How Roman was Ostrogothic Italy?

The Ostrogothic kingdom of Italy started with the entrance of the Ostrogothic army in Ravenna, in October 493, and finished in 5521. Before that, Odovacar had been king in Italy, without the consent of Zeno, the Byzantine Emperor. Zeno eventually saw in Italy a way of resolving his problems in the Balkans with Theoderic, the leader of the Ostrogoths2, who was sent with all his people to settle in Italy3. What Zeno did not expect was that Theoderic was going to be proclaimed king4. This new kingdom became particularly prominent among other kingdoms, also heirs of the Western Roman Empire, for its remarkable achievements5 and its Roman character. A kingdom or Empire is considered Roman insofar as all the elements of the Roman culture, the romanitas, were positively assimilated in all its levels and spheres, and by all its members of the nation. In this essay, focusing on Theoderics reign (493-526), first it will be studied the reasons which moved the Ostrogoths to acquire the Roman culture. Then we will move to analyse how and to what extent the Roman culture was assimilated by the Goths, focusing first on the Roman-like division of society and labour in Ostrogothic Italy and then on its acquisition of Roman law. Finally it will be shown that divisions between Roman and Goths were visible during the whole period, concluding that Ostrogothic Italy was only Roman when the circumstances demanded it and that, above all, the Goths were always Goths.
1

The Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy finished with the arrival of the Byzantines, although they did not achieve full control of the peninsula until they took Verona and Brescia in 562. M. Humphries, Cambridge Ancient History, vol. 14 c 19 pp 530 and 534. 2 M. Humphries, Cambridge Ancient History, vol. 14 c19 pp526-28. 3 M. Humphries, Cambridge Ancient History, vol. 14 c 19 pp526-28; P. Heather, The Goths (Blackwell Publishing 1996, 1998), p216. 4 J. Moorhead, Theoderic in Italy (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1992) p38. 5 M. Humphries, Cambridge Ancient History vol. 14 c 19 p532.

How Roman was Ostrogothic Italy?

Enrique Requero

The first problem Theoderic found when settled in Italy, was how to assimilate the settlers and the locals as the unique population within the same country. `He clearly hoped that relations between them would be good, enjoying the thought that the two nations would live in common and concur in the same desires (Cassiodorus, Varie 2.16.5, amended trans. Hodking)6. It was hard to reconcile the two groups, taking into account that for the Romans, the new settlers were mere barbarians unable to control their passions. On the other hand, the Romans, thanks to their classical education, were able to subordinate their primary desires to the rule of written law7. Professor Heather points that the main reason why the Ostrogoths respected the Roman culture when they settled in Italy was basically because they lacked any culture to impose8, meaning that although the Ostrogoths had their own cultural aspects9, their development in terms of legislation and literature was almost inexistent, in comparison with the Roman. Moreover, Theoderic saw in the Roman culture a clear way for fostering the cohesion between the peoples of his kingdom, and also a way of legitimising his rule10. The acquisition of romanitas by the Goths would make it easier for the Romans to accept the new settlers as part of their nation, because the Ostrogoths would stop being barbarians by adopting the Roman way of living. The division of labour, which followed the acquisition of romanitas and which will be explained later on in this essay, would improve the union among the Ostrogoths themselves, by putting all of them in the same group with the same

6 7

J. Moorhead, Theoderic in Italy (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1992) p66. P. Heather, The Goths (Blackwell Publishing 1996, 1998), p222 8 P. Heather, in a lecture entitled The End of the Ancient World: Europe 400-700 AD, given in Kings College London on 29 September 2008. 9 P. Heather Roman and Goth in the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths, in H.W. Goetz et al., Regna and Gentes (Brill, 2003), pp 86-106. 10 P. Heather, The Goths (Blackwell Publishing 1996, 1998), pp 227-230

How Roman was Ostrogothic Italy?

Enrique Requero

functions. The incomers were a heterogenic mixture of Thracian and Pannonian Goths11, plus the Rugians and the barbarians who lived in Italy prior the coming of the Ostrogoths12. Theoderics adoption of romanitas was also a way of legitimising his rule. He saw his reign as the continuation of the Western Roman Empire. He showed himself as emperor in all his imaginery and propaganda13, with a divine right and assistance for his rule14. Though, it is true that after 511, Theoderics quasi-imperial posturing was matched by a realm which he could with justification claim to be the Western Roman Empire reconstituted15.

This tendency to show his kingdom as the continuation of the Empire not only affected the way he presented the country externally16, but also to the internal structure of the Kingdom. He decided to maintain the administrative and social structures as he found them. The new kingdom was also characterised by a division of labour and functions between Romans and Ostrogoths17. P. Amory argues that this division was based in the ideology called ethnographic or of civilitas, which can be detected behind many of the letters of the king (The Letters of Cassiodorus18, more specifically those of the Varie collection) and which he develops in one of his books, in a chapter entitled The Ravenna government and

11

These two rival Gothic groups lived in the area of the Balkans, but saw in union the best way of facing the continuous threats from Zeno, the Eastern Roman Emperor. Thus, the Ostrogoths were a creation from the Migration Period. In P. Heather Roman and Goth in the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths, in H.W. Goetz et al., Regna and Gentes (Brill, 2003), pp 86-106; but more specifically in p101. 12 J. Moorhead, Theoderic in Italy (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1992) p66. 13 P. Amory, People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy (Cambridge University Press, 1997), p47. 14 P. Heather, The Goths (Blackwell Publishing 1996, 1998), p223. 15 P. Heather, The Goths (Blackwell Publishing 1996, 1998), p234. 16 This can be seen in many of the letters of the Varie collection (Cassiodorus, Varie, ed. T. Mommsen, MGH AA 12 (Berlin 1894)). These are letters written by Theoderic and collected by Cassiodorus. Many of them are directed to other barbarian rulers and to the Byzantine Emperors, and in them, mainly at the beginning of his rule, Theoderic frequently stresses the romanitas of his new Kingdom. 17 J. Moorhead, Theoderic in Italy (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1992), cc 2-3. 18 Flavius Cassiodorus, The Letters of Cassiodorus, trans. T. Hodking (Glacier National Park, Montana, Kessinger Publishing, 2007).

How Roman was Ostrogothic Italy?

Enrique Requero

ethnographic ideology. In it, he defines the ethnographic or civilitas ideology as the philosophical and functional expression of Ostrogothic Italy as two nations living together in peace but performing different functions19. Thus the Ostrogoths were to become Romans by occupying the place of the Army in the former Empire, while men from the Roman landowning classes undertook the bureaucratic tasks, maintaining the administration of the kingdom as there always had been before the arrival of the Goths20. This division also had its philosophical implications, because in keeping barbarians out of the Empire, the Goths themselves were no longer barbarians21 but Romans. However, many disagree with the assumption this division of labour made Ostrogothic Italy a perfect Roman state. Amory points that many of Romans entered the army22. Therefore, in his view, this Romanlike division of society and functions was not fully accomplished in Ostrogothic Italy. To this, Heather suggests that Amory is forgetting to explore the categorisation of the troops involved. Basing his argument in the evidence found in the Varie and in Procopiuss Gothic War23, Heather argues that the vast majority of the Romans in the army served in local defence forces. Therefore, within the army Goths had the functions of a field army, while Romans joined for tasks of guarding and defending. Heather does not deny that some Romans got involved in field army tasks, like the brothers Cyprianus and Opilio; however, these were rare cases of individual volunteers seeking favour and promotion24. Whether there was categorisation of troops in the army or not, does not make a big difference. What matters is that there were actually Romans fulfilling army functions. This demonstrates that
19 20

P. Amory, People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy (Cambridge University Press, 1997) c2. P. Heather Roman and Goth in the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths, in H.W. Goetz et al., Regna and Gentes (Brill, 2003), p115. 21 P. Amory, People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy (Cambridge University Press, 1997) p54. 22 P. Amory, People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy (Cambridge University Press, 1997) pp 93-5. 23 Procopius of Caesarea, Gothic Wars (also known as The History of the Wars), trans. H B Dewing (Lodon, Heinemann, 1914). 24 P. Heather Roman and Goth in the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths, in H.W. Goetz et al., Regna and Gentes (Brill, 2003), pp118-19.

How Roman was Ostrogothic Italy?

Enrique Requero

the hypothetical perfect division of labour in Ostrogothic Italy (as it appears in the Varie letters) was not that clear. This in itself is not good or bad, but does not help if one has to defend the Roman-ness of Theoderics kingdom. In addition, this division of functions derived in slight social inequalities between Goths and Romans. The terties were annual donatives, paid to all Goths in military age, out of Italo-Romans taxes25. Moreover, Amory and Goffart defend that out of these privileges, Goths purchased lands throughout the Italian land, a process by which many assimilated and mixed into local Italian landowning circles26. Again, it can be seen that the division of labour of Cassiodorus ethnographic ideology was not that clear. Some would maintain that the fact that the division of labour was not perfect shows that Goths and Italo-Romans rapidly assimilated into a unique society. However, it is not clear how Roman this new unique society in Ostrogothic Italy would be, and as we will see by studying Theoderics acquisition of Roman law, both Goths and Romans ended up constituting two parallel societies.

As said above, Theoderics acquisition of romanitas aimed to make his new realm governable27. The most clear and symbolic element in all this process, was the acquisition of Roman law. Going back to the cultural differences between Roman and Goths, it has been pointed above that because of the classical education received Romans were able to control their passions, while Goths were dominated by them. Roman rationality was also

25

P. Heather Roman and Goth in the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths, in H.W. Goetz et al., Regna and Gentes (Brill, 2003), pp 108-9 and p129. 26 W. Goffart, Barbarians and Romans AD 418-584: The techniques of Accommodation (Princeton NJ 1980), esp. C3 on Italy; and P. Amory, People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy (Cambridge University Press, 1997) pp 93-95. Quoted in P. Heather Roman and Goth in the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths, in H.W. Goetz et al., Regna and Gentes (Brill, 2003), p109. 27 P. Heather, The Goths (Blackwell Publishing 1996, 1998), p227.

How Roman was Ostrogothic Italy?

Enrique Requero

expressed in their ability to subordinate their immediate desires to the rule of written law, thus resulting in an ordered society28. The acquisition of Roman law by Theoderic enabled him to make his kingdom stable, while also formalized his division of labour. Roman law in the empire was applied differently to civilians than to the army. There were two separated jurisdictions in Ostrogothic Italy: one for the Goths and the other for the Italo-Romans29. Theoderics kingdom thus appears as the Empire: Roman in its law, containing two nationes, but one populus, interdependent and joined together (P. Amory). The key point of this is that the split in two different jurisdictions was all based in the social division of labour30. This would have made of Ostrogothic Italy a very Roman kingdom indeed, if it had happened. The reality is that the kingdom was divided into two different jurisdictions, based in race and not in social functions. Gothic cases were judged by Goth officials, for instance, whether the individual was liable for military service or not; in other words, Goths were Goths throughout their lives, and not just when they were part of the army31. In Ostrogothic Italy there were two clearly separated jurisdictions, one for all Goths, and one for all Romans (not one for civilians and one for the military).

This jurisdictional dual reality developed giving rise to two parallel societies. There was for instance a degree of interaction between locals and settlers, and certainly the Ostrogoths acquired a considerable amount of the Roman cultural elements. However, the dualistic character of society during Theoderics reign allowed to preserve a continuing sense of

28 29

P. Heather, The Goths (Blackwell Publishing 1996, 1998), p222. P. Amory, People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy (Cambridge University Press, 1997) pp51-3 30 J. Moorhead, Theoderic in Italy (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1992) pp75-80. 31 Cassiodorus, Varie 5, 29. Quoted in P. Heather Roman and Goth in the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths, in H.W. Goetz et al., Regna and Gentes (Brill, 2003), p122.

How Roman was Ostrogothic Italy?

Enrique Requero

corporate identity among the Gothic immigrants32 Against Amorys view33, Heather, based on evidence from Procopius and others34, argues the that Ostrogoths brought families with them and settled in their own communities35. Despite contrary views among historians regarding the way Ostrogoths settled36, they all agree that they actually did create their own Gothic settlements. This allowed the Ostrogoths to maintain to some degree their own traditional political structures. The Gothic communities had at least semi-autonomous political life around their own leaders37. This again shows that the integration between settlers and locals was far from being total. After all, Goths were still Goths and not Romans.

There are still more elements that can be studied in order to assess how Roman the Ostrogoths were. Nevertheless, they will only just be mentioned here. Two of them are, for example, the letters of Cassiodorus of the collection Varie and the religious aspect. P. Amory points out that only the royal letters of the beginning of Theoderics rule, and addressed within the kingdom, foster the Roman-ness of Ostrogothic Italy; while those addressed to other Gothic rulers and mainly at the end of the period, tend to emphasize the superiority

32

P. Heather Roman and Goth in the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths, in H.W. Goetz et al., Regna and Gentes (Brill, 2003) p119. 33 P. Amory, People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy (Cambridge University Press, 1997). In his prosopography argues that Ostrogothic soldiers came alone to Italy and married local Italians. See note 71 in p110 of P. Heather Roman and Goth in the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths, in H.W. Goetz et al., Regna and Gentes (Brill, 2003). 34 Ennodius, Panegyricus to Theoderico 26-7, ed. W. Hartel, CSEL 6 (Vienna 1882) 35 Malchus, Fragmenta 18, 4, with Heather, Goths and Romans, pp 244-5. Quoted in p110 of P. Heather Roman and Goth in the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths, in H.W. Goetz et al., Regna and Gentes (Brill, 2003). Amory suggests with his prosopography that the Ostrogoths had to marry local Italo-Romans (See note 71 in p110 in P. Heather Roman and Goth in the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths, in H.W. Goetz et al., Regna and Gentes (Brill, 2003). 36 P. Amory, People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy (Cambridge University Press, 1997), pp93-4 (with notes), contra J. Moorhead, Theoderic in Italy (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1992), p 69 with note 12. See 72 in p111 in P. Heather Roman and Goth in the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths, in H.W. Goetz et al., Regna and Gentes (Brill, 2003). 37 P. Heather Roman and Goth in the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths, in H.W. Goetz et al., Regna and Gentes (Brill, 2003), pp123-4.

How Roman was Ostrogothic Italy?

Enrique Requero

the Gothic gens (over the Roman)38. Regarding religion, the Goths were Arians (non-Nicene Christians), while the Romans were Nicene-Creed Christians. This separation was maintained throughout the period and although Theoderic decided for tolerance, there were some tensions at the end of his rule, when the circumstances changed 39. The circumstances within and outside Italy are what determined Theoderics attitude regarding the romanitas of his kingdom. Ostrogothic Italy was Roman as far as it was, given the circumstances, useful for the effective rule of the kingdom. Theoderics Roman-ness was an adopted pose40, which disappeared when political turbulence required the Goths to emphasize their own traditional character, their family linage and war-like skills. In fact, after Theoderic, the following Ostrogothic kings virtually forgot about any Roman-ness. This emphasis is what allowed them to seize power over other Gothic pretenders (in Gothic societies, claims to power were justified on basis of blood links with previous leaders and of aptitude in the battlefield), and also what explains their long resistance when Byzantium decided to invade. The acquisition of some elements of romanitas by Theoderic was, therefore, merely a utilitarian policy. However, it does not mean that the Kingdom was not Roman at all, because, leaving aside the motivations, the acquisition by the Goths of elements of the Roman culture is objective. Nevertheless, their Romanisation was not complete, and in fact they preserved major parts of their Gothic-ness. Moreover, they never completely assimilated with the local Italo-Romans (who were for sure fully Roman throughout the period). There was though a positive process of assimilation between the

38 39

P. Amory, People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy (Cambridge University Press, 1997), pp 45-6. J. Moorhead, Theoderic in Italy (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1992), pp 89-97; P. Amory, People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy (Cambridge University Press, 1997), c6; P. Heather Roman and Goth in the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths, in H.W. Goetz et al., Regna and Gentes (Brill, 2003),125-128; P. Heather, The Goths (Blackwell Publishing 1996, 1998), pp222-225. 40 P. Heather, The Goths (Blackwell Publishing 1996, 1998), p222.

How Roman was Ostrogothic Italy?

Enrique Requero

two groups, and it would have continued if Byzantium had not launched its war of conquest41. (64%)

BYBLIOGRAPHY: - Flavius Cassiodorus, The Letters of Cassiodorus, trans. T. Hodking (Glacier National Park, Montana, Kessinger Publishing, 2007). - P. Heather Roman and Goth in the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths, in H.W. Goetz et al., Regna and Gentes (Brill, 2003), pp 85-133. - P. Heather, The Goths (Blackwell Publishing 1996, 1998), cc 8-9. - P. Amory, People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy (Cambridge University Press, 1997), 2-4. - J. Moorhead, Theoderic in Italy (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1992), cc 3, 5-7. - M. Humphries, Cambridge Ancient History, vol. 14 c 19.

41

P. Heather Roman and Goth in the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths, in H.W. Goetz et al., Regna and Gentes (Brill, 2003), pp130-32.