| Ildibad | |
|---|---|
| King of the Ostrogoths | |
 Engraving of Ildibad. FromEmanuele Tesauro.Del regno d'Italia sotto i barbari. Turin: Bartolomeo Zavatta, 1664, p. 36. | |
| Reign | 540 – 541 |
| Predecessor | Vitiges |
| Successor | Eraric |
| Died | 541 |
Ildibad (sometimes renderedIldebad,Ildebadus,Hildebad orHeldebadus) (died 541) was a king of theOstrogothic Kingdom in AD 540–541.
Ildibad was a nephew ofTheudis, anOstrogoth king of theVisigoths inSpain. This relationship ledPeter Heather to suggest that both belonged to a powerful, non-royal clan.[1] In 540, the Ostrogothic kingWitiges was taken prisoner byBelisarius inRavenna. Ildibad's children were also taken prisoner.[2] Ildibad was one of the Goths north of thePo river who still refused to surrender to Roman authority. Following Witiges' capture, however, Ildibad had attempted to negotiate terms of surrender withBelisarius, perhaps because of the fate of his children.[2]
After Witiges's capture, the leading candidate for the Ostrogothic throne becameUraias, who was Witiges' nephew, a skilled military commander and in charge ofTicinum (Pavia). Uraias, however, declined because his family lacked "royal fortune", and instead suggested Ildibad, who was at that time in charge ofVerona.[2] These were the only cities still held by the Ostrogoths at this time.[3] After being elected king in 540, Ildibad moved his capital to Pavia. Ildibad again attempted to negotiate a surrender, but after Belisarius sailed toConstantinople along with Witiges and Ildibad's family, the war resumed.[2] The Gothic territory at this time consisted only of a narrow strip of land between Pavia and Verona, while the army consisted of barely 1,000 men, although this number was growing.[2]
The lack of coordination among the remaining Byzantine commanders enabled Ildibad to extend his authority throughoutLiguria andVenetia.[3] In AD 541 he wasengaged outside the heavily defended city ofTreviso by its military commander Vitalius and a sizable body ofHerules.[2] The battle was a decisive victory for the Goths, with Vitalius barely escaping while theHeruli leader was killed.[3] His nephewTotila then became military commander ofTreviso.[2] Ildibad was subsequently able to extend his authority across the entirePo Valley. The victory gave him increased support among the Goths, while the ruinous Roman taxation of the provinces and lack of coordination among generals enabled him to acquire many Roman deserters.[2]
In 541, Ildibad had Uraias murdered.[3] According toProcopius, Uraias's murder had been instigated by Ildibad's wife, who felt insulted by the lavish lifestyle of Uraias' wife.[3]Herwig Wolfram suggests that this is an invention byProcopius to "personalize" the causes of political events, and that the real reason for Uraias' murder was that the Witiges clan had allied with non-Gothic barbarians, including theRugii and probablyGepids, to conspire against Ildibad's rule.[2] In any case, in May 541, Ildibad was murdered at a royalbanquet by hisGepid bodyguard Velas whose Gothic lover was married off to someone else by Ildibad while Velas was away.[4][3] The lack of a suitable Gothic successor enabled the Rugians to make their chiefEraric king of the Goths.[2] Eraric, however, betrayed the Goths and secretly offered to surrender the Gothic kingdom to the Byzantines in return for money.[3] As a result, the Goths at Pavia offered Ildibad's nephew Totila the throne.[2] Totila was at that point himself negotiating with the imperial commander atRavenna, and demanded the killing of Eraric if he was to accept the throne.[2] AfterEraric was killed in October 541, Totila became king of the Ostrogoths, a title he held for more than ten years.[2]
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | King of the Ostrogoths 540–541 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
