Ibba [K 1] ( lat. Ibba ; died no earlier than 513 ) - Ostrogothic military leader of the beginning of the VI century, leading successful military operations against the Franks and Burgundians .
| Ibba | |
|---|---|
| lat Ibba | |
| Date of Birth | |
| Date of death | not earlier than 513 |
| Occupation | Ostrogothic warlord |
Biography
The activities of Ibba are reported by many medieval historical sources , which highlight the circumstances of the Visigoth-Frankish war of 507-509. Among them, β Zaragoza Chronicle β, β On the Origin and Deeds of the Geths β by Jordan , βHistory is Readyβ by Isidor of Sivilsky and messages from the collection of letters of Magna Aurelius Cassiodorus [3] [4] .
Nothing is known about the origin and early years of Ibba's life. The first mention of it is dated 508. At that time, the allies of the Ostrogoths, Visigoths , had been waging war on the Franks and Burgundians for more than a year. Having suffered a heavy defeat at the Battle of Vouillet in 507 from the Franks ruler Clovis I and having lost his king Alaric II to the slain, the Visigoths lost control over most of their Gallic possessions. Only some areas of the Visigoth kingdom were able to provide serious resistance: in 508 in Septimania , the illegitimate son of King Alaric II Gezaleh was able to repulse the Franks, and the inhabitants of Arles , who had been under siege from 507, successfully restrained the attacks of the united Franco-Burgundian army [1] [5] .
Due to the hostilities in 507 against the Byzantines of Emperor Anastasius I , the King of the Ostrogoths Theodoric the Great was unable to provide military assistance to the Visigoths in a timely manner. Only on June 24, 508, the collection of a new army intended for a campaign in Provence was begun. The command of this army was entrusted to the Ibbu committee [1] [5] [6] [7] .
The Ostrogoths, who probably arrived in August or autumn [8] in the vicinity of Arles, attacked the Franco-Burgund army from the north on the left bank of the Rhone, located on both banks of the river [9] . The attack of Tulum, subordinate to Ibbe, allowed the Ostrogoths to break through to the right bank and, after fierce fighting, take control of the only bridge over the river in this place that connected the city with the island of Camargue [6] . The army of the Franks and Burgundians, having lifted the siege, strengthened in its camp, but attacked here by the Ostrogoths, suffered a heavy defeat, having lost, according to Jordan, about 30,000 people were killed [7] [8] . After this victory, the Ostrogoths entered Arles, liberated from the siege, taking with them a "huge number" of prisoners who filled all the basilicas and even the bishop's house [9] . There is evidence that Bishop Arles Caesar melted the gold and silver church utensils in order to redeem the captives [10] .
By 510, Ibbe and other Ostrogothic military leaders ( Mammo and Tuluin ) managed to completely clear Provence from the Burgundian and Frankish troops. Historical sources do not report much of the progress of this military company. Among the events mentioned in this connection are the Ostrogoths' conquest of Marseilles , which had previously been captured by the Burgundians, the removal of the siege from Carcassonne , where part of the treasury of the Visigoth kings was located, as well as the ruin of the Gallic lands [1] [11] . After establishing full control over Provence, these lands were not returned to the Visigoths, but became part of the Kingdom of Ostrogoths [5] [6] . The successful activity of Ibba was very highly appreciated by King Theodorich the Great, who honored his military leader with the titles of duke and vir sublimis [4] [12] .
Eliminating the threat of the capture of Provence by the Franks and Burgundians, in 510, Ibba, on the orders of King Theodoric, set out on a campaign against Gesalech, who had strengthened in Septimania. This illegitimate son of Alarich II proclaimed himself king of the Visigoths, while the ruler of the Ostrogoths supported another pretender to the throne, the legitimate son of Alarich and his own grandson Amalarich . The army led by Ibba defeated Gezaleh, forcing him to flee first to the court of the vandal king Trazamund , and then to the regions of Gaul, still weakly controlled by the Franks. In 511 or 513, Gezaleh, perhaps not without the assistance of the Franks, gathered a new army with the money received from Trazamund and, crossing the Pyrenees , tried to capture Barcelona . However, in the vicinity of this city, he was again defeated in a battle by the army of Ibba. Gezalech fled, but was captured (unknown by anyone, Visigoths or Burgundians) and executed [1] [4] [13] .
Probably, until 513, in the hands of Ibba was real power over the Visigoth kingdom. Based on the data of the Zaragoza Chronicle, it is assumed that only this year Amalaric was proclaimed king of the Visigoths, and Theodorich the Great as his guardian. Perhaps, at the same time, Theudis [1] [14] [15] was appointed the new governor of the Visigoth state on behalf of the young king. Information on the fate of Ibba was not preserved in historical sources [4] [12] .
Comments
- β Mentioned also under the names of Goebban [1] and Hildebrand [2] .
Notes
- β 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tsirkin Yu. B. Spain from Antiquity to the Middle Ages. - SPb. : Faculty of Philology, St. Petersburg State University; Nestor-Istoriya, 2010 .-- S. 194β198. - ISBN 978-5-8465-1024-1 .
- β Wolfram H., 2003 , p. 415.
- β Zaragoza Chronicle (years 510 and 513); Jordan On the origin and deeds of the Getae (chapter 302); Isidore of Seville . The story is ready (chapter 38); Magnus Aurelius Cassiodor . Varia (book I, letter 24 and book IV, letter 17).
- β 1 2 3 4 Martindale JR Ibba // Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire / AM Jones , JR Martindale. - Cambridge University Press , 1980. - Vol. II: AD 395-527. - P. 585. - ISBN 0-521-20159-4 [2001 reprint].
- β 1 2 3 Lebek S. Origin of the Franks. V β IX centuries. - M .: Scarab, 1993 .-- S. 57-59. - ISBN 5-86507-022-3 .
- β 1 2 3 Skrzhinskaya E. Ch. Comments on the βGeticsβ of Jordan (comments No. 786, 793 and 795) // Jordan. Getics. - SPb. : Aletheia, 1997 .-- S. 366-368 .
- β 1 2 Tungsten H., 2003 , p. 449β451.
- β 1 2 Klingshirn WE Caesarius of Arles: The Making of a Christian Community in Late Antique Gaul . - Cambridge University Press, 1994. - P. 111. - ISBN 978-0-5215-2852-8 .
- β 1 2 Malnory A., 1894 , p. 93.
- β Malnory A., 1894 , p. 96.
- β Marius of Avansh . Chronicle (year 509).
- β 1 2 Amory P. People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy: 489β554 . - Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. - P. 387. - ISBN 978-0-5215-2635-7 .
- β Wolfram H., 2003 , p. 350 and 449β451.
- β Wolfram H., 2003 , p. 350 and 445.
- β Sirotenko V.T. History of international relations in Europe in the second half of IV - beginning of VI centuries. . - Publishing house of Perm State University, 1975. - S. 239.
Literature
- Wolfram H. Gotha. - SPb. : Juventa Publishing House, 2003. - 656 p. - ISBN 5-87399-142-1 .
- Malnory A. Saint CΓ©saire, Γ©vΓͺque d'Arles: 503-543 . - Paris: E. Bouillon, 1894 .-- P. 317.