HIST-102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 35: Odoacer, Danube, Socalled
9 Oct 2020
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Document Summary
The three most significant of the so-called germanic successor states were the king- doms of the ostrogoths in italy, the franks in gaul or northern france, and the visigoths in spain. The ostrogoths, an offshoot of the older gothic group smashed by the huns in 375, had united in the early fifth century and from their position on the middle danube began to press once again on the eastern empire. In 489 their talented and ambitious king theodoric accepted an invitation from the em- peror in. Constantinople to lead his people into italy, overthrow odoacer, and restore italy to the empire. This emperor, zeno, probably had no real interest in regaining italy; all he wanted was to get rid of the ostrogoths as quickly as pos- sible. Theodoric leapt at the chance, though, and led his army down the peninsula.
