Odotheus
Encyclopedia
Odotheus was a Greuthungi
king who in 386 led an incursion into the Roman Empire
. He was defeated and killed by the Roman general Promotus. His surviving people settled in Phrygia
.
. In the year 386 the king Odotheus led his people into the Empire, possibly fleeing Hunnic hegomony. Odotheus was brought to battle and killed by the general Promotus. The survivors of his people were settled in Phrygia
; some were drafted into the Army
and some became agricultural labourers.
, a Gothic commander in Roman service who led a unit of these Phrygian survivors of Odotheus' kingdom , rose in revolt. Gainas
, another Gothic general sent to suppress him, suborned Tribigild's revolt for his own purposes. After some initial successes, Gainas was suppressed and fled north of the Danube, only to be killed by the Hunnic chieftan Uldin
. Thus perished many of Odotheus' remaining people; the fate of the rest in Phrygia is unknown.
Zosimus
, Novae Historiae bk 4, bk 5
Greuthungi
The Greuthungs, Greuthungi, or Greutungi were a Gothic people of the Black Sea steppes in the third and fourth centuries. They had close contacts with the Thervingi, another Gothic people from west of the river Dnestr. They may be the same people as the later Ostrogoths.-Etymology:"Greuthungi" may...
king who in 386 led an incursion into the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. He was defeated and killed by the Roman general Promotus. His surviving people settled in Phrygia
Phrygia
In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
.
Invasion of Roman Empire
After the major Gothic entry into the Roman Empire in 376, there still remained substantial numbers of Goths in several kingdoms north and east of the lower DanubeDanube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
. In the year 386 the king Odotheus led his people into the Empire, possibly fleeing Hunnic hegomony. Odotheus was brought to battle and killed by the general Promotus. The survivors of his people were settled in Phrygia
Phrygia
In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
; some were drafted into the Army
Roman army
The Roman army is the generic term for the terrestrial armed forces deployed by the kingdom of Rome , the Roman Republic , the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine empire...
and some became agricultural labourers.
Fate of Odotheus' People
In 399, TribigildTribigild
Tribigild was a Ostrogothic general whose rebellion against the Eastern Roman Empire precipitated a major political crisis during the reign of Emperor Arcadius....
, a Gothic commander in Roman service who led a unit of these Phrygian survivors of Odotheus' kingdom , rose in revolt. Gainas
Gainas
Gainas was an ambitious Gothic leader who served the Eastern Roman Empire as Magister Militum during the reigns of Theodosius I and Arcadius....
, another Gothic general sent to suppress him, suborned Tribigild's revolt for his own purposes. After some initial successes, Gainas was suppressed and fled north of the Danube, only to be killed by the Hunnic chieftan Uldin
Uldin
Uldin or Uldes was one of the primary chieftains of the Huns located beyond the Danube during the reigns of the Eastern Roman Emperors Arcadius and Theodosius II...
. Thus perished many of Odotheus' remaining people; the fate of the rest in Phrygia is unknown.
Sources
Zosimus
Zosimus
Zosimus was a Byzantine historian, who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I . According to Photius, he was a comes, and held the office of "advocate" of the imperial treasury.- Historia Nova :...
, Novae Historiae bk 4, bk 5