Theodosian Code 691Press, 1985); Charles Diehl, Byzantine Empresses,trans.
Harold Bell and Theresa de Kerpely (New York: Knopf,
1963); J. A. S. Evans, The Age of Justinian: The Circum-
stances of Imperial Power(New York: Routledge, 1996).
Theodoric the Great, the Ostrogoth(Theoderic,
Theodoric the Amal, Dietrich of Bern in the Nibelungen-
lied)(ca. 454/455–526)Ostrogothic king of northern Italy
The son of Theodemir of the ruling Ostrogothic Amal
dynasty, Theodoric was born around 454 or 455 in PAN-
NONIA. At the time his tribe, the OSTROGOTHS, were feder-
ates or allies of the Roman Empire, Theodoric was sent in
462 as a hostage to the imperial court at CONSTANTINO-
PLE, where he received a classical education. He returned
home in 472 to defeat, and kill the king of the Sarmatians
and then captured Singidunum or Belgrade claiming it for
himself, even though he was in the service and pay of the
Eastern Empire. In 484 his dying father named him
leader of the Ostrogoths.
Theodoric eventually was made a patrician and mili-
tary official for the Eastern Empire. He persuaded the
emperor Zeno (r. 474–491) to allow him go to ITA LYto
free it from the domination of another barbarian general,
ODOACER. Through diplomatic maneuvering and military
successes, he had defeated Odoacer by 493. In the mean-
time other BARBARIANtribes entered Italy and caused con-
siderable damage. He worked out a deal with Odoacer,
who had fled to RAVENNA, to divide power in Italy. But he
soon accused Odoacer of plotting against him and suppos-
edly executed him with his own hands in 493/494. As a
result, he became king of the Germanic or Gothic barbar-
ians in Italy and a representative of the Eastern Empire.
THEODORIC’S POWER EXPANDSAt Ravenna Theodoric assumed the title of lord and
began to wear purple clothing confirming his imperial
ambitions. He fought successful wars against the kings in
the north such as CLOVIS, even annexing PROVENCEto
Italy and linking himself with the VISIGOTHSin SPAINand
southern FRANCE. From then on his rule in Italy was gen-
erally moderate and peaceful; he never claimed to be an
emperor but behaved as if he were. He employed Romans
such as BOETHIUS and CASSIODORUS. In about 500 he
issued an important edict setting out civil and criminal
law and legal procedures for both the GOTHSand the
Romans but recognizing their traditional and national
laws in other matters. Although he remained an ARIAN,
he was initially impartial in his dealings with the church
of Rome, helping to settle administrative questions but
avoiding doctrinal matters to prevent offending the East-
ern Church in Constantinople. This policy was effective
for a while, but the Byzantines were not ready to abandon
their meddling in the ecclesiastical affairs of the West.
For a while his government was influential over SICILY,
PROVENCE, BAVARIA, and southern AUSTRIA.
THE TROUBLED END OF HIS REIGN
In the later years of his life, Theodoric became suspi-
cious, almost paranoid, about the loyalty of those around
him. He also responded to the Byzantine emperor’s oppo-
sition to Arians in the empire by imposing stricter con-
straints on the Catholics in Italy. He had Boethius
executed for treason on little evidence, except his alleged
involvement in a vague senatorial conspiracy. He became
less moderate in his religious policies and intervened
directly in ecclesiastical affairs to install his own candi-
date in office as pope. He died suddenly of dysentery on
August 30, 526 and was buried in Ravenna. At the time
he was planning stronger measures against the Catholics
but urging reconciliation and recommending Athalaric
(r. 526–534), the son of his daughter, Amalasuntha
(498–535), as his heir. However, the succession was dis-
puted and the Byzantines intervened militarily. The long
and destructive Gothic Wars resulted.
See alsoJUSTINIANI, BYZANTINE EMPEROR;NIBELUN-
GENLIED.
Further reading:Patrick Amory, People and Identity
in Ostrogothic Italy, 489–554 (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1997); Thomas S. Burns, A History of the
Ostrogoths (Bloomington: Indiana University Press,
1984); Peter Heather, The Goths(Oxford: Blackwell Pub-
lishers, 1996); Thomas Hodgkin, Theodoric the Goth: the
Barbarian Champion of Civilization(New York: G. P. Put-
nam’s Sons, 1891); John Moorhead, Theoderic in Italy
(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992).Theodosian Code The Theodosian Code was a col-
lection of imperial constitutions running from Constan-
tine’s proclamation of Christianity in 312 up until 437.
Divided into 16 books, it was compiled in six to eight
years by a commission established by the emperor Theo-
dosios II (r. 401–450) in 429. Theodosios promulgated
the code in CONSTANTINOPLE, shortly after he gave his
daughter, Eudokia, in marriage to the Western emperor,
Valentinian III (r. 425–455), on October 29, 437. He then
proclaimed that after January 1, 438, no law from the era
of Constantine and issued before the end of 437 could
have legal force unless it was repeated in the new code,
which superseded all earlier collections. A copy of the
code was taken to ROMEand officially received in Decem-
ber 438. It is from this copy that all surviving
manuscripts, extracts in Latin, or quotations in Latin of
the Theodosian Code have been derived. Though com-
piled in Constantinople, most of its contents involve
western material.
The Theodosian Code was designed for practical
use by magistrates in deciding court cases and as a
supplement to existing law and the writings of the pre-
Constantinian jurists. Because the compilers did not seek
to impose internal consistency, contradictory rulings were
allowed to stand. There was probably no central archival