Aligern or Aligernus was an Ostrogoth military leader, active in Gothic War (535-554). By the end of the war, Aligern had joined the Byzantine army

Byzantine army

The Byzantine army was the primary military body of the Byzantine armed forces, serving alongside the Byzantine navy. A direct descendant of the Roman army, the Byzantine army maintained a similar level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization...

. The main sources about him are Procopius

Procopius

Procopius of Caesarea was a prominent Byzantine scholar from Palestine. Accompanying the general Belisarius in the wars of the Emperor Justinian I, he became the principal historian of the 6th century, writing the Wars of Justinian, the Buildings of Justinian and the celebrated Secret History...

 and Agathias.

Biography

Agathias

Agathias

Agathias or Agathias Scholasticus , of Myrina , an Aeolian city in western Asia Minor , was a Greek poet and the principal historian of part of the reign of the Roman emperor Justinian I between 552 and 558....

 describes Aligern as the son of Fredigernus (Fritigern) and younger brother of Teia

Teia

Teia , also known as Teja, Theia, Thila, Thela, Teias, was the last Ostrogothic king in Italy.Apparently a military officer serving under Totila, Teia was chosen as successor and raised over a shield after Totila was slain in the Battle of Taginae in July 552...

, king of the Ostrogoths (r. 552-553). Procopius

Procopius

Procopius of Caesarea was a prominent Byzantine scholar from Palestine. Accompanying the general Belisarius in the wars of the Emperor Justinian I, he became the principal historian of the 6th century, writing the Wars of Justinian, the Buildings of Justinian and the celebrated Secret History...

 considers Aligern to be a brother of Totila

Totila

Totila, original name Baduila was King of the Ostrogoths from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of Gothic War, recovering by 543 almost all the territories in Italy that the Eastern Roman Empire had captured from his Kingdom in 540.A relative of...

 (r. 541-552). This is probably an error, since Aligern could not be a brother to both monarchs. Modern historians consider Agathias more reliable on the matter.

He is first mentioned, unnamed, in 552 by Procopius. Totila appointed Herodianus and Aligern as joined commanders over the city of Cumae

Cumae

Cumae is an ancient Greek settlement lying to the northwest of Naples in the Italian region of Campania. Cumae was the first Greek colony on the mainland of Italy , and the seat of the Cumaean Sibyl...

. What happened to Herodianus is uncertain. Aligern is mentioned defending the city to c. 554, following the deaths of both Totila and Teia. Agathias explains Aligern's continued defiance by pointing to the strong defensive position of the city and an apparent "abundance of supplies". During a Byzantine siege of the city, Aligern is recorded killing Palladius.

The situation changed when the Franks

Franks

The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...

 invaded the Italian Peninsula

Italian Peninsula

The Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula is one of the three large peninsulas of Southern Europe , spanning from the Po Valley in the north to the central Mediterranean Sea in the south. The peninsula's shape gives it the nickname Lo Stivale...

. The new threat convinced Aligern to surrender the city in late 553 or early 554. He visited Narses

Narses

Narses was, with Belisarius, one of the great generals in the service of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I during the "Reconquest" that took place during Justinian's reign....

, the Byzantine commander in Italy, to deliver the keys to the city. Narses immediately send Aligern to Caesena

Cesena

Cesena is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, south of Ravenna and west of Rimini, on the Savio River, co-chief of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. It is at the foot of the Apennines, and about 15 km from the Adriatic Sea.-History:Cesena was originally an Umbrian...

, for a first encounter with the Franks. His attempt to discourage the Franks from marching against Cumae failed.

Aligern fought on the Byzantine side at the Battle of the Volturnus

Battle of the Volturnus (554)

The Battle of the Volturnus, also known as the Battle of Casilinum or Battle of Capua, was fought in 554 between an army of the Eastern Roman Empire and a combined force of Franks and Alemanni...

(October, 554). , a decisive Byzantine victory. Nothing further is known of him after that.

Sources