Ostrogotit

Ostrogotit is a term referring to the Eastern Goths, a Germanic people who played a significant role in the late Roman Empire and the early medieval period. They were one of the two main branches of the Gothic tribes, the other being the Visigoths. The Ostrogoths emerged from the larger Gothic confederation that migrated from Scandinavia towards the Black Sea in the 3rd century AD.

Initially, the Ostrogoths were subjects of the Huns for a period. Following the collapse of the Hunnic Empire, they established their own kingdom in the former Roman province of Pannonia, in the Danube region, by the late 5th century. Their most famous leader was Theodoric the Great, who, under the patronage of the Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno, invaded Italy in 489 AD.

Theodoric defeated the Germanic chieftain Odoacer, who had deposed the last Western Roman Emperor, and established the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy. This kingdom, with its capital at Ravenna, is notable for its relative stability and prosperity. Theodoric sought to preserve Roman administration and culture while ruling over a Gothic population. His reign is often considered a period of cultural revival.

After Theodoric's death in 526 AD, the Ostrogothic kingdom began to decline due to internal strife and external pressures. The Byzantine Emperor Justinian I launched a major war, known as the Gothic War, to reconquer Italy. After decades of devastating conflict, the Ostrogoths were eventually defeated and their kingdom destroyed by the Byzantines in the mid-6th century. The Ostrogoths then largely disappeared as a distinct political entity.