Theodahad


Theodahad, also known as Thiudahad was king of the Ostrogoths from 534 to 536.

Early life

Theodahad was a nephew of Theodoric the Great through his mother Amalafrida. He is probably the son of Amalafrida's first husband because her second marriage was about 500 AD. His sister was Amalaberga.
He may have arrived in Italy with Theodoric and was elderly at the time of his accession. Massimiliano Vitiello states the name "Theodahad" is a compound of 'people' and 'conflict'.
Before becoming king, his kinswoman Amalaswintha ruled. During her rule, potential enemies were murdered or humiliated. Theodahad was accused of land grabbing and forced to return land he had supposedly stolen.

King

He arrested his first cousin Amalaswintha, former regent of the Ostrogoths from 526 to October 534, while they co-ruled as queen and king. He imprisoned her in the spring of 535 on an island in Lake Bolsena. When Amalaswintha was assassinated while in custody, his enemies claimed he acquiesced to her murder. Since her assassination would likely separate him from her power base, this was unlikely.
Political instability within the kingdom served as a pretext for Byzantine general Belisarius to intervene in Sicily and Italy, in the service of Emperor Justinian, causing the Gothic Wars.
When his ineffectiveness in the war caused Theodahad to lose control, Witiges sent Optaris to retrieve him dead or alive, and Witigis became king.
He was notable for his adoration for Neoplatonic philosophy and poetry over martial prowess. His focus on erudition instead of bellicosity, in a time when Italy was consumed by turmoil, is claimed to be a reason for his downfall.

In fiction

Theodahad appears as a character in the alternate history novel Lest Darkness Fall, by L. Sprague de Camp.