the Sarmatians and competed for influence among the Goths of the Roman Balkans. The emperor Zeno made him a commander of the Eastern Roman forces in AD 483, and in AD 484 he was named consul. Nevertheless, Theodoric remained in constant hostilities with the emperor and frequently raided East Roman lands.

 

At the behest of Zeno, Theodoric attacked Odoacer in 489, emerging victorious in 493. As the new ruler of Italy, he upheld a Roman legal administration and scholarly culture and promoted a major building program across Italy.[4] In 505 he expanded into the Balkans, and by 511 he had brought the Visigothic Kingdom under his direct control and established hegemony over the Burgundian and Vandal kingdoms. Theodoric died in 526 and was buried in a grand mausoleum in Ravenna. Theodoric lived on as the figure Dietrich von Bern in Germanic heroic legend.

Youth and early exploits

 

Theodoric was born in AD 454 in Pannonia on the banks of the Neusiedler See near Carnuntum, the son of king Theodemir, a Germanic Amali nobleman, and his concubine Ereleuva. This was just a year after the Ostrogoths had thrown off nearly a century of domination by the Huns. His Gothic name, which is reconstructed by linguists as *Þiudareiks, translates into "people-king" or "ruler of the people".[5]

 

In 461, when Theodoric was but seven or eight years of age, he was taken as a hostage in Constantinople to secure the Ostrogoths' compliance with a treaty Theodemir had concluded with the augustus Leo I (ruled 457–474). The treaty secured a payment to Constantinople of some 300 pounds' worth of gold each year.[6] 

 

Theodoric was well educated by Constantinople's best teachers.[7] His status made him valuable, since the Amal family from which he came (as told by Theodoric),[8] allegedly ruled half of all Goths since the third-century AD. Historian Peter Heather argues that Theodoric's claims were likely self-aggrandizing propaganda and that the Amal dynasty was more limited than modern commentators presume.[9] Until 469, Theodoric remained in Constantinople where he spent formative years "catching up on all the Romanitas" it had taken generations of Visigothic Balthi to acquire.[10] Theodoric was treated with favor by the emperor Leo I.[11] He learned to read, write, and perform arithmetic while in captivity in the Eastern Empire.[3]

 

When Leo heard that his imperial army was returning from having been turned back by the Goths near Pannonia, he sent Theodoric home with gifts and no promises of any commitments.[12][b] On his return in 469/470, Theodoric assumed leadership over the Gothic regions previously ruled by his uncle, Valamir, while his father became king. Not long afterwards near Singidunum (modern Belgrade) in upper Moesia, the Tisza Sarmatian king Babai had extended his authority at Constantinople's expense. Legitimizing his position as a warrior, Theodoric crossed the Danube with six thousand warriors, defeated the Sarmatians and killed Babai; this moment likely crystallized his position and marked the beginning of his kingship, despite not actually having yet assumed the throne.[14] Perhaps to assert his authority as an Amali prince, Theodoric kept the conquered area of Singidunum for himself.[15]

 

Throughout the 470s, sometimes in the name of the empire itself, Theodoric launched campaigns against potential Gothic rivals and other enemies of the Eastern Empire, which made him an important military and political figure. One of his chief rivals was the chieftain of the Thracian Goths Theodoric Strabo (Strabo means "the Squinter"), who had led a major revolt against the emperor Zeno. Finding common ground with the emperor, Theodoric was rewarded by Zeno and made commander of East Roman forces, while his people became foederati or federates of the Roman army.[16]

 

Zeno attempted to play one Germanic chieftain against another and take advantage of an opportunity sometime in 476/477 when—after hearing demands from Theodoric for new lands since his people were facing a famine—he offered Theodoric Strabo the command once belonging to Theodoric. Enraged by this betrayal, Theodoric sought his wrath against the communities in the Rhodope Mountains, where his forces commandeered livestock and slaughtered peasants, sacked and burned Stobi in Macedonia and requisitioned supplies from the archbishop at Heraclea.[17] Gothic plundering finally elicited a settlement from Zeno, but Theodoric initially refused any compromise. Theodoric sent one of his confidants, Sidimund, forward to Epidaurum for negotiations with Zeno.[18] While the Roman envoy and Theodoric were negotiating, Zeno sent troops against some of Theodoric's wagons, which were under the protection of his able general Theodimund. Unaware of this treachery, Theodoric's Goths lost around 2,000 wagons and 5,000 of his people were taken captive.[19]

 

He settled his people in Epirus in 479 with the help of his relative Sidimund. In 482, he raided Greece and sacked Larissa. Bad luck, rebellions, and poor decisions left Zeno in an unfortunate position,[c] which subsequently led him to seek another agreement with Theodoric. In 483, Zeno made Theodoric magister militum praesentalis[21] and consul designate in 484, whereby he commanded the Danubian provinces of Dacia Ripensis and Moesia Inferior as well as the adjacent regions.[22]

 

 

Reign

 

Conquest of Italy

The Ostrogothic Kingdom (in yellow) at the death of Theodoric the Great (AD 526)

 

Seeking further gains, Theodoric frequently ravaged the provinces of the Eastern Roman Empire, eventually threatening Constantinople itself. By 486, there was little disputing the open hostilities between Theodoric and Zeno. The emperor sought the assistance of the Bulgarians, who were likewise defeated by Theodoric.[23] In 487, Theodoric began his aggressive campaign against Constantinople, blockading the city, occupying strategically important suburbs, and cutting off its water supply; although it seems Theodoric never intended to occupy the city but instead, to use the assault as a means of gaining power and prestige from the Eastern Empire.[24]

 

The Ostrogoths needed a place to live, and Zeno was having serious problems with Odoacer, the Germanic foederatus and King of Italy, who although ostensibly viceroy for Zeno, was menacing Byzantine territory and not respecting the rights of Roman citizens in Italy. In 488, Zeno ordered Theodoric to overthrow Odoacer. For this task, he received support from Rugian king Frideric, the son of Theodoric's cousin Giso. Theodoric moved with his people towards Italy in the autumn of 488.[25] On the way he was opposed by the Gepids, whom he defeated at Sirmium in August 489.[25] Arriving in Italy, Theodoric won the battles of Isonzo and Verona in 489.[26]

 

Once again, Theodoric was pressed by Zeno in 490 to attack Odoacer.[27] Theodoric's army was defeated by Odoacer's forces at Faenza in 490, but regained the upper hand after securing victory in the Battle of the Adda River on 11 August 490.[28] For several years, the armies of Odoacer and Theodoric vied for supremacy across the Italian peninsula.[29] In 493, Theodoric took Ravenna. On 2 February 493, Theodoric and Odoacer signed a treaty that assured both parties would rule over Italy.[28] Then on 5 March 493, Theodoric entered the city of Ravenna.[30] A banquet was organised on 15 March 493 in order to celebrate this treaty.[28] At this feast, Theodoric, after making a toast, killed Odoacer. Theodoric drew his sword and struck him on the collarbone.[28] Along with Odoacer, Theodoric had the betrayed king's most loyal followers slaughtered as well, an event which left him as the master of Italy.[31]

 

With Odoacer dead and his forces dispersed, Theodoric now faced the problem of settlement for his people.[32] Concerned about thinning out the Amal line too much, Theodoric believed he could not afford to spread some 40,000 of his tribesmen across the entire Italian peninsula.[33] Such considerations led him to the conclusion that it was best to settle the Ostrogoths in three concentrated areas: around Pavia, Ravenna, and Picenum.[33] Theodoric's kingdom was among the most "Roman" of the barbarian states and he successfully ruled most of Italy for thirty-three years following his treachery against Odoacer.[34]

 

Theodoric extended his hegemony over the Burgundian, Visigothics royals, and Vandal kingdoms through marriage alliances. He had married the sister of the mighty Frankish king, Clovis—likely in recognition of Frankish power.[35] He sent a substantial dowry accompanied by a guard of 5,000 troops with his sister Amalafrida when she married the king of the Vandals and Alans, Thrasamund.[36] In 504–505, Theodoric extended his realms in the Balkans by defeating the Gepids, acquiring the province of Pannonia.[31] 

 

Theodoric became regent for the infant Visigothic king, his grandson Amalaric, following the defeat of Alaric II by the Franks under Clovis in 507. The Franks were able to wrest control of Aquitaine from the Visigoths, but otherwise Theodoric was able to defeat their incursions.[37][38]

 

In 511, the Visigothic Kingdom was brought under Theodoric's direct control, forming a Gothic superstate that extended from the Atlantic to the Danube. While territories that were lost to the Franks remained that way, Theodoric concluded a peace arrangement with the heirs of the Frankish Kingdom once Clovis was dead.[39] Additional evidence of the Gothic king's extensive royal reach include the acts of ecclesiastical councils that were held in Tarragona and Gerona; while both occurred in 516 and 517, they date back to the "regnal years of Theoderic, which seem to commence in the year 511".[40]

Brick with the emblem of Theodoric, found in the Temple of Vesta, Rome. It reads "+REG(nante) D(omino) N(ostro) THEODERICO [b]O[n]O ROM(a)E", which translates as With our master Theodoric the Good reigning in Rome [this brick was made].

 

Like Odoacer, Theodoric was ostensibly only a viceroy for the augustus in Constantinople, but he nonetheless adopted the trappings of imperial style, increasingly emphasizing his "neo-imperial status".[41] According to historian Peter Brown, Theodoric was in the habit of commenting that "An able Goth wants to be like a Roman; only a poor Roman would want to be like a Goth."[42] Much like the representatives of the Eastern Empire, Theodoric chose to be clad in robes dyed purple, emulating the imperial colors and perhaps even to reinforce the imperial dispatch of the augustus Anastasius I, which outlined Theodoric's position as an imperial colleague.[43] Chroniclers like Cassiodorus added a layer of legitimacy for Theodoric and the Amal tribe from which he came by casting them as cooperative participants in the greater history of the Mediterranean going all the way back to the era of Alexander the Great.[44] In reality—at least in part due to his formidable military—he was able to avoid imperial supervision, and dealings between the emperor and Theodoric were as equals. Unlike Odoacer, however, Theodoric respected the agreement he had made and allowed Roman citizens within his kingdom to be subject to Roman law and the Roman judicial system.[45] The Goths, meanwhile, lived under their own laws and customs. In 519, when a mob had burned down the synagogues of Ravenna, Theodoric ordered the town to rebuild them at its own expense.[46] 

Theodoric's empire at the height of its power in 523, with territory marked in pink ruled directly by Theodoric and stippled areas under his hegemony

 

Theodoric experienced difficulties before his death. He had married off his daughter Amalasuntha to the Visigoth Eutharic, but Eutharic died in August 522 or 523, so no lasting dynastic connection of Ostrogoths and Visigoths was established, which highlighted the tensions between the Eastern Empire and the West.[47] The new augustus, Justin I—who replaced Anastasius, a man with whom Theodoric had good relations—was under the influence of his nephew Justinian; somehow, imperial views hardened against the West and talk of Rome's fall emerged during this period, leading to questions about the legitimacy of barbarian rule.[47] Theodoric's good relations with the Roman Senate deteriorated due to a presumed senatorial conspiracy in 522, and, in 523, Theodoric had the philosopher and court official Boethius and Boethius' father-in-law Symmachus arrested on charges of treason related to the alleged plot.[48] For his role, Theodoric had Boethius executed in 524.[49][d][e]

 

Despite the complex relationship between Theodoric and his son-in-law, the Catholic Burgundian king Sigismund, the two enjoyed a mutual peace for fifteen years.[52] Then in 522, Sigismund killed his own son—Theodoric's grandson—Sigeric; an act which infuriated Theodoric and he retaliated by invading the Burgundian kingdom, accompanied by the Franks. Between the two peoples, Sigismund's Burgundian forces faced two fronts and were defeated.[52] Meanwhile, Sigismund's Arian brother Godomar established himself as king over the remaining Burgundian territory and ruled for a decade.[53]

 

When Theodoric's sister Amalafrida sought to possibly change the direction of Vandal succession following the death of her spouse, the former Vandal king Thrasamund, the new Catholic Vandal king Hilderic had her, along with the accompanying Gothic retinue, killed.[52] Theodoric was incensed and planned an expedition to restore his power over the Vandal kingdom when he died of dysentery in the summer of 526.[54][f] The Gothic king was succeeded by his grandson Athalaric, with Theodoric's daughter Amalasuntha serving as regent since Athalaric was but ten years of age when Theodoric died. Her role was to carry out the dead ruler's political testament,[g] to seek accommodation with the senate, and maintain peace with the emperor.[55] Suddenly the once united Goths were split and Theodoric's grandson Amalaric ruled the newly independent Visigothic kingdom for the next five years.[55]

Bronze weight, inlaid with silver, with the name of Theodoric, issued by prefect Catulinus in Rome, 493–526

 

Family and progeny

 

Theodoric was married once.

 

He had a concubine in Moesia, name unknown, with whom he had two daughters:

• Theodegotha (ca. 473 – ?). In 494, she was married to Alaric II as a part of her father's alliance with the Visigoths.
• Ostrogotho (ca. 475 – ?).[57] In 494 or 496, she was married to the king Sigismund of Burgundy as a part of her father's alliance with the Burgundians.

 

By his marriage to Audofleda in 493 he had one daughter:

• Amalasuntha, Queen of the Goths. She was married to Eutharic and had two children: Athalaric and Matasuntha (the latter being married to Witiges first, then, after Witiges' death, married to Germanus Justinus; neither had children). Any hope for a reconciliation between the Goths and the Romans in the person of a Gotho-Roman Emperor from this family lineage was shattered.

 

After his death in Ravenna in 526, Theodoric was succeeded by his grandson Athalaric. Athalaric was at first represented by his mother Amalasuntha, who served as regent from 526 until 534. The kingdom of the Ostrogoths, however, began to wane and was conquered by Justinian I in 553 after the Battle of Mons Lactarius.

 

Building program

 

Theodoric promoted the rebuilding of Roman cities and the preservation of ancient monuments in Italy.[58] The fame of his building works reached far-away Syria.[59] Theodoric's building program saw more extensive new construction and restoration than that of any of the West Roman emperors after Honorius (395–423).[60]

 

Ravenna

 

Mosaic depiction of the front of Theodoric's Palace on the upper part of the south wall of the nave of San Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna. Theodoric and his court were removed from the image by the Eastern Romans.

 

Theodoric devoted most of his architectural attention to his capital, Ravenna.[61] He restored Ravenna's water supply by repairing an aqueduct originally built by Trajan.[61] According to the chronicles of Cassiodorus, a number of cities were renewed by Theodoric's building enterprises, some of which even surpassed the ancient wonders.[62] Historian Jonathan J. Arnold quips:

Northern cities like Ravenna, Verona, Pavia, Milan, Parma, Como, Aquileia, and still others received new or improved walls, palaces, aqueducts, churches, baths, and a host of other impressive and glorious buildings, all reiterating to their respective inhabitants their own importance within a newly revived and reinvigorated Roman Empire and connecting such ideas with the intervention of a caring and devoted princeps, Theodoric.[63]

 

He constructed a "Great Basilica of Hercules" next to a colossal statue of the hero himself.[61] To promote Arianism, the king commissioned a small Arian cathedral, the Hagia Anastasis, which contains the Arian Baptistery. [64] Three more churches built by Theodoric in Ravenna and its suburbs, S. Andrea dei Goti, S. Giorgio and S. Eusebio, were destroyed in the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries.[65] Theodoric built the Palace of Theodoric for himself in Ravenna, modeled on the Great Palace of Constantinople.[66] It was an expansion of an earlier Roman structure.[67] The palace church of Christ the Redeemer survives and is known today as the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo.[68] It was Theodoric's personal church of worship and was modeled specifically according to his tastes.[69] An equestrian statue of Theodoric was erected in the square in front of the palace.[70] Statues like these were symbols of the ancient world, and Theodoric's equestrian likeness was meant to convey his status as the undisputed ruler of the western empire.[71] 

The Mausoleum of Theodoric in Ravenna

 

Theodoric the Great was interred in Ravenna, but his bones were scattered and his mausoleum was converted to a church after Belisarius conquered the city in 540.[72] His mausoleum is one of the finest monuments in Ravenna. Unlike all the other contemporary buildings in Ravenna, which were made of brick, the Mausoleum of Theodoric was built completely from fine quality stone ashlars.[73] Possibly as a reference to the Goths' tradition of an origin in Scandinavia, the architect decorated the frieze with a pattern found in 5th- and 6th-century Scandinavian metal adornments.[74][75]

 

Rome

 

The Palace of Domitian on the Palatine Hill was reconstructed, using the receipts from a specially levied tax; while the city walls of Rome were rebuilt, a feat celebrated by the Senate of Rome with a gilded statue of Theodoric.[59] The Senate's Curia, the Theatre of Pompey, the city aqueducts, sewers and a granary were refurbished and repaired and statues were set up in the Flavian Amphitheatre.[59]

 

Religion

The Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, the church of the Palace of Theodoric in Ravenna

 

In 522 the philosopher Boethius became his magister officiorum (head of all the government and court services). Boethius was a Roman aristocrat and Christian humanist, who was also a philosopher, poet, theologian, mathematician, astronomer, translator, and commentator on Aristotle and other Greek luminaries.[76] It is hard to overestimate this one-time servant and eventual victim of Theodoric for his influence on philosophy, particularly Christian philosophy, throughout the Middle Ages. Boethius' treatises and commentaries became textbooks for medieval students and the great Greek philosophers were unknown except for his Latin translations.[77][h] The execution of Boethius did nothing to dissipate tensions between Arians and Catholics but merely raised additional questions about barbarian imperial legitimacy.[78]

 

Theodoric was of the Arian (nontrinitarian) faith and in his final years, he was no longer the disengaged Arian patron of religious toleration that he had seemed earlier in his reign. "Indeed, his death cut short what could well have developed into a major persecution of Catholic churches in retaliation for measures taken by Justinian in Constantinople against Arians there."[79] Despite the Byzantine caesaropapism, which conflated imperial and ecclesiastical authority in the same person—whereby Theodoric's Arian beliefs were tolerated under two separate emperors—the fact remained that to most clergy across the Eastern Empire, Theodoric was a heretic.[80] At the end of his reign quarrels arose with his Roman subjects and the Byzantine emperor Justin I over the matter of Arianism. Relations between the two kingdoms deteriorated, although Theodoric's military abilities dissuaded the Byzantines from waging war against him. After his death, that reluctance faded quickly.[81]

 

(Source : Theodoric The Great, Wikipedia)