Andeca
Encyclopedia
Andeca or Audeca was the last de facto Suevic King of Galicia from 584 until his deposition the next year (585). He deposed Eboric
and usurped the throne by marrying the young king's mother, Siseguntia (or Sisegutia), the widow of Eboric's father and predecessor, Miro. He consigned Eboric to a monastery.
This action gave the Visigothic king Leovigild an excuse to invade the Suevic kingdom, which he did in 585. According to John of Biclar, "Leovigild devastated Galicia, deprived the captured King Audeca of his rule, and brought the people, treasure, and territory of the Suevi under his own power. He made Galicia a province of the Goths." John goes on to say that he "tonsured [Audeca] and dignified [him] with the honour of the priesthood, after having held that of the kingship." The deposed usurper was relegated to the city of Beja
. To Isidore of Seville
, his deposition meant the end of the Suevic kingdom, which had lasted 177 years from Isidore's starting point of 408: "the kingdom which they [the Sueves] held in idle lethargy, they have now lost at an even more shameful cost, although it may seem quite amazing that they had managed to retain up to the present day that which they have now given up without any show of resistance."
After Audeca, the Suevic kingdom ceased to exist, but one pretender, Malaric
, arose to oppose the Visigoths briefly.
Eboric
Eboric or Euric was the last legitimate Suevic King of Galicia. He was the adolescent son of Miro and Sisegutia and he succeeded his father in 583, ruling for a year before being deposed by his mother's second husband, Audeca, who threw him in a monastery...
and usurped the throne by marrying the young king's mother, Siseguntia (or Sisegutia), the widow of Eboric's father and predecessor, Miro. He consigned Eboric to a monastery.
This action gave the Visigothic king Leovigild an excuse to invade the Suevic kingdom, which he did in 585. According to John of Biclar, "Leovigild devastated Galicia, deprived the captured King Audeca of his rule, and brought the people, treasure, and territory of the Suevi under his own power. He made Galicia a province of the Goths." John goes on to say that he "tonsured [Audeca] and dignified [him] with the honour of the priesthood, after having held that of the kingship." The deposed usurper was relegated to the city of Beja
Beja (Portugal)
Beja is a city in the Beja Municipality in the Alentejo region, Portugal. The municipality has a total area of 1,147.1 km² and a total population of 34,970 inhabitants. The city proper has a population of 21,658....
. To Isidore of Seville
Isidore of Seville
Saint Isidore of Seville served as Archbishop of Seville for more than three decades and is considered, as the historian Montalembert put it in an oft-quoted phrase, "le dernier savant du monde ancien"...
, his deposition meant the end of the Suevic kingdom, which had lasted 177 years from Isidore's starting point of 408: "the kingdom which they [the Sueves] held in idle lethargy, they have now lost at an even more shameful cost, although it may seem quite amazing that they had managed to retain up to the present day that which they have now given up without any show of resistance."
After Audeca, the Suevic kingdom ceased to exist, but one pretender, Malaric
Malaric
Malaric or Amalaric was the last man to claim the kingship of the Suevi of Galicia. In 585, after the last king, Audeca, was defeated and captured by the Visigoths, Malaric rose in rebellion, but was, according to John of Biclar, "defeated by King Leovigild's generals and was captured and presented...
, arose to oppose the Visigoths briefly.