Page 92 - Envoys and Political Communication in the Late Antique West 411 - 533

Envoys and Political Communication,411–533

monarchy and the establishment of a Gothic-nominated governor over
the Sueves, an attempt which, in the event, was unsuccessful. 117
Avitus appears to have delegated diplomatic and military authority in
dealing with the Sueves to his Gothic allies. Gothic envoys represented
the empire’s interests; the Gothic army went to Gallaecia in 456 notas
the auxiliaries of an imperial general, but under the command of their
own king. Avitus’ successor Majorian seems to have concurred in this ar-
rangement, perhaps largely through necessity, after initial conflict with the
former supporters of the emperor he had overthrown. 118 The Goths’ new
authority over Iberian affairs, confirmed by a Gothic embassy announc-
ing the reconciliation of Majorian and Theoderic II, was recognised by
the Gallaecian provincials: when conflicts with the Sueves again arose in
the 460s, the Gallaecians no longer sought the intervention of imperial
authorities but instead appealed to Toulouse. 119 Theoderic II, firstap-
proached by the provincials in 463, repeatedly sent envoys to the Suevic
kings on the Gallaecians’ behalf. 120 In 464 the Sueves accepted as their
king Remismund, nominated by Theoderic. His first act was to restore
117
Table 1 no. 12 (second embassy); Hyd., c. 173–8 (campaign of Theoderic II et cum voluntate et
ordinatione Aviti imperatoris; death of Rechiarius; regnum destructum et finitum est Suevorum), 180,
187 (failure of Aiolulf, the Gothic-nominated governor of the Sueves; cf. Jordanes, Get., 229–34)
[166–71, 173, 180].
118 Initial conflict: in 456, Theoderic II saw Majorian as a threat. The ‘adverse news’ Theoderic
received while besieging M´ erida, causing him to withdraw from Spain (Hyd., c. 186 [179]), was
probably Avitus’ deposition and death at the hands of Ricimer and Majorian; cf. cc. 183, 185
[176, 178] (though Hydatius’ wording links the withdrawal to the cult of Eulalia in Merida; cf.
the use of terreo in c. 182 [175]). Theoderic recognised the loss of his ally Avitus as a threat to
his own security.
Concurrence in arrangements: after two years, Theoderic and Majorian agreed to a pax;
cf. c. 197 [192]; Ralph W. Mathisen, ‘Resistance and Reconciliation: Majorian and the Gallic
Aristocracy after the Fall of Avitus’, Francia 7 (1979), 619–20 (repr. in his Studies); Wolfram, History
of the Goths, 179–80. This settlement allowed the Goths to retain possession of Baetica, where
they posed a constant threat to the Sueves; above, n. 104. Majorian’s campaign in Carthaginiensis
in 460, en route to attack the Vandals in North Africa, seems to have been coordinated with an
attack on the Sueves in northern Gallaecia by Gothic forces; Hyd., c. 200–1 [195–6]; cf. n. 128
below. Theoderic appointed comites and magistri militum in Spain in the 460s. Whether of Roman
or Gothic origin, these commanders appear to have been solely under Theoderic’s command;
Hyd., cc. 197, 201, 212, 213 [192, 196, 207, 208]; Stein i, 381 (‘En sa qualit´ e de commandant
des forces imp´ eriales en Espagne, Th´ eodoric disposaitaussi des troupes de ce pays’).
119
Table 1 no. 16.
120
The Gallaecian noble Palogorius approached Theoderic in 463, presumably for assistance against
the Sueves, now split among several rulers. Theoderic responded by sending as envoy to Gallaecia
Cyrila, a general who had previously campaigned in Spain on Theoderic’s behalf; Palogorius
accompanied him back to Spain (Hyd., cc. 192, 193 [185, 188]). ButCyrila’s mission was
unsuccessful; Table 1 nos. 24–6. He was subsequently sent back to Gallaecia; Hyd., c. 220 [216].
Often seen as a second embassy (PLRE ii, ‘Cyrila’, 334 and ‘Remismund’, 939; Burgess, ‘Reply’,
337 n. 10; Burgess, ‘Hydatius’, 69; Muhlberger, Fifth-Century Chroniclers, 255 n. 132), this was
more likely a military campaign. Hydatius does not specify that Cyrila was sent as a legatus (cf.
Table 1,‘Noteon Legatus and Legatio’). He was accompanied by the future king Remismund,
and they were preceded by aliquanti Gothi, ‘not a few Goths’, i.e. a military force (Hyd., c. 220
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