TY - BOOK AU - Vitiello,Massimiliano TI - Theodahad: A Platonic King at the Collapse of Ostrogothic Italy SN - 9781442647831 AV - DG508.5 .V585 2014 U1 - 945/.01 23 PY - 2014///] CY - Toronto : PB - University of Toronto Press, KW - Ostrogoths KW - Kings and rulers KW - Biography KW - Italy KW - History KW - HISTORY / General KW - bisacsh N1 - Frontmatter --; Contents --; Preface --; List of Abbreviations --; Introduction --; Chapter One: Theodahad the Man --; Chapter Two: Theodahad the Noble --; Chapter Three: Theodahad the Co-Regent --; Chapter Four: Theodahad the King --; Chapter Five: Theodahad, the End --; Epilogue --; Appendices --; Genealogical Table --; Notes --; Bibliography --; Index of Place Names --; Index of People; restricted access N2 - Educated in Platonic philosophy rather than the military arts, the Ostrogothic king Theodahad was never meant to rule. His unexpected nomination as co-regent by his cousin Queen Amalasuintha plunged him into the intrigues of the Gothic court, and Theodahad soon conspired to assassinate the queen. But, once alone on the throne, his lack of political experience and military skill made him ineffective at best and dangerously incompetent at worst. Defeated by the Byzantine emperor Justinian, Theodahad was killed by his own subjects.In Theodahad, Massimiliano Vitiello rigorously investigates the ancient sources in order to reconstruct the events of Theodahad’s life and the contours of sixth-century diplomacy and political intrigues. Painting a picture of an unlikely king whose reign helped spell the end of Ostrogothic Italy, Vitiello’s book not only illuminates Theodahad’s own life but also offers new insight into the sixth-century Mediterranean world UR - https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442669321 UR - https://www.degruyter.com/isbn/9781442669321 UR - https://www.degruyter.com/document/cover/isbn/9781442669321/original ER -