#totila

[whencyclopedia]

An infographic of the seven times the city of Rome was sacked. Across more than 1,900 years (390 BCE–1527 CE), the sacks of Rome reveal not a single moment of collapse, but a recurring pattern of vulnerability shaped by shifting political systems, military power, and imperial overstretch. From the Republican era through the Western and Eastern Roman Empires and into the early modern period, Rome’s fortunes rose and fell with the structures meant to protect it.

[littlehistorian]

Penultimate King of the Ostrogoths, Totila reign from 541 to 552 AD.

A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of the Gothic War, recovering by 543 almost all the territories in Italy that the Eastern Roman Empire had captured from his Kingdom in 540.

[davidstanleytravel]

The 3rd century AD Porta San Paolo was a city gate on the Aurelian Walls south of center of ancient Rome, Italy. In 549 the Ostrogoths of Totila were able to enter Rome through this gate due to the treachery of the garrison.

[whencyclopedfr]

Totila

Totila (né Baduila, ou Badua, r. de 541 à 552) fut le dernier grand roi des Ostrogoths en Italie. Il était le neveu du roi goth Ildibad, auquel succéda Éraric le Ruge (d. 541). Aux yeux des Goths d'Italie, Éraric était un souverain déplorable, qui faisait passer ses propres intérêts avant ceux de son peuple. C'est du reste une opinion généralement admise par les historiens d'aujourd'hui, comme Thomas Hodgkin pour qui 'Éraric n'a régné que cinq mois, au cours desquels il n'a pas accompli une seule action digne d'être mentionnée' (4). Il allait rapidment être détrôné, puis assassiné par des conspirateurs qui souhaitaient voir Totila monter sur le trône.

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[illustratus]

Totila by Francesco Salviati

[koredzas]

Giovanni Boccati - Banquet of King Totila. 1473

[whencyclopedfr]

Ostrogoths

Les Ostrogoths étaient la branche orientale du peuple germanique des Goths, qui prit le pouvoir au nord de la mer Noire. L'appellation Ostrogoth, habituellement interprétée comme signifiant 'Goth de l'Est', signifie en fait 'Goths glorifiés par le soleil levant' et fut inventée en même temps que le terme Wisigoth (interprété comme signifiant 'Goth de l'Ouest') par l'écrivain romain Cassiodore (c. 485 - c. 585) pour différencier deux populations distinctes de Goths. Les Ostrogoths semblent avoir été connus à l'origine sous le nom de Greuthungi (également rédigé Greutungi), comme le mentionnent l'historien romain du IVe siècle Ammien Marcellin et l'historien gothique du VIe siècle Jordanès.

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[infamoushistory]

The Fall of Totila: The End of Ostrogothic Italy

On July 1, 552, Totila, the charismatic King of the Ostrogoths, died from wounds suffered after the Battle of Taginae during the Gothic War. His death marked a decisive turning point in Emperor Justinian I's campaign to reclaim Italy for the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.

Totila had risen to power in 541 and revitalized the Ostrogothic kingdom despite overwhelming odds. Through brilliant military leadership, he recaptured much of Italy, including Rome, and became one of Byzantium's most formidable enemies. However, the arrival of the skilled Byzantine general Narses shifted the balance of power.

At the Battle of Taginae, Totila's forces were decisively defeated. Mortally wounded while retreating, the Ostrogoth king died shortly afterward on July 1, 552. Although the Goths fought on briefly under a new king, their kingdom soon collapsed, ending decades of Ostrogothic rule in Italy.

Totila is remembered as a courageous and capable leader whose determination prolonged the Gothic resistance against one of history's greatest empires.