| Chindasuinth | |
|---|---|
| King of the Visigoths | |
 Atremissis bearing a contemporary image of Chindasuinth | |
| Reign | 17 April 642 – 30 September 653 |
| Predecessor | Tulga |
| Successor | Recceswinth |
| Co-king | Recceswinth (20 January 649 – 30 September 653) |
| Born | c. 563 |
| Died | September 30, 653(653-09-30) (aged 89–90) |
| Burial | Monastery ofSan Román de Hornija |
| Wife | Recciberga |
| Religion | Chalcedonian Christianity |
Chindasuinth (also spelledChindaswinth,Chindaswind,Chindasuinto,Chindasvindo, orKhindaswinth;Latin:Chintasvintus,Cindasvintus;c. 563 – 30 September 653) wasVisigothicKing ofHispania, from 642 until his death in 653. He succeededTulga, from whom he took the throne in acoup. He was elected by the nobles and anointed by the bishops on April 30, 642.
Despite his great age (he was already 79 years old and a veteran of theLeovigild campaigns and the religious rebellions after conversions fromArianism were forced) his tyrannical and cruel character made the clergy and noblesse submit to him out of fear of execution and banishment. He cemented his control by preempting an alleged revolt: in a short period of time he executed over 200 Goths of the most noble families and 500 more from thepetty nobility. Additionally, he arranged for thebanishment of many potential adversaries and the confiscation of their property. All this took place before any rebellion actually occurred and without any investigation or trial or, for that matter, actual belief that a revolt was pending.
TheSeventh Council of Toledo, held on 16 October 646, consented to and backed his actions, toughening the punishments applied to those who rose against the sovereign and extended them even to members of the clergy.
Smothering all opposition, he brought peace to the realm and a degree of order not known previously. To continue his legacy, he had his sonRecceswinth, at the urging ofBraulio of Zaragoza, crowned co-king on 20 January 649 and attempted to establish, as many had before, a hereditary monarchy. His associate-son was thenceforth the true ruler of the Visigoths, presiding in the name of his father until 653, the year of Chindasuinth’s passing.
Notwithstanding the vigorous and martial nature of his political activities, Chindasuinth is recorded in religious annals as a great benefactor of the church, donating many lands and bestowing privileges upon clerics. He improved public estates with the confiscated goods of the dispossessed nobility as well as through improved taxation methods. In the military arena, he undertook campaigns against rebelliousBasques andLusitanians.
He reversed the anti-Jewish laws of his predecessor, Tulga, and put a stop to policies forcing Jewish people to convert to Christianity or emigrate. However, he did enforce the law that all Christians engaging in Jewish traditions be put to death. It is believed that this was in an effort to stop conversions to Judaism.[1]
He promulgated many laws dealing with civil matters. With the help ofBraulio, bishop ofZaragoza, he began the elaboration of a territorial code of law to cover both the Gothic and Hispano-Roman populations. A draft form of that work, theLiber Iudiciorum, was promulgated in the second year of his reign.[2] It underwent refinement throughout the rest of his sovereignty and was finished by his son in 654. In 643 or 644 it superseded both theBreviary of Alaric used by the natives and theCode of Leovigild used by the Goths.
According toEdward Gibbon, during his reign, Muslim raiders began harassingIberia: "As early as the time ofOthman (644–656), their piratical squadrons had ravaged the coast ofAndalusia".[3] However, this reading poses a problem difficult to overcome: the MuslimRashiduns were still struggling to conquerTripolitania in present-day Libya. Chindasuinth spent the last years of his life, as so many mediaeval monarchs did, in acts of piety for the sake of his immortal soul. He commissionedSt Fructuosus to build themonastery ofSan Román de Hornija on theDouro, with the intention of having it house his tomb. His remains rest there next to those of his wife, Riciberga. Nevertheless,Eugene II,bishop of Toledo, provided a judgment on the life of this king by writing the following inscription:
Chindasuinth was succeeded by his eldest son, Recceswinth, who continued his reforms. A younger son, Theodofred, was blinded byWamba.
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| Preceded by | King of the Visigoths 17 April 642 – 30 September 653 withRecceswinth (20 January 649 – 30 September 653) | Succeeded by |
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