After
Alaric II's(King of Visigoths) death in 502 CE, his illegitimate son
Gesalec took power until he was deposed by
Theodoric the Great, ruler of the
Ostrogothic Kingdom, who invaded and defeated him at
Barcelona. Gesalic fled and regrouped, but was defeated again at
Barcelona, and was captured and killed.
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Barcelona |
Theodoric, installed his grandson
Amalaric (511–531), the son of
Alaric II, as king.
Amalaric, however, was still a child and power in
Spain remained under the
Ostrogothic general and regent,
Theudis. Only after
Theoderic's death (526) did
Amalaric obtain control of his kingdom. His rule did not last long, as in 531,
Amalaric was defeated by the
Frankish king
Childebert I and then murdered at
Barcelona.
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Illustration of Amalaric |
Theudis became king of the
Visigoths from 531 CE until 548 CE. He expanded
Visigothic control over the southern regions. In 541,
Theudis had to confront the
Franks under
Chlothar I and
Childebert I, who had penetrated as far as
Zaragoza, which they besieged for forty-nine days, but the
Franks lifted their siege when they learned the city was protected by the relics of
Saint Vincent of Saragossa. He was murdered after a failed invasion of
Africa.
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Saint Vincent of Saragossa |
Visigothic Spain suffered a civil war under
King Agila I (549–554), which prompted the
Roman/Byzantine emperor
Justinian I to send an army and carve out the small province of
Spania for the
Byzantine Empire along the coast of southern
Spain. Agila was eventually killed, and his enemy
Athanagild (552–568) became the new king.
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Justinian I |
Athanagild (d. 568 CE) became the king of the
Visigoths in 552 CE. He attacked the
Byzantines, but he was unable to dislodge them from southern
Spain, and was obliged to formally acknowledge the suzerainty of the Empire. His queen,
Goiswintha, gave him two daughters —
Brunhilda and the murdered
Galswintha — who were married to two
Merovingian brother-kings:
Sigebert I of
Austrasia and
Chilperic, king of the
Neustrian Franks.
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Athanagild |
The next
Visigothic king was
Liuvigild (569 – April 21, 586). He was an effective military leader and consolidated
Visigothic power in
Spain. Liuvigild campaigned against the
Romans in the south in the 570s and he took back
Cordova after another revolt. He pacified northern
Spain, but was unable to completely conquer these peoples.
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Statue of Liuvigild |
When
Liuvigild established his son
Hermenegild as joint ruler, a civil war ensued between them.
Hermenegild became the first
Visigothic king to convert to
Nicene Christianity due to his ties with the
Romans, but he was defeated in 584 and killed in 585.
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First Council of Nicaea |
By the end of his reign, Liuvigild had united the entire Iberian peninsula, including the Suebic Kingdom. Liuvigild established amicable terms with the Franks through royal marriages, and they remained at peace throughout most of his reign. Liuvigild also founded new cities, such as Reccopolis and Victoriacum (Vitoria), the first barbarian king to do so.
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