Ataulf (sometimes
Athavulf ,
Atawulf , or
Athaulf — "noble wolf" — Latinized as Ataulphus or Adolphus; in
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
and
PortuguesePortuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and northern Portugal. It is derived from the Latin spoken by the romanized Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago...
Ataúlfo) was king of the Visigoths from 410 to 415.
Life
He was unanimously elected to the throne to succeed his brother-in-law
AlaricAlaric I , was likely born about 370 on an island named Peuce at the mouth of the Danube. He was king of the Visigoths from 395–410 and the first Germanic leader to take the city of Rome...
, who had been struck down by a fever suddenly in
CalabriaCalabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian peninsula. It is bounded to the north by the region of Basilicata, to the south-west by the region of Sicily, to the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea, and to the east by the...
. King Ataulf's first act was to halt Alaric's southward expansion of the Goths in
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
.
Meanwhile,
GaulGaul is a historical name used in the context of the Roman Empire in references to the region of Western Europe approximating present day France and Belgium, but also sometimes including the Po Valley, western Switzerland, and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the River...
had been separated from the western
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
by the usurper
Constantine IIIFlavius Claudius Constantinus, known in English as Constantine III was a Roman general who declared himself Western Roman Emperor in 407, abdicated in 411, and was captured and executed shortly afterwards.-Background:...
. So in 411
ConstantiusFlavius Constantius , whose name is traditionally anglicised as Constantius III, was a late Roman general, politician, and emperor. He was the power behind the throne for much of the 410s, and in 421 briefly became co-emperor of the Western Empire with Honorius.Constantius was born in Naissus and...
, the
magister militium (master of military) of the western emperor, Flavius Augustus Honorius, with Gothic auxiliaries under Ulfilas, crushed the Gallic rebellion with a siege of
ArlesArles is a city in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence.-Geography:...
. There Constantine and his son were offered an honorable capitulation— but were beheaded in September on their way to pay homage to Honorius at
RavennaRavenna is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The city is inland, but is connected to the Adriatic Sea by a canal. Ravenna was the capital of the Western Roman Empire till 476. It was later the capital ofKingdom of the Ostrogoths and the Exarchate of Ravenna till 751...
.
In the spring of 412 Constantius pressed Ataulf. Taking the advice of
Priscus AttalusPriscus Attalus was twice Roman usurper , against Emperor Honorius, with Visigothic support.Priscus Attalus was a Greek from Asia whose father had moved to Italy under Valentinian I. Attalus was an important senator in Rome, who served as praefectus urbi in 409...
—the former emperor whom Alaric had set up at Rome in opposition to Honorius at
RavennaRavenna is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The city is inland, but is connected to the Adriatic Sea by a canal. Ravenna was the capital of the Western Roman Empire till 476. It was later the capital ofKingdom of the Ostrogoths and the Exarchate of Ravenna till 751...
, and who had remained with the Visigoths after he'd been deposed—Ataulf led his followers out of Italy. Moving north into a momentarily pacified Gaul, the Visigoths lived off the countryside in the usual way. Ataulf may have received some additional encouragement in the form of payments in gold from the Emperor Honorius—since Ataulf carried with him as a respected hostage the emperor's half-sister
Galla PlacidiaAelia Galla Placidia , daughter of the Roman Emperor Theodosius I, was the consort of Ataulf king of the Goths and after his death the Empress consort of Constantius III, Western Roman Emperor.-Family:...
, who had long been his captive.
Once in Gaul, Ataulf opened negotiations with a new usurper, the Gallic
JovinusJovinus was a Gallo-Roman senator and claimed to be Roman Emperor .Following the defeat of the usurper known with the name of Constantine III, Jovinus was proclaimed emperor at Mainz in 411, a puppet supported by Gundahar, king of the Burgundians, and Goar, king of the Alans...
. But when the latter ended up instead preferring Sarus, Ataulf's blood enemy among the Gothic nobles, Ataulf broke negotiations off and attacked and killed Sarus. Jovinus then named his brother
SebastianusSebastianus , a brother of Jovinus, was an aristocrat of southern Gaul. After Jovinus usurped in Gaul the throne of the western Roman Emperor Honorius in 411, he named Sebastianus as Augustus in 412...
(Sebastian) as Augustus (co-emperor). This further offended Ataulf, who hadn't been consulted. So he allied his Visigoths with Honorius. Jovinus' troops were defeated in battle, Sebastianus was captured, and Jovinus fled for his life. Ataulf then turned Sebastianus over for execution to Honorius' Gallic praetorian prefect (provincial governor), Postumus Dardanus. After this, Ataulf besieged and captured Jovinus at Valentia (
ValenceValence is a commune in south-eastern France, the capital of the department of Drôme, situated on the left bank of the Rhône, south of Lyon on the railway to Marseille...
) in 413, sending him to Narbo (
NarbonneNarbonne is a commune in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon région. It lies from Paris in the Aude département, of which it is a sous-préfecture. Once a prosperous port, it is now located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea...
), where he was executed by Dardanus.
After the heads of Sebastianus and Jovinus arrived at Honorius' court in Ravenna in late August, to be forwarded for display among other usurpers on the walls of Carthage, relations between Ataulf and Honorius improved sufficiently for Ataulf to cement them by marrying Galla Placidia at Narbo in early 414. The nuptials were celebrated with high Roman festivities and magnificent gifts from the Gothic booty. Priscus Attalus gave the wedding speech, a classical
epithalamiumEpithalamium specifically refers to a form of poem that is written for the bride. Or, specifically, written for the bride on the way to her marital chamber...
.
Under Ataulf's rule, the Visigoths couldn't be said to be masters of a settled kingdom until Ataulf took possession of
NarbonneNarbonne is a commune in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon région. It lies from Paris in the Aude département, of which it is a sous-préfecture. Once a prosperous port, it is now located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea...
and
ToulouseToulouse is a city in southwest France on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. With 1,102,882 inhabitants as of Jan...
in 413. Still, the Visigoths sustained an uneasy client relationship with the western empire. Although Ataulf remained an
Arian ChristianArianism is the theological teaching of Arius , a Christian priest, who was first ruled a heretic at the First Council of Nicea of 325, later exonerated in 335 at the First Synod of Tyre, and then pronounced a heretic again after his death at the First Council of Constantinople of 381...
, his relationship with Roman culture was summed up, from a Catholic Roman perspective, by the words that the contemporary Christian apologist
OrosiusPaulus Orosius was a Christian historian, theologian and disciple of Augustine of Hippo from Gallaecia. He is best known for his Historiarum Adversum Paganos Libri VII , which he wrote in response to the belief that the decline of the Roman Empire was the result of its adoption of...
put into his mouth, Ataulf's Declaration:
- At first I wanted to erase the Roman name and convert all Roman territory into a Gothic empire: I longed for Romania to become Gothia, and Athaulf to be what Caesar Augustus had been. But long experience has taught me that the ungoverned wildness of the Goths will never submit to laws, and that without law a state is not a state. Therefore I have more prudently chosen the different glory of reviving the Roman name with Gothic vigour, and I hope to be acknowledged by posterity as the initiator of a Roman restoration, since it is impossible for me to alter the character of this Empire.
Honorius's general Constantius (who would later become Emperor Constantius III), poisoned official relations with Ataulf and gained permission to blockade the Mediterranean ports of
GaulGaul is a historical name used in the context of the Roman Empire in references to the region of Western Europe approximating present day France and Belgium, but also sometimes including the Po Valley, western Switzerland, and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the River...
. In reply, Ataulf acclaimed Priscus Attalus as Augustus in
Bordeauxis a port city on the Garonne River in southwest France, with one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area at a 2008 estimate. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department...
in 414. But Constantius' naval blockade was successful and, in 415, Ataulf withdrew with his people into northern
HispaniaHispania was the name given by the Romans to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula . When Rome was a republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior...
. Attalus fled, fell into the hands of Constantius, and came to a bad end.
Galla Placidia traveled with Ataulf. The infant son, Theodosius, she bore him died in infancy and was buried in Hispania in a silver-plated coffin
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2004/2004-07-48.html, thus eliminating an opportunity for a Romano-Visigothic line.
In Hispania, Ataulf imprudently accepted into his service one of the late Sarus' followers, unaware that the man harbored a secret desire to avenge the death of his beloved patron. And so, in the palace at
BarcelonaBarcelona is the capital, most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, with a population of 1,615,908 in 2008. It is the 11th-most populous municipality in the European Union and sixth-most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris,...
, the man brought Ataulf's reign to a sudden end by killing him while he bathed.
SigericSigeric was a Visigoth king for seven days in 415 CE. His predecessor, Ataulf, had been mortally wounded in his bath at the palace of Barcelona by an assassin. The assassin was a loyal servant of Sarus, a Gothic noble and personal enemy whom Ataulf had earlier slain...
, the brother of Sarus, immediately became king—for a mere seven days, when he was also murdered and succeeded by
WalliaWallia or Valia was king of the Visigoths from 415 to 419, earning a reputation as a great warrior and prudent ruler. He was elected to the throne after Athaulf and then Sigeric were assassinated in 415....
. Under the latter's reign, Galla Placidia was returned to Ravenna where, in 417, at the urging of Honorius, she remarried, her new husband being the implacable enemy of the Goths, Constantius.
The main sources for the career of Ataulf are Paulus Orosius, the chronicles of the
GallaeciaGallaecia or
Callaecia was the name of a Roman province and an early Mediaeval kingdom that comprised a territory in the north-west of
Hispania...
n bishop
HydatiusHydatius or Idacius , bishop of Aquae Flaviae in the Roman province of Gallaecia was the author of a chronicle of his own times that provides us with our best evidence for the history of Hispania in the 5th century.-Life:Hydatius was born around the year 400 in the environs of...
, and those of
Augustine'sAugustine of Hippo , Bishop of Hippo Regius, also known as St. Augustine or St. Austin, was an Algerian Berber philosopher and theologian....
disciple,
Prosper of AquitaineSaint Prosper of Aquitaine , a Christian writer and disciple of Saint Augustine of Hippo, was the first continuator of Jerome's Universal Chronicle.- Life :...
.
Ataulf's declaration
The authenticity of Ataulf's declaration at
NarbonneNarbonne is a commune in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon région. It lies from Paris in the Aude département, of which it is a sous-préfecture. Once a prosperous port, it is now located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea...
, as Orosius reported it in a rhetorical history that was explicitly written "against pagans" (it was completed in 417/18) has been doubted. Antonio Marchetta concludes that the words are indeed Ataulf's and distinguishes them from their interpretation by Orosius, who was preparing his readers for a conclusion that Christian times were felicitous and who attributed Ataulf's apparent change of heart to the power of his love for Galla Placidia, the instrument of divine intervention in God's plan for an eternal Roman Empire. Marchetta finds the marriage instead an act of hard-headed politics.
External links