ATANAGILDO (VISIGOTHIC KING): BIOGRAPHY AND REIGN - HISTORY - 2025

Atanagildo (554-576) was a Visigothic king who belonged to the nobility of the Goths, one of the most famous lineages, the Baltos. He went down in history for defeating Agila I in 1549 in Seville, after a bloody fight that had the help of the Byzantines.

Sixteenth King of the Goths, Atanagildo reigned for 14 years, a time in which there was significant religious tolerance, driven perhaps because he wanted the aristocracy as an ally and the Hispano-Roman clergy.

Atanagildo. Upload by Basilio

He reigned first by rebelling against Agila and then as sole king. During his reign there was a unique peace and splendor, as one of the tasks he did in principle was to expel the Byzantines, formerly his allies.

His royal promotion was conjectured to be due to his ancestry, as his daughter Bruniquilda was related to the nobility of the second Burgundian kingdom, a kingdom that comprised southeastern France, northern Italy, and most of Switzerland, known as Burgundia. He was respected by the neighboring nations and loved by all his subjects.

Family

It was common among the Visigoths to secure reigns with family ties and marrying their daughters to knights who might have political and military influence.

Atanagildo married Pedro Augusto's daughter, Flavia Juliana, niece of Emperor Mauricio.

His daughter Bruniquilda married the Frankish king of Austrasia, Sigebertot I, and Galswinta, the eldest daughter, married Chilperico I, brother of Sigeberto I and the Frankish king of Neustria.

Rebellion against Agila

Although in 549 Atanagildo launched an offensive in Seville against Agila and expelled him towards Mérida, the victory was not complete as the support was not sufficient from either side.

It was conjured that Atanagildo represented the old Visigothic aristocracy, already diminished and that had reigned for more than half a century. Atanagildo was locked up in the Betica province, without any communication whatsoever, and therefore had to request help from the Byzantines. These were immersed in a long fight in Italy with Ostrogoth kings.

However, Justinian took advantage of the internal struggles of the West Germanic kingdom to enter the peninsula with the imperial army. Help came in time, preventing his defeat to Agila in that spring of 552.

A few quiet years passed, which was quite beneficial for the Byzantines in their idea of ​​ending the Visigoth kingdom on the peninsula. Once the war in Italy was over, they arrived in Spain in 555 and, seeing the noble Goths that they were in danger, they assassinated Agila in their general poster of Mérida. Atanagildo was recognized as king from this moment.

It was said that Agila's failure could indeed be due to a lack of support from a nobility that in the past was on the side of Teudis and had brought the fourteenth king of the Goths, Teudiselo, to power.

For Agila it could have been a mistake to try to punish these nobles who did not fully support him, and thus unleashed a rebellion and that nobility chose to support Atanagildo without concessions.

Guadalquivir Valley

After the support given by the Byzantines to Atanagildo, there was a treaty in order to delimit the region of Spania that would correspond to the Empire, a coastal region that ran from the south of Valencia to near Cádiz.

In any case, Constantinople had to give full sovereignty and independence to the Guadalquivir Valley, a region of the Gothic kingdom. But the Byzantines also had the local aristocracy of Baetica as an ally, and for this reason, before dying, she tried to recover Córdoba on several occasions without any victory on her part.

The war efforts worked against the interests of Atanagildo, as the Gothic Monarchy ended up without money to financially support the desire to recover the Guadalquivir Valley. The local powers took the opportunity to gain independence from the Gothic domain in regions such as the upper Ebro and in La Rioja.

Unions to get stronger

Atanagildo then had to strengthen himself in regions such as Septimania, present-day south-west France, as well as on borders where the old Visigothic nobility, the Ostrogoths and the Merovingian kings dominated.

To ensure neutrality on the part of the latter, Atanagildo entered into two matrimonial unions, which also sought an imperial non-aggression pact in the future.

This is how he married his daughters to Chilperico I and his brother Sigeberto I. Bruniquilda was lucky and was an outstanding woman until his death in 563. However, his sister Galswinta had arduous fights with the concubine of Chilperico I and died later poisoned. Before dying she asked for the dowry and had demanded a divorce.

Toledo as capital

Atanagildo determined to change his court and move it from Barcelona to Toledo in 567, which was finally the capital of the Visigothic kingdom. The decision was made because Toledo was closer to several conflictive points, because it acquired great importance over the years and was better protected in case of any Byzantine attack.

Death

Atanagildo died a natural death in 567. He was the first Gothic monarch known to have died in the city of the Tagus. This fact helped to consolidate the region as the center of the Gothic Monarchy, and was decisive taking into account other centers of power such as Seville, Mérida and Barcelona.

After the death in Toledo the appointment to deliberate the successor to the throne took time. The assembly of nobles received the nomination of several candidates, but none were taken into account.

After five months, a fairly conciliatory proposal came from Septimania, now southwestern France, and it corresponded to a nobleman named Liuva I, who reigned from 568 to 572.

His proposal was accepted by dismissal and considering it as a lesser evil. This Visigothic king considered that his brother Leovigildo could be the best ruler and that is why, although he assumed the reign alone, he also shared it with his brother from 568 to 571.

References

1. García Moreno, L. (2010). Biography of Atanagildo, the Gothic king. Spanish Biographical Dictionary, Royal Academy of History, Vol. VI, 24-25
2. García Moreno, L. (sf). Atanagildo. Recovered from dbe.rah.es
3. History of Spain, History of the Kings of Spain (nd). Biography of Atanagildo, the Gothic king. Recovered from nubeluz.es
4. Puzzle of History (nd). Atanagildo (Visigothic King) (554-567). Recovered from puzzledelahistoria.com
5. TheBiography.us (2018). Biography of Atanagildo. Visigothic king (554-576). Recovered from thebiography.us