[gothic-l] Administration of Ostrogothic Italy

[andreas.schwarcz at UNIVIE.AC.AT]

Dear Dirk,
after the capitulation of Vitigis none of his successors could unite 
the control of the Ostrogothic army with recognition as a rightful 
ruler by the senatorial aristocracy and the Senate of Rome. 
Hildebad and Erarich controlled only a small part of Italy north of ht 
river Po and Totila, who in 546/547 was lord of most of Italy for a 
short time, did not conquer Ravenna and could not keep Rome. he 
treated the senators in his power as hostages, not as partners in 
power. Only when he conquered Rome a second time  in 550, he 
was able to form a Senate to support his rule, and the hostages 
taken from these families were killed by his successor Teja. For 
most of the time between 539 and 555 the Roman administration of 
Italy was controlled by the generals of Justinian and they were 
supported by the senatorial aristocracy. There were also Romans 
supporting Totila, at least at the zenith of his success, but the rule 
of the Ostrogothic kings after 539 was based on military structures 
and  Gothic comites civitatis in their territory, not by a Roman civil 
administration except civic and ecclesiastical structures like the 
bishops, who led the urban administration of the cities.
Kind regards
                   Andreas    
Ao.Univ.Prof.Dr.Andreas Schwarcz
Institut für österreichische Geschichtsforschung
Universität Wien
Dr.Karl Lueger-Ring 1
A-1010 Wien
Österreich
Tel.0043/1/42-77/272-16
Fax 0043/142-77/92-72


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