| Gothic Revolt of Euric | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Gothic wars | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Aquitanian Goths | Romans | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Euric Arvandus Victorius | Anthemius Paulus Childeric Riothamus Vincentius | ||||||
The Revolt of Euric was a military conflict between the Gothic king Euric and the Western Roman Empire between AD 468 and 471. The war marked the collapse of Roman authority in southern Gaul and led to the establishment of an independent Visigothic kingdom centered on Toulouse.
Since AD 418, the Goths had been settled in Aquitania (southwestern Gaul) as foederati, or federated allies of Rome. In exchange for military service, they received land and a degree of self-government under their own leaders, although they remained nominally subordinate to the Roman emperor. Under kings Theodoric I (418–451) and Theodoric II (453–466), the Aquitanian Goths often served as allies of Rome—most notably in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (451) against Attila the Hun, but at times also fought against Rome, such as during the Gothic War(436–439).
When Euric came to power in 466, the Western Roman Empire was in rapid decline. The assassination of Emperor Majorian had triggered civil war, which had led to a further disintegration of the empire. In Italy the powerful general Ricimer effectively controlled imperial policy. Euric viewed this instability as an opportunity to consolidate Gothic power and achieve full independence from Rome. Euric exploited the situation and prepared to expand his realm across Gaul. [1] His strategic aim was to unite all Gothic territories into a wide kingdom stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Rhône River, and from the Loire to Hispania. [2]
Emperor Anthemius (467–472), who had fought as a general against the Goths in Pannonia, recognized the threat Euric posed and sought to build a coalition against him. [3] With the Bretons, the Burgundians and Paulus, the successor of Aegidius in northern Gaul, he hoped to strengthen his position in Gaul with the regular army in Italy. South of the Pyrenees, the Suevens and the Roman provincials would also support him. [4] However, the planned offensive against the Vandals required all his attention and resources.
The enormous defeat of the joint Roman fleet at Cape Bonn against the Vandals in 468 worked as a catalyst for Euric's war plans. Besides the morale effect of the lost war the diplomatic efforts of Anthemius failed: in Spain the Suebi, under Remismund, plundered Lusitania, and the Roman commander Lusidius surrendered Lisbon to them. Euric openly rebelled against the Roman Empire. Arvandus, the praetorian prefect of Gaul, had informed Euric of Anthemius’s strategy and advised him to divide Gaul with the Burgundians rather than make peace. Arvandus was later charged with high treason for this act. Euric responded swiftly, advancing his forces north into Gaul, where Roman defenses were divided. The imperial plans were further undermined by treachery.
The army of Riothamus would be the first to experience the consequences of Arandus' betrayal. Following the call of Emperor Anthemius, Riothamus gathered 12,000 men in Armorica [5] . This army, from which it is not really known whether the troops of Armorica or Britannia came from, marched to the south of Gaul in the course of 469 to join Paul's Gallic army. [6] [7] Euric defeated the Romano-Breton army at Déols (modern Châteauroux). Riothamus’s force was routed, and the survivors fled to Burgundian territory. This victory allowed Euric to consolidate his control over central Gaul and push the Roman frontier north to the Loire River.
In middle Gaul, Roman forces under Paulus and Childeric I stop the Goths at Bourges and briefly recaptured Tours in 470. The Goths now suffered a great defeat against the Roman army. All the loot they had stolen fell into the hands of Paul. [8] Nevertheless continued the Gothic their offensive. Paulus was killed shortly afterwards at Angers and in Italy Emperor Anthemius needed his troops to maintain his position against Ricimer. Neither party could beat the other and the area north of the Loire remains Roman while the south became Gothic. [9]
But how seriously the emperor took the war in Gaul is evident from his haste to send an army across the Alps at the slightest decrease in tensions between him and Ricimer. This would be the last such force. Euric crossed the Rhone and destroyed the imperial army, whose commanders, including the emperor's son himself, were killed. This battle probably took place in the early summer of 471. After this victory, Visigothic forces overran southern Gaul, capturing Arles, Riez, Avignon, Orange, Apt, Valence, and Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux. Only the intervention of the Burgundians halted Euric’s advance. During their retreat, the Visigoths devastated wide areas of the countryside. [10] .
Following the Roman defeat in the Auvergne and along the Rhône, Euric extended his authority over almost the entire region of Narbonensis. The Revolt of Euric marked the final collapse of Western Roman authority in southern Gaul. By 471, Euric was de facto independent of Rome. He transformed the Visigothic realm from a semi-autonomous federation into a fully independent kingdom, laying the foundations for the later Visigothic Kingdom of Toulouse and, ultimately, the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania. For Emperor Anthemius, the loss of Gaul was disastrous. His failure to contain Euric undermined his legitimacy and brought him into direct conflict with Ricimer. A civil war followed, culminating in the siege of Rome and Anthemius’s execution in July 472.