The Origin and Deeds of the GothsJordanes, active 6th century
History
The Origin and Deeds of the Goths
Jordanes, active 6th century
Attila, -453; Germanic peoples; Goths
XLIV After his death, his brother Theodorid succeeded 229
to the kingdom of the Visigoths and soon found
that Riciarius his kinsman, the king of the Suavi, was
hostile to him. For Riciarius, presuming on his relationship
to Theodorid, believed that he might seize almost the
whole of Spain, thinking the disturbed beginning of
Theodorid's reign made the time opportune for his trick.
The Suavi formerly occupied as their country Galicia and 230
Lusitania, which extend on the right side of Spain along
the shore of Ocean. To the east is Austrogonia, to the
west, on a promontory, is the sacred Monument of the
Roman general Scipio, to the north Ocean, and to the
south Lusitania and the Tagus river, which mingles
golden grains in its sands and thus carries wealth in its
worthless mud. So then Riciarius, king of the Suavi, set
forth and strove to seize the whole of Spain. Theodorid, 231
his kinsman, a man of moderation, sent ambassadors to
him and told him quietly that he must not only withdraw
from the territories that were not his own, but furthermore
that he should not presume to make such an attempt,
as he was becoming hated for his ambition. But with
arrogant spirit he replied: "If you murmur here and
find fault with my coming, I shall come to Tolosa where
you dwell. Resist me there, if you can." When he heard
this, Theodorid was angry and, making a compact with
all the other tribes, moved his array against the Suavi.
He had as his close allies Gundiuch and Hilperic, kings
of the Burgundians. They came to battle near the river 232
Ulbius, which flows between Asturica and Hiberia, and
in the engagement Theodorid with the Visigoths, who
fought for the right, came off victorious, overthrowing
the entire tribe of the Suavi and almost exterminating
them. Their king Riciarius fled from the dread foe and
embarked upon a ship. But he was beaten back by another
foe, the adverse wind of the Tyrrhenian Sea, and
so fell into the hands of the Visigoths. Thus though
he changed from sea to land, the wretched man did not
avert his death.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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