Battle of Bolia

In the battle of the Bolia the Pannonian Ostrogoths conquered in 469 a coalition of Donausueben, Skiren, Rugians, Heruli, Gepids, Sarmatians and other groups of barbarians on the middle Danube. Thus they reached a dominant position in the region, but attracted little later from the Balkans.

Prehistory

In the battle of Nedao in 454 (maybe 455 ) the Germanic peoples under the Gepidenkönig Ardaric freed themselves in the territory of the middle Danube by the Huns rule. The Ostrogoths had been standing in the battle on the side of the Huns, but also received their freedom. Parts of them settled among the kings Valamir, Thiudimir and Vidimir in Pannonia on. The Pannonian Ostrogoths fought in subsequent years against attempts at restoration of the Huns and other barbarians, who had also exempt from Hunnish rule of Nedao. In the year 468 King fought Valamir from a Hun attack under the leadership Dengizichs. Back then pulled the Suebenkönig Hunimund, whose kingdom was adjacent to that of the Ostrogoths in the north, on a plundering expedition to Dalmatia through the country of the Goths and robbed evidently their cattle herds. King Thiudimir presented the Suevi at Lake Balaton and captured Hunimund. However, he released him again, after he had himself known to his armor- son. A little later, still 468 or early 469 fell Skiren of the Tisza into the region of the Goths. Supposedly they were egged on by Hunimund it. However, the Skiren apparently suffered previously under Gothic expansion efforts, as they Emperor Leo rendered military assistance against the Goths. King Valamir fell in battle against the Skiren, but the Goths were victorious nonetheless. Thiudimir took over from there to the rule in Valamir part of the empire. That same year, the forged Suebenkönig Hunimund together with other kings formed an alliance against the Ostrogoths and attacked. At the same time the Eastern Roman army marched on at the behest of Emperor Leo's in the back of the Goths, since this apparently pursued a destruction of the Pannonian Goths.

The Battle

The Suebenkönig Hunimund united his army with that of a king named Alaric, another Suebi or a Herulerkönigs. Furthermore Skiren followed him under Edika and his son Hunulf and Sarmatians among the kings Beuka and Babai and Gepid and rugische units. With this power he took action against the Ostrogoths, which also had a hostile -minded Eastern Roman army in the back. At the Bolia it came to battle. The site of the battle is unknown today, because you can assign the name Bolia any known flow more. Maybe it was the Eipel ( Ipoly ), a Slovak-Hungarian border river. This is, however, left the Danube, the Origo Gothica what Jordanes contradicts that situates the river in Pannonia right of the Danube. It is conceivable that the battle against the Eipelmündung on the Danube was discharged. The Goths defeated the enemy coalition, after which withdrew and the Eastern Roman army. Edika fell in battle, Hunimund managed to escape. The year of the battle is not entirely clear to determine, since the exact dating of the operations on a single source ( John of Antioch ) and a process -oriented, the change of the rule of Valamir on Thiudimir in the year 469, however Valamir died according to this source only after the Battle of the Bolia.

Follow the battle

The Goths were emerged victorious from the battle, and consolidated their position in Pannonia. Emperor Leo gave up trying to wipe them out as a potential threat. Instead dismissed Emperor Leo Theodoric, the son Thiudimirs, who lived until then as a hostage in Constantinople Opel, in the home. Maybe Ostrom tried in the Pannonian Goths now build a counterweight to those Goths who were in the Eastern Roman services and exercised by Aspar and Theodoric Strabo great influence at the imperial court. Nevertheless, the Pannonian Goths had considered the long term seems to have reached their victory with relatively little because they still had not create a stable kingdom formations. One cause is estimated to have is that the Goths had become professional warriors to a great extent, and thus had to rely on or pay tribute payments or raids. This could be ensured sufficiently in Pannonia apparently despite the victories anymore. Among the losers in the battle soon showed greater signs of disintegration. Odoacer, a son of the fallen Skirenkönigs Edika, moved with Skiren, Heruli and Rugiern westward to become king later, supported by the otherwise unknown Turki Linger, in Italy. In contrast, Hunulf, the elder son Edikas turned by Ostrom.

The newly came to power Rugierkönig Flaccitheus, who had not fought at the Bolia, the control of the Ostrogoths tried to escape and wanted to march with his people to Italy. However, the Ostrogoths prevented his army on the march through. The Rugians pursued in the following years a per - Gothic policy. In the winter of 469/70 or 470/71 the Goths attacked in turn to Hunimund, who then migrated to parts of the Suevi to the west, where they allied themselves with the Alemanni. This Hunimund apparently lost his kingship. He is probably identical with that leader, who along with Alemanni invaded the city of Passau 476-480. The parts of the Suevi, who remained in Pannonia, came first under Gothic supremacy. After returning from Constantinople Opel Theodoric in 469/70 handle this immediately to the Sarmatians, who had taken possession of Singidunum. He defeated the Sarmatians, with their king fell Babai, who had survived the Battle of the Bolia. Already in 473 the Ostrogoths left Pannonia, where Thiudimir and his son Theodoric with the greater part marched towards the Balkans and Vidimir invaded Italy to unite with the Visigoths later.