Alatheus
Encyclopedia
Alatheus was a Greuthung
chieftain and general. He fought during the Hunnish
invasion of 376, engaged in war with Rome
from 376 to 383, and incursions into the Balkans in 387. He is most famous for his participation at the Battle of Adrianople
in 378.
After the death of the Gothic
King Vithimiris
while fighting against the Huns in 376, Alatheus became, with Saphrax
, coregent
and guardian of Vithericus. He helped in the leadership of the great Goth migration before the Hun onslaught, he crossed the Danube
while Rome was busy with Therving refugees in that year. He soon allied himself with the Visigothic leaders Fritigern
and Alavivus against Rome.
Alatheus eluded the Romans and rampaged through Thrace
and Moesia
in 377–378. He marched to Fritigern's aid against the Emperor Valens
in the battle of Adrianople
in 378, in which Valens was killed when the Alatheus' forces were victorious. He continued to raid Thrace and northern Greece
, but was defeated by Theodosius the Great's general Promotus, and he settled on the north side of the Danube. He appeared on its banks again in 386, with the intention of invading the Roman provinces again. His forces were, however, repulsed, and Alatheus was slain.
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...
chieftain and general. He fought during the Hunnish
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
invasion of 376, engaged in war with Rome
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....
from 376 to 383, and incursions into the Balkans in 387. He is most famous for his participation at the Battle of Adrianople
Battle of Adrianople
The Battle of Adrianople , sometimes known as the Battle of Hadrianopolis, was fought between a Roman army led by the Roman Emperor Valens and Gothic rebels led by Fritigern...
in 378.
After the death of the Gothic
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
King Vithimiris
Vithimiris
Vithimiris was a king of the Ostrogoths , ruling for some unspecified time in the area of today south Ukraine. He succeeded to Ermanaric, meaning that he probably reigned in 376. Ammianus Marcellinus, the only known source on him, states that after Ermanaric´s death he tried to resist the Alani,...
while fighting against the Huns in 376, Alatheus became, with Saphrax
Saphrax
Saphrax was an Ostrogothic duke and war leader. He led after the death of King Vithimiris in 376. After the war with the Huns, he led his town for the Roman Empire. Just as Alatheus, he fought in the Battle of Adrianople in 378.-Sources:...
, coregent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
and guardian of Vithericus. He helped in the leadership of the great Goth migration before the Hun onslaught, he crossed the Danube
Danube
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....
while Rome was busy with Therving refugees in that year. He soon allied himself with the Visigothic leaders Fritigern
Fritigern
Fritigern or Fritigernus was a Tervingian Gothic chieftain whose decisive victory at Adrinaople the Gothic War extracted favourable terms for the Goths when peace was made with Gratian in 382.-War against Athanaric:...
and Alavivus against Rome.
Alatheus eluded the Romans and rampaged through Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
and Moesia
Moesia
Moesia was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans, along the south bank of the Danube River. It included territories of modern-day Southern Serbia , Northern Republic of Macedonia, Northern Bulgaria, Romanian Dobrudja, Southern Moldova, and Budjak .-History:In ancient...
in 377–378. He marched to Fritigern's aid against the Emperor Valens
Valens
Valens was the Eastern Roman Emperor from 364 to 378. He was given the eastern half of the empire by his brother Valentinian I after the latter's accession to the throne...
in the battle of Adrianople
Battle of Adrianople
The Battle of Adrianople , sometimes known as the Battle of Hadrianopolis, was fought between a Roman army led by the Roman Emperor Valens and Gothic rebels led by Fritigern...
in 378, in which Valens was killed when the Alatheus' forces were victorious. He continued to raid Thrace and northern Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, but was defeated by Theodosius the Great's general Promotus, and he settled on the north side of the Danube. He appeared on its banks again in 386, with the intention of invading the Roman provinces again. His forces were, however, repulsed, and Alatheus was slain.