Amal dynasty
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TheAmali– also calledAmals,AmalingsorAmalungs– were a leadingdynastyof theGoths,aGermanic peoplewho confronted theRoman Empireduring thedecline of the Western Roman Empire.[1]They eventually became the royal house of theOstrogothsand founded theOstrogothic Kingdom.[2]
Origin[edit]
The Amal clan was claimed to have descended from the divine.[3]Jordaneswrites:
Now the first of these heroes, as they themselves relate in their legends, was Gapt, who begat Hulmul. And Hulmul begat Augis; and Augis begat him who was called Amal, from whom the name of the Amali comes. Athal begat Achiulf and Oduulf. Now Achiulf begat Ansila and Ediulf, Vultuulf andErmanaric.[4]
This provides the following stemma for the earliest rulers of the Goths, before outlining in more detail the two divisions that arose from the son, Achiulf of Athal, the last in this early lineage:
Early rulers/kings |
---|
Gapt |
Hulmul |
Augis |
Amal |
Hisarnis |
Ostrogotha |
Hunuil |
Athal[5] |
Gapt or Gaut is the Scandinavian god of war.Hulmulor Humli-Hulmul, is considered the divine father of theDanish people.[3]Ermanaric(also referred to as Ermanaricus or Hermanaric), is identified as aGreuthungianking who ruled territories in modernUkraine.Ermanaric signals the tenth generation, and the first generation to be backed by historical record.[3]
History[edit]
The origins of the Amal Dynasty is unclear. Until the mid-20th century there was a tendency to see the Tervingi and Greuthungi mentioned byAmmianus Marcellinusas having evolved into the Visigoths and Ostrogoths, respectively. The Greuthungi had become vassals of theHuns,and were considered to have regained their independence under the AmaliTheodemir,father ofTheoderic the Great.However, this idea has since been discredited by historians, who have emphasised the disruption caused by the Huns, as well as the similarity of groups previously treated as discrete ethnic groups.[6]
A separate branch of the family were members of theVisigoths.Sigeric,a brief usurper to the Visigothic throne in 415, may have been a member of the Amali. The VisigothicEutharicmarried Theoderic's daughterAmalasuntha,and is said to have been an Amal byCassiodorusand Jordanes; however, it is more likely that this was a fictitious claim designed to bolsterAthalaric's legitimacy.[7]Jordanes states "Hermanaric, the son of Achiulf, begat Hunimund, and Hunimund begat Thorismud. Now Thorismud begat Beremud, Beremud begat Veteric, and Veteric likewise begat Eutharic."
The last attested member of the Amali house was Theodegisclus, son ofTheodahad.
Amali rulers[edit]
- Ermanaric,King of the Greuthungi, c. 296–376
- Sigeric,King of the Visigoths, 415
- Valamir,King of the Ostrogoths, 447–469
- Theodemir,King of the Ostrogoths, 469–475
- Theoderic the Great,King of the Ostrogoths, 475–526
- Athalaric,King of the Ostrogoths, 526–534
- Amalasuintha,Queen Regnant of the Ostrogoths, 534–535
- Theodahad,King of the Ostrogoths, 534–536
- Theudigisel,King of the Visigoths, 548–549
In literature[edit]
In theNibelungenliedand some other medieval German epic poems, the followers ofDietrich von Bernare referred to as 'Amelungen'. In other cases, Amelung is reinterpreted as the name of one of Dietrich's ancestors. TheKaiserchronikalso refers to Dietrich/Theoderic's family as the 'Amelungen', and in a letter of bishop Meinhard von Bamberg, as well as theAnnals of Quedlinburg,'Amulungum'/'Amelung' ( "the Amelung" ) is used to refer to Dietrich himself. This shows that the family's legacy was remembered inoral traditionfar into the Middle Ages, long after any stories about Amal himself had ceased to circulate.
Cassiodorus'Origo Gothicadescribes the Goths moving to the Black Sea, where they split into two factions, the Amali, who would later become the Ostrogoths, and theBalthi,who become the Visigoths. Both the Amali and the Balthi are recalled as families of "kings and heroes."[3]However, even before Cassiodorus' time, the tradition of the Amal appeared to be still popular. This is shown in the naming of the royals, likeTheodoric'sdaughters,OstrogothoandAmalasuintha,and his sister,Amalafrida,who were all given Amal names.[3]
Legacy[edit]
At least two prominent noble families claimed descent from Amali: theBillungs,Dukes of Saxony, also known as the Amelungs or von Ömlingen, and the Solovjovs, Barons of theRussian Empirefrom 1727 (in German sources, known as the von Solowhoff or Solowhoff von Greutungen). The Solovjovs specifically claimed Ermanaric as their ancestor.
ViaAmerigo Vespucci(the Italian version of "Amalaric,"or"Amal ruler"), the Amali were the ultimate namesakes of the Americas.
In popular culture[edit]
- The Amali appear as the "Amaling" dynasty in the grand strategy gameCrusader Kings 2.
Genealogy[edit]
Ermanaric king of Goths | HOUSE OF AMAL | Sigeric king of Visigoths | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thiudimir | Theodemir king of Ostrogoths ∞Ereleuva | (daughter) ∞Valamir king of Ostrogoths | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Amalafrida ∞ 1.(unknown) 2.Thrasamund king ofVandals | Theoderic the Great king of Ostrogoths, Visigoths | Audofleda | Clovis I king of Franks Merovingian dynasty | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Amalaberga ∞Hermanafrid king of Thuringii | (1?)Theodahad king of Ostrogoths ∞ Gudeliva | Amalasuintha ∞ 1.Traguilla 2.Eutharic consul | Ostrogotho ∞Sigismund king of Burgundians | ∞Anicius? | Justin I Roman Emperor | Vigilantia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(2)Athalaric king of Ostrogoths | (2)Mataswintha ∞ 1.Vitiges king of Ostrogoths | 2.Germanus general | Justinian I Roman Emperor Justinian dynasty | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See also[edit]
Citations[edit]
- ^"FamilyTreeDNA – Genetic Testing for Ancestry, Family History & Genealogy".FamilyTreeDNA.Retrieved2019-10-24.
- ^Wolfram, Herwig (1990-02-13).History of the Goths.University of California Press.ISBN978-0-520-06983-1.
- ^abcdeWolfram, Herwig (1988).History of the Goths.Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 32.
- ^Christensen, Arne Søby(2002-01-01).Cassiodorus, Jordanes and the History of the Goths: Studies in a Migration Myth.Museum Tusculanum Press.ISBN9788772897103.
- ^Peter Heather,"Cassiodorus and the Rise of the Amals: Genealogy and the Goths under Hun Domination",The Journal of Roman Studies,Vol. 79 (1989), p. 104
- ^Peter Heather,Goths and Romans,332–489 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), pp. 8 ff.
- ^Gerda Heydemann, "The Ostrogothic Kingdom: Ideologies and Transitions" in J. Arnold and K. Sessa (eds),A Companion to Ostrogothic Italy(Leiden, 2016), p. 30.
General and cited sources[edit]
- Bradley, Henry (December 2009).The Goths, from the Earliest Times to the End of the Gothic Dominion in Spain.General Books LLC.ISBN978-1-150-60725-7.
- Jones, Arnold.Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire,Cambridge at the University Press, 1971.
- Jordanes (12 November 2013).The Origin and Deeds of the Goths.B & R Samizdat Express. p. 551.ISBN978-1-4554-3671-2.