Ostrogoths
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| - | [[History of Western civilization]] | ||
| - | ==Antiquity (before AD 500)== | ||
| - | The [[East-West dichotomy|opposition of a European "West" to an Asiatic "East"]] has its roots in [[Classical Antiquity]], with then [[Persian Wars]] where the [[Classical Greece|Greek]] city states were opposing the expansion of the [[Achaemenid Empire]]. The Biblical opposition of [[Land of Israel|Israel]] and [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Assyria]] from a European perspective was recast into these terms by early Christian authors such as [[Jerome]], who compared it to the [[Migration period|"barbarian" invasions]] of his own time (see also [[Assyria and Germany in Anglo-Israelism]]) | + | The '''Ostrogoths''' ({{lang-la|Ostrogothi'' or ''Austrogothi}}) were a branch of the [[Goths]], an [[East Germanic tribes|East Germanic tribe]] that played a major role in the political events of the late [[Roman Empire]]. The other branch was the [[Visigoths]]. |
| - | The "East" in the [[Hellenistic period]] was the [[Seleucid Empire]], with Greek influence stretching as far as [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom|Bactria]] and [[Indo-Greek Kingdom|India]], besides [[Scythia]] in the [[Pontic steppe]] to the north. In this period, there was significant cultural contact between the Mediterranean and the East, giving rise to syncretisms like [[Greco-Buddhism]]. It was only with [[Christianization]] of the Roman Empire in the 4th century that the Mediterranean world lost interest in the Eastern cultures. | + | The Ostrogoths established a relatively short-lived successor state of Rome in [[Italy]] and the [[Balkans]], even briefly incorporating most of [[Hispania]] and southern [[Gaul]]. They reached their zenith under their Romanised king [[Theodoric the Great]], who patronised such late Roman figures as [[Boethius]] and [[Cassiodorus]], in the first quarter of the sixth century. By mid-century, however, they had been conquered by Justinians army in the [[Gothic War (535–554)]], a war with devastating consequences for Italy. |
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| - | The division of Europe into a Western (Latin) and an Eastern (Greek) part was prefigured in the division of the [[Roman Empire]] by [[Diocletian]] in 285. The [[history of Christianity]] took divergent routes in these spheres from early times, but the final [[East–West Schism|Great Schism]] separating [[Roman Catholicism|Roman]] and [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern]] Christianity occurred only in the 11th century. | + | |
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| - | In [[476 A.D.]] the [[western Roman Empire]], which had ruled modern-day [[Italy]], [[France]], [[Spain]], [[Portugal]] and [[England]] for centuries collapsed due to a combination of economic decline and drastically reduced military strength, allowing invasion by [[barbarian]] [[tribe]]s originating in southern [[Scandinavia]] and modern-day northern [[Germany]]. According to many authors, the main causes for the fall of any empire are internal, such as racial, religious or political divisions within the country. Also, warfare and economic crisis may contribute to the empire's collapse. In England, several [[Germanic peoples|Germanic tribes]] invaded, including the [[Angles]] and [[Saxons]]. In [[Gaul]] (modern-day France, Belgium and parts of Switzerland) and [[Germania Inferior]] (The Netherlands), the [[Franks]] settled, in [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]] the [[Visigoths]] invaded and Italy was conquered by the [[Ostrogoths]]. [[Christianity]] ceased to be the dominant religion in these lands and much of [[Culture of ancient Rome|Roman culture]] disappeared. Only [[Ireland]], which had never been ruled by [[Roman Empire|Rome]], remained Christian throughout this time. | + | |
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Revision as of 07:39, 7 September 2009
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The Ostrogoths (Template:Lang-la) were a branch of the Goths, an East Germanic tribe that played a major role in the political events of the late Roman Empire. The other branch was the Visigoths.
The Ostrogoths established a relatively short-lived successor state of Rome in Italy and the Balkans, even briefly incorporating most of Hispania and southern Gaul. They reached their zenith under their Romanised king Theodoric the Great, who patronised such late Roman figures as Boethius and Cassiodorus, in the first quarter of the sixth century. By mid-century, however, they had been conquered by Justinians army in the Gothic War (535–554), a war with devastating consequences for Italy.
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Ostrogoths" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
