History glossary
Ostrogoths
a Gothic people who ruled Italy before and during Justinian's long Gothic War.
- Category
- People
- Region
- Italy and the Balkans
- Date range
- fifth-sixth centuries
What it means
The Ostrogoths were a Gothic people whose kingdom in Italy was established by Theodoric the Great after the fall of western imperial rule. Justinian's armies fought them in the Gothic War, a long and destructive conflict that temporarily restored much of Italy to eastern Roman control.
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