| Amalasuintha | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bust at the Capitoline Museums, assumed to depict Queen Amalasuintha | |
| Regent of the Ostrogoths | |
| Regency | 30 August 526 – 2 October 534 |
| Monarch | Athalaric |
| Queen regnant of the Ostrogoths | |
| Reign | 2 October 534 – 30 April 535 |
| Predecessor | Athalaric |
| Successor | Theodahad (as sole monarch) |
| Co-monarch | Theodahad |
| Born | c. 495 |
| Died | 30 April 535 (aged 39–40) |
| Spouse | Traguilla Eutharic |
| Issue | Athalaric Matasuntha |
| Dynasty | Amali |
| Father | Theoderic the Great |
| Mother | Audofleda |
| Religion | Arianism |
Amalasuintha[1] (495 – 30 April 535) was a ruler of the Ostrogothic Kingdom from 526 to 535. Initially serving as regent for her son Athalaric, she became queen after his premature death.[2] Highly educated, Amalasuintha was praised by both Cassiodorus and Procopius for her wisdom and her ability to speak three languages (Greek, Gothic, and Latin).[3] Her status as an independent female monarch, and obvious affinity for Roman culture, caused discontent among the Gothic nobles in her court, and she was deposed and killed after six months of sole rule. Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I used her death as a casus belli to invade Italy, setting off the Gothic War.
- ^ The name is also spelled Amalasuentha, Amalaswintha, Amalasuntha, Amalswinthe, Amalasontha, Amalasiuntha, and Amalsenta.
- ^ Amalasuntha in the Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ Vitiello, Massimiliano (2006). ""Nourished at the Breast of Rome": The Queens of Ostrogothic Italy and the Education of the Roman Elite". Rheinisches Museum für Philologie. 149 (3/4): 402. ISSN 0035-449X. JSTOR 41234687.