View source for Visigothic Kingdom

{{Short description|418–720 kingdom in Iberia}}
{{Other uses|Gothic Kingdom (disambiguation){{!}}Gothic Kingdom}}
{{Infobox former country
| conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the Goths
| native_name            = {{native name|la|Regnum Gothorum}}
| status                 = ''[[Foederati]]'' (until 476)<br>[[Sovereign state]] (476–720)
| common_name            = Visigothic Kingdom
| government_type        = [[Monarchy]]
| event_pre              = [[Sack of Rome (410)|Sack of Rome]]
| date_pre               = 410
| event1                 = [[Battle of the Catalaunian Plains]]
| date_event1            = 451
| event2                 = [[Battle of Vouillé]]
| date_event2            = 507
| event3                 = Annexation of the [[Kingdom of the Suebi|Suebic Kingdom]]
| date_event3            = 585
| event4                 = Conquest of Byzantine [[Spania]]
| date_event4            = 624
| event5                 = [[Battle of Guadalete]] and [[Umayyad]] conquest of Toledo
| date_event5            = 711
| year_start             = 418
| event_end              = {{nowrap|Umayyad occupation of<br />[[Septimania]]}}
| year_end               = 720
| p1                     = Western Roman Empire
| flag_p1                = 
| border_p1              = no
| p2                     = Kingdom of the Suebi
| flag_p2                = 
| p3                     = Hispania
| flag_p3                = 
| s1                     = Umayyad Caliphate
| flag_s1                = 
| s2                     = Kingdom of Asturias
| flag_s2                = Cruz de Asturias.svg
| border_s2              = no
| s3                     = Francia
| flag_s3                = Armoiries imaginaires de Charlemagne (1).svg
| image_flag             = 
| image_coat             = Leovigild CNG 97-722237 (obverse).jpg
| coa_size               = 140px
| image_map              = Visigothic Kingdom.png
| image_map_caption      = Extent of the Visigothic Kingdom, {{Circa|500}} (total extent shown in orange, territory lost after [[Battle of Vouillé]] shown in light orange: [[Kingdom of the Suebi]] was annexed in 585).
| official_languages     = [[Medieval Latin]]
| common_languages       = {{indented plainlist|
* [[Gothic language|Gothic]] (spoken among elite)
* [[Vulgar Latin]]
* [[Vasconic languages]] (spoken by several tribes throughout almost the entire Pyrenean and pre-Pyrenean region)
* Medieval Hebrew and [[Aramaic#Middle Aramaic|Middle Aramaic]] (used as a liturgical language, during this period, among [[Jews]])
* [[Alanic language|Alanic]] (spoken by the [[Alans]] of Aurelianum)
}}
| capital                = {{indented plainlist|
* [[Toulouse]] (418–507)
* [[Barcelona]] (507–542) (temporarily)<ref>Following the death of [[Amalaric]] (531). See: {{cite book |first1=S. J. B. |last1=Barnish |author2=Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Social Stress |title=The Ostrogoths from the migration period to the sixth century: an ethnographic perspective |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |year=2007 |page=369}}</ref>
* [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]] (542–711)<ref>Capital of the Visigothic kingdom by the end of the reign of [[Athanagild]] (died 567). {{cite book|last=Collins |first=Roger |title=Visigothic Spain, 409–711 |location=Oxford |publisher=Blackwell |year=2004 |page=44}}</ref>}}
| religion               = {{plainlist|
* [[Gothic paganism]] (initially)
* [[Chalcedonian Christianity]]
* [[Arianism]]}}
| leader1                = [[Wallia]]
| year_leader1           = 415–418
| leader2                = [[Theodoric I]]
| year_leader2           = 418–451
| leader3                = [[Euric]]
| year_leader3           = 466–484
| leader4                = [[Alaric II]]
| year_leader4           = 484–507
| leader5                = [[Gesalec]]
| year_leader5           = 507–511
| leader6                = [[Theodoric the Great]]
| year_leader6           = 511–526
| leader7                = [[Liuvigild]]
| year_leader7           = 568–586
| leader8                = [[Reccared]]
| year_leader8           = 586–601
| leader9                = [[Sisebut]]
| year_leader9           = 612–621
| leader10               = [[Suintila|Swintila]]
| year_leader10          = 621–631
| leader11               = [[Recceswinth]]
| year_leader11          = 649–672
| leader12               = [[Wittiza]]
| year_leader12          = 694–710
| leader13               = [[Roderic]]
| year_leader13          = 710–711
| leader14               = [[Ardo]]
| year_leader14          = 714–720
| title_leader           = [[King]]
| stat_year1             = 484
| stat_area1             = 500000
| ref_area1              = <ref name="Taagepera126" />
| stat_year2             = 580
| stat_area2             = 600000
| symbol_type            = [[Tremissis]] depicting [[Liuvigild]] (568–586)
| ref_area2              = <ref name="Taagepera126">{{cite journal|date=1979|title=Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600&nbsp;B.C. to 600&nbsp;A.D.|jstor=1170959|journal=[[Social Science History]]|volume=3|issue=3/4|page=126|doi=10.2307/1170959|last1=Taagepera|first1=Rein|author-link=Rein Taagepera}}</ref>
| demonym                = 
| area_km2               = 
| area_rank              = 
| GDP_PPP                = 
| GDP_PPP_year           = 
| HDI                    = 
| HDI_year               = 
| today                  = {{plainlist|
* [[Portugal]]
* [[Spain]]
* [[Andorra]]
* [[France]]
}}
}}

The '''Visigothic Kingdom''', '''Visigothic Spain''' or '''Kingdom of the Goths''' ({{langx|la|Regnum Gothorum}}) was a [[Barbarian kingdoms|barbarian kingdom]] that occupied what is now southwestern [[France]] and the [[Iberian Peninsula]] from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] successor states to the [[Western Roman Empire]], it was originally created by the settlement of the [[Visigoths]] under King [[Wallia]] in the province of [[Gallia Aquitania]] in southwest [[Gaul]] by the Roman government and then extended by conquest over all of [[Hispania]]. The Kingdom maintained independence from the Eastern Roman or [[Byzantine Empire]], whose attempts to re-establish Roman authority in Hispania were only partially successful and short-lived.

The Visigoths were [[Romanization (cultural)|romanized]] central Europeans who had moved west from the [[Danube|Danube Valley]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kurlansky |first1=Mark |title=The Basque History of the World |date=2011 |publisher=Random House |isbn=9781448113224 |page=35}}</ref> They became [[foederati]] of Rome, and sought to restore the Roman order against the hordes of [[Vandals]], [[Alans]] and [[Suebi]]. The [[Fall of the Western Roman Empire|Western Roman Empire fell]] in 476&nbsp;AD; therefore, the Visigoths believed they had the right to take the territories that Rome had promised in Hispania in exchange for restoring the Roman order.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Orlandis|first1=José|title=Historia del reino visigodo español : los acontecimientos, las instituciones, la sociedad, los protagonistas|language=es|date=2003|publisher=Rialp|location=Madrid|isbn=8432134694|edition= 2nd}}</ref> Under King [[Euric]]—who eliminated the status of foederati—a triumphal advance of the Visigoths began.<ref>{{cite book |last=Heather |first=Peter |year=1991 |title=The Goths |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |page=189 |isbn=9780631165361}}</ref> Alarmed at Visigoth expansion from [[Gallia Aquitania|Aquitania]] after [[Battle of Déols|victory over the Gallo-Roman and Breton armies]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Charles-Edwards |first1=T. M. |title=Wales and the Britons, 350–1064 |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780198217312 |page=59}}</ref> at [[Déols]] in 469, Western Emperor [[Anthemius]] sent a fresh army across the Alps against Euric, who was besieging [[Arles]]. The Roman army was crushed in the [[Battle of Arles (471)|Battle of Arles]] nearby and Euric then captured Arles and secured much of southern Gaul.

Sometimes referred to as the ''Regnum Tolosae'' or '''Kingdom of Toulouse''' after its capital [[Toulouse]] in modern historiography, the Visigothic kingdom [[Franco-Visigothic Wars|lost much of its territory in Gaul]] to the [[Franks]] in the early 6th century, save the narrow coastal strip of [[Septimania]]. The kingdom of the 6th and 7th centuries is sometimes called the ''Regnum Toletanum'' or '''Kingdom of Toledo''' after the new capital of [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]] in Hispania. A civil war starting in 549 resulted in an invitation from the Visigoth [[Athanagild]], who had usurped the kingship, to the Byzantine emperor [[Justinian I]] to send soldiers to his assistance. Athanagild won his war, but the Byzantines took over [[Cartagena, Spain|Cartagena]] and a good deal of southern Hispania, until 624 when [[Suintila|Swinthila]] expelled the last Byzantine garrisons from the peninsula, occupying ''Orcelis'', which the Visigoths called ''Aurariola'' (today [[Orihuela]] in the [[Province of Alicante]]). Starting in the 570s Athanagild's brother [[Liuvigild]] compensated for this loss by conquering the [[Kingdom of the Suebi]] in [[Gallaecia]] (corresponding roughly to present-day [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]] and the northern part of [[Portugal]]) and annexing it, and by repeated campaigns against the [[Basques]].

The ethnic distinction between the Hispano-Roman population and the Visigoths had largely disappeared by this time (the [[Gothic language]] lost its last and probably already declining function as a church language when the Visigoths renounced [[Arianism]] in 589).<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Remarks about relations between Visigoths and Hispano-Romans in the seventh century|first=Dietrich|last=Claude|title=Strategies of Distinction: Construction of Ethnic Communities, 300–800 |series=Transformation of the Roman World |date=1998 |editor-first=Walter |editor-last=Pohl |isbn=90-04-10846-7 |pages=119–121|postscript=:}} dress and funerary customs cease to be distinguishing features in AD 570/580</ref> This newfound unity found expression in increasingly severe persecution of outsiders, [[History of the Jews in Spain#Visigoth rule – Repression and forced conversions (5th century to 711)|especially the Jews]]. The [[Visigothic Code]], completed in 654, abolished the old tradition of having different laws for Hispano-Romans and for Visigoths. The 7th century saw many civil wars between factions of the aristocracy. Despite good records left by contemporary bishops, such as [[Isidore of Seville|Isidore]] and [[Leander of Seville]], it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish Goths from Hispano-Romans, as the two became inextricably intertwined. Despite these civil wars, by 625&nbsp;AD the Visigoths had succeeded in expelling the Byzantines from Hispania and had established a foothold at the port of [[Ceuta]] in Africa. Most of the Visigothic Kingdom was [[Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula|conquered by Umayyad troops]] from [[Maghreb|North Africa]] in 711 to 719, with only the northern reaches of Hispania remaining in Christian hands. The medieval [[Kingdom of Asturias]] in northern Spain reputedly began when a Visigothic nobleman called [[Pelagius of Asturias|Pelagius]] was elected [[princeps]] and became the leader of the  [[Astures]] and of the Visigoths who had taken refuge in the mountains.

The Visigoths and their early kings were [[Arianism|Arians]] and came into conflict with the Church in Rome, but after they converted to [[Nicene Christianity]], the Church exerted an enormous influence on secular affairs through the [[Councils of Toledo]]. The Visigoths also developed the highly influential legal code known in Western Europe as the [[Visigothic Code]] ({{langx|la|Liber Iudiciorum}}), which would become the basis for [[Law of Spain|Spanish law]] throughout the [[Middle Ages]].

==History==

===Federate kingdom===
[[File:Hispania 418 AD.PNG|thumb|Visigothic settlement and the Iberian Peninsula, c. 418|left]]
From 407 to 409 AD, an alliance of (East) Germanic [[Vandals]], Iranian [[Alans]] and (Elbe) Germanic [[Suebi]] [[Crossing of the Rhine|crossed]] the frozen [[Rhine]] and swept across modern France and into the Iberian Peninsula. For their part, the Visigoths under [[Alaric I|Alaric]] famously [[Sack of Rome (410)|sacked Rome in 410]], capturing [[Galla Placidia]], the sister of Western Roman emperor [[Honorius (emperor)|Honorius]].

[[Athaulf]] (king of the Visigoths from 410 to 415) spent the next few years operating in the Gallic and Hispanic countrysides, diplomatically playing competing factions of Germanic and Roman commanders against one another to skillful effect, and taking over cities such as [[Narbonne]] and [[Kingdom of Toulouse|Toulouse]] (in 413). After he married Placidia, the Emperor [[Honorius (emperor)|Honorius]] enlisted him to provide Visigothic assistance in regaining nominal Roman control of Hispania from the Vandals, Alans and Suebi.

{{Main|Gothic War in Spain (416-418)}}
In 418, Honorius rewarded his Visigothic [[foederati|federates]] under King [[Wallia]] (reigned 415–418) by giving them land in the [[Garonne]] valley of [[Gallia Aquitania]] on which to settle. This probably took place under the system of {{lang|la|hospitalitas}}. It seems likely that at first the Visigoths were not given a large amount of land estates in the region (as previously believed), but that they acquired the taxes of the region, with the local Gallic aristocrats now paying their taxes to the Visigoths instead of to the Roman government.<ref name="Cambridge Ancient v. 14">{{cite book|last=Cameron|first=Ward |author2=Perkins and Whitby  |title=The Cambridge Ancient History |volume=XIV. Late Antiquity: Empire and Successors, A.D. 425–600|page=48}}</ref>

[[File:Theodoric I by Fabrizio Castello 1560 1617.jpg|left|thumb|[[Theodoric I]] by [[Fabrizio Castello]] (1560–1617)]]
The Visigoths with their capital at [[Toulouse]], remained ''de facto'' independent, and soon began expanding into Roman territory at the expense of the feeble Western empire. Under [[Theodoric I]] (418–451), the Visigoths attacked [[Arles]] (in [[Battle of Arles (435)|425]]{{sfn|Tucker|2010|p=365}} and 430{{sfn|Barrett|2018|p=1475}}) and [[Narbonne]] (in 436),{{sfn|Barrett|2018|p=1475}} but were checked by [[Litorius]] using [[Huns|Hunnic mercenaries]]. This resulted at first in Theodoric's defeat at the [[Battle of Narbonne (436)|Battle of Narbonne]] in 436, but then in 439 at the [[Battle of Toulouse (439)|Battle of Toulouse]] the Visigoths defeated the allied forces of Romans and Huns. By 451, the situation had reversed and the Huns had invaded [[Gaul]]; now Theodoric fought under [[Flavius Aetius]] against [[Attila the Hun]] in the [[Battle of the Catalaunian Plains]]. Attila was driven back, but Theodoric was killed in the battle.<ref>''Cambridge Ancient'' vol. 14, p. 113.</ref>

{{History of Spain|image=[[Image:Glory of Spain by Tiepelo.jpg|180px]]|caption=[[Giovanni Battista Tiepolo|Tiepolo]]'s ''The Glory of Spain''}}

{{Main|Gothic War in Spain (456)}}
The [[Vandals]] completed the [[Vandal conquest of Roman Africa|conquest]] of [[North Africa]] when they [[Battle of Carthage (439)|took Carthage]] on October 19, 439, and the [[Suebi]] had taken most of Hispania. The Roman emperor [[Avitus]] now sent the Visigoths into Hispania. [[Theodoric II]] (453–466) [[Battle of Órbigo (456)|invaded and defeated]] the king of the Suebi, [[Rechiar]]ius, at the battle on the river [[Órbigo]] in 456 near Asturica Augusta ([[Astorga, Spain|Astorga]]) and then sacked Bracara Augusta ([[Braga]]), the Suebi capital. The Goths sacked the cities in Gallaecia, part of the Suebi Kingdom quite brutally: they massacred a portion of the population and even attacked some holy places, probably due to the clergy's support of the Suebi.{{sfn |Fouracre |2005 |page=165}} Theodoric took control over [[Hispania Baetica]], [[Carthaginiensis]] and southern [[Lusitania]]. In 461, the Goths received the city of Narbonne from the emperor [[Libius Severus]] in exchange for their support. This led to a revolt by the army and by [[Gallo-Roman culture|Gallo-Romans]] under Aegidius; as a result, Romans under Severus and the Visigoths fought other Roman troops, and the revolt ended only in 465.<ref>''Cambridge Ancient'' vol. 14, p. 24.</ref>

===Kingdom of Toulouse===
[[File:Hispania 476 AD.svg|thumb|The Iberian peninsula around 476|left]]

In 466, [[Euric]], who was the youngest son of [[Theodoric I]], came to the Visigothic throne. He is infamous for murdering his elder brother [[Theodoric II]] who had himself become king by murdering his elder brother [[Thorismund]]. Under Euric (466–484), the Visigoths began expanding in Gaul and consolidating their presence in the Iberian peninsula. Euric fought a series of wars with the [[Suebi]] who retained some influence in Lusitania and brought most of this region under Visigothic power, taking Emerita Augusta ([[Mérida, Spain|Mérida]]) in 469. Euric also attacked the Western Roman Empire, capturing [[Hispania Tarraconensis]] in 472, the last bastion of (Western) Roman rule in Spain. By 476, he had extended his rule to the [[Rhone]] and the [[Loire]] rivers which comprised most of southern Gaul. He also occupied the key Roman cities of [[Arles]] and [[Marseille]]. In his campaigns, Euric had counted on a portion of the Gallo-Roman and Hispano-Roman aristocracy who served under him as generals and governors. The Visigothic Kingdom was formally recognized as an independent kingdom in former Roman territory instead of having the status of [[foederati]] when the Western emperor [[Julius Nepos]] (474–475) signed in 475 an alliance with Euric, granting him the lands south of the Loire and west of the Rhone in exchange for military service and the lands in [[Provence]] (including Arles and Marseille). The lands in Hispania remained under ''de facto'' Visigothic control. After [[Odoacer]] deposed the last Roman emperor in the West, [[Romulus Augustulus]], Euric quickly recaptured [[Provence]], a fact which Odoacer formally accepted in a treaty.{{sfn |Fouracre |2005 |pages=167–171}}

By 500, the Visigothic Kingdom, centered at [[Toulouse]], controlled [[Gallia Aquitania]] and [[Gallia Narbonensis]] and most of Hispania with the exception of the [[Suebic Kingdom of Galicia]] in the northwest and small areas controlled by independent Iberian peoples, such as the [[Basques]] and the [[Cantabri]]ans. Euric's son [[Alaric II]] (484–507) issued a new body of laws, the {{lang|la|Breviarium Alarici}}, and held a church council at [[Agde]].

[[File:Battle between Clovis and the Visigoths.jpg|thumb|Clovis I fights the Visigoths]]
The Visigoths now came into conflict with the Franks under their King [[Clovis I]], who had conquered northern Gaul. Following a brief war with the Franks, Alaric was forced to put down a rebellion in Tarraconensis, probably caused by recent Visigoth immigration to Hispania due to pressure from the Franks. In 507, the Franks attacked again, this time allied with the [[Burgundians]]. Alaric II was killed at the [[Battle of Vouillé|Battle of Campus Vogladensis]] ([[Vouillé, Vienne|Vouillé]]) near [[Poitiers]], and Toulouse was sacked. By 508, the Visigoths had lost most of their Gallic holdings save [[Septimania]] in the south.<ref>''Cambridge Ancient'' vol. 14, pp. 113–114.</ref>

===Arian Kingdom of Hispania===
After Alaric II's death, his illegitimate son [[Gesalec]] took power until he was deposed by [[Theodoric the Great]], ruler of the [[Ostrogothic Kingdom]], who invaded and defeated him at [[Barcelona]]. Gesalec fled and regrouped, but was defeated again at [[Barcelona]], and was captured and killed. Theodoric then installed his grandson [[Amalaric]] (511–531), the son of Alaric II, as king. Amalaric, however, was still a child and power in Spain remained under the Ostrogothic general and regent, [[Theudis]]. Only after Theodoric's death (526) did Amalaric obtain control of his kingdom. His rule did not last long, as in 531, Amalaric was defeated by the Frankish king [[Childebert I]] and then murdered at Barcelona.

[[File:Spanish Visigothic gold tremisses in the name of emperor Justinian I with cross on breast 7th century.jpg|thumb|Visigothic pseudo-imperial gold [[tremissis]] in the name of Emperor [[Justinian I]], 6th century: the [[Christian cross]] on the breast defines the Visigothic attribution. ([[British Museum]])|left]]
Afterwards, [[Theudis]] (531–548) became king. He expanded Visigothic control over the southern regions, but he was also murdered after a failed invasion of Africa. Visigothic Spain suffered a civil war under King [[Agila I]] (549–554), which prompted the Roman/Byzantine emperor [[Justinian I]] to send an army and carve out the small province of [[Spania]] for the [[Byzantine Empire]] along the coast of southern Spain. Agila was eventually killed, and his enemy [[Athanagild]] (552–568) became the new king. He attacked the Byzantines, but he was unable to dislodge them from southern Spain and was obliged to formally acknowledge the [[suzerainty]] of the Empire.

[[File:Iberia 560.svg|thumb|Visigothic Hispania and the Byzantine province of Spania, circa 560 AD]]
The next Visigothic king was [[Liuvigild]] (569&nbsp;– April 21, 586). He was an effective military leader and consolidated Visigothic power in Spain. Liuvigild campaigned against the Eastern Romans in the south in the 570s and he took back [[Córdoba, Spain|Cordova]] after another revolt. He also fought in the north against the [[Kingdom of the Suebi|Galician Kingdom of the Suebi]] and various small independent states, including the Basques and the Cantabrians. He pacified northern Spain but was unable to completely conquer these peoples. When Liuvigild established his son [[Hermenegild]] as joint ruler, a civil war ensued between them. Hermenegild became the first Visigothic king to convert to [[Nicene Christianity]] due to his ties with the Romans, but he was defeated in 584 and killed in 585.<ref>{{Cite book |author-link=Charles Previté-Orton |first= Charles William |last= Previté-Orton |title=The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=1979 |page=145}}</ref> By the end of his reign, Liuvigild had united the entire Iberian peninsula, including the Suebic Kingdom which he conquered in 585 during a [[Suebi]] civil war that ensued after the death of King [[Miro (Suevic king)|Miro]]. Liuvigild established amicable terms with the Franks through royal marriages, and they remained at peace throughout most of his reign. Liuvigild also founded new cities, such as [[Reccopolis]] and Victoriacum ([[Vitoria, Spain|Vitoria]]), the first barbarian king to do so.{{sfn |Fouracre |2005 |pages=183–209}}<ref>''Cambridge Ancient'' vol. 14, pp. 122–124.</ref>

===Catholic Kingdom of Toledo===
{{see also|Protofeudalism}}
[[File:Visigothic - Pair of Eagle Fibula - Walters 54421, 54422 - Group.jpg|thumb|Visigothic pair of eagles on [[Fibula (brooch)|fibulae]] (brooches for fastening garments), Spain|left]]
On becoming King, Liuvigild's son [[Reccared I]] (586–601) converted from [[Arianism|Arian]] to [[Chalcedonian Christianity]]. This led to some unrest in the kingdom, notably a revolt by the Arian bishop of Mérida which was put down; he also beat back another Frankish offensive in the north. Reccared then oversaw the [[Third Council of Toledo]] in 589, where he announced his faith in the Nicene creed and denounced Arianism. He adopted the name Flavius, the family name of the Constantinian dynasty, and styled himself as the successor to the Roman emperors. Reccared also fought the Byzantines in [[Hispania Baetica]] after they had begun a new offensive.{{sfn |Fouracre |2005 |pages=346–350}}

Reccared's son Liuva II became king in 601 but was deposed by the Visigothic noble [[Witteric]] (603–610), ending the short-lived dynasty. There were various Visigothic Kings between 610 and 631, and this period saw constant regicide. This period also saw the definitive conquest of the Byzantine territories in the south. War continued in the north against the Basques and [[Asturias|Asturians]], as indeed it would continue for the rest of the Visigothic Kingdom's existence. These Kings also worked on religious legislature, especially King [[Sisebut]] (612–621), who passed several harsh laws against Jews and forced many Jews to convert to Christianity. Sisebut was also successful against the Byzantines, taking several of their cities, including [[Málaga]]. The Byzantines were finally defeated by [[Suintila|Swinthila]] (621–631), who had captured all of their Spanish holdings by 625. Suinthila was deposed by the Franks and replaced by [[Sisinand]].{{sfn |Fouracre |2005 |pages=350–353}}

{{Multiple image
| direction         = horizontal
| image1            = Hispania 586 AD.PNG
| caption1          = Map showing the conquests of Leovigild, c. 586
| caption2          = Visigothic Hispania and its regional divisions from 625 to 711, prior to the Muslim conquest
| image2            = Hispania 700 AD.PNG
| width2            = 160
| width1            = 160
}}

The instability of this period can be attributed to the power struggle between the kings and the nobility. Religious unification strengthened the political power of the church, which it exercised through church councils at Toledo along with the nobles. The fourth council, held during the brief reign of [[Sisinand]] in 633,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Crouch |first=Jace T. |date=1994 |title=Isidore of Seville and the Evolution of Kingship in Visigothic Spain |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41166876 |journal=Mediterranean Studies |volume=4 |pages=9–26 |jstor=41166876 |issn=1074-164X}}</ref> excommunicated and exiled the king, replacing him with [[Chintila]] (636–639). The church councils were now the most powerful institution in the Visigothic state; they took the role of regulating the process of succession to the kingship by election of the king by Gothic noble 'senators' and the church officials. They also decided to meet on a regular basis to discuss ecclesiastical and political matters affecting the Church. Finally, they decided the kings should die in peace, and declared their persons sacred, seeking to end the violence and regicides of the past. Despite all this, another coup took place and Chintila was deposed in 639, and King Tulga took his place; he was also deposed in the third year of his reign and the council elected the noble [[Chindasuinth|Chindaswinth]] as king.

[[File:Chindasuinth.jpg|thumb|King Chindaswinth from the [[Codex Vigilanus|Códex Albedense.]]|left]]
The reigns of [[Chindasuinth|Chindaswinth]] and his son [[Recceswinth]] saw the compilation of the most important Visigothic law book, the {{lang|la|[[Liber Iudiciorum]]}} ([[Spanish language|Spanish]]: {{lang|es|Fuero Juzgo}}, [[English language|English]]: Book of Judgements), also called {{lang|la|Lex Visigothorum}} or the [[Visigothic Code]] promulgated by king [[Chindasuinth|Chindaswinth]] (642–653 AD) and completed in 654 by his son, king [[Recceswinth]] (649–672), abolished the old tradition of having different laws for Hispano-Romans and Visigoths. The new laws applied to both Gothic and Hispano-Roman populations who had been under different laws in the past, and it replaced all older codes of law.<ref>{{cite book|last1=O'Callaghan|first1=Joseph|title=A History of Medieval Spain|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofmedieva00ocal|url-access=limited|date=1975|publisher=Cornell University Press|location=Ithaca, New York|isbn=9780801492648|pages=48–49}}</ref> The code included old laws by past kings, such as Alaric II in his {{lang|la|Breviarium Alarici}}, and Leovigild, but many were also new laws. The code was based almost wholly on Roman law, with some influence of Germanic law in rare cases. Among the eliminated old laws were the harsh laws against Jews. The {{lang|la|Liber}} showed the old system of military and civil divisions in administration was changing, and dukes ({{lang|la|duces provinciae}}) and counts ({{lang|la|comites civitatis}}) had begun taking more responsibilities outside their original military and civil duties. The servants or slaves of the king became very prominent in the bureaucracy and exercised wide administrative powers. With the Visigoth law codes, women could inherit land and title and manage it independently from their husbands or male relations, dispose of their property in legal wills if they had no heirs, and could represent themselves and bear witness in court by age 14 and arrange for their own marriages by age 20. Chindaswinth (642–653) strengthened the monarchy at the expense of the nobility; he executed some 700 nobles, forced dignitaries to swear oaths, and in the seventh council of Toledo laid down his right to excommunicate clergy who acted against the government. He was also able to maneuver his son [[Recceswinth]] on the throne, sparking a rebellion by a Gothic noble who allied with the Basques, but was put down. Recceswinth (653–672) held another council of Toledo, which reduced sentences for treason and affirmed the power of the councils to elect kings.{{sfn |Fouracre |2005 |pages=356-360}}

Following Recceswinth, King [[Wamba (king)|Wamba]] (672–680) was elected king. He had to deal with [[Flavius Paulus]]' revolts in Tarraconensis and [[Hilderic of Nimes]], and because of this, he felt a need to reform the army. He passed a law declaring all dukes, counts and other military leaders, as well as bishops, had to come to the aid of the kingdom once danger became known or risk harsh punishment. Wamba was eventually deposed in a bloodless coup. King Ervig (680–687) held further church councils and repealed the previous harsh laws of Wamba, though he still made provisions for the army. Ervig had his son-in-law Egica made king. Despite a rebellion by the bishop of Toledo, the 16th council, held in 693, denounced the bishop's revolt. The 17th council in 694 passed harsh laws against the Jews, citing a conspiracy, and many were enslaved, especially those who had converted from Christianity. Egica also raised his son [[Wittiza]] as coruler in 698. Not much is known about his reign, but a period of civil war quickly ensued between his sons (Achila and Ardo) and King Roderic, who had seized Toledo.{{sfn |Fouracre |2005 |pages=360-369}}

===Muslim conquest===
{{main|Umayyad conquest of Hispania|}}
[[File:King Roderich, Qusayr Amra.jpg|thumb|upright=0.4|Copy of a mural from [[Qusayr Amra]], depicting king Roderic]]
In 711, Tariq ibn Ziyad, a Muslim [[Berber people|Berber]] client of [[Musa bin Nusair]], the governor of Islamic Africa, invaded Spain with about 7,000 Berber men, while [[Roderic]] was in the north fighting the [[Basques]]. The tale that [[Julian, Count of Ceuta]], facilitated the invasion because one of his daughters had been dishonored by Roderic is possibly mythical. By late July, a battle took place at the [[Guadalete River]] in the province of [[Cádiz]]. Roderic was betrayed by his troops, who sided with his enemies, and the king was killed in battle. The Muslims then took much of southern Spain with little resistance and went on to capture Toledo, where they executed several Visigothic nobles. In 712, Musa, the governor of [[Ifriqiya]], arrived with another army of 18,000, with large Arab contingents. He took [[Mérida, Spain|Mérida]] in 713 and invaded the north, taking [[Saragossa]] and [[Kingdom of León|León]], which were still under King Ardo, in 714. After being recalled by the [[Caliph]], Musa left his son Abd al-'Aziz in command. By 716, most of the Iberian Peninsula was under Islamic rule, with [[Septimania]] taken between 721 and 725. The only effective resistance was in Asturias, where a Visigothic nobleman named Pelagius revolted in 718, and defeated the Muslims at the [[battle of Covadonga]]; this was the beginning of the [[Reconquista]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ring |first1=Trudy |first2=Robert M. |last2=Salkin |first3=Sharon |last3=La Boda |title=International Dictionary of Historic Places: Southern Europe|publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers |year=1995 |page=170}}</ref>

According to Joseph F. O'Callaghan, the remnants of the Hispano-Gothic aristocracy still played an important role in the society of Hispania. At the end of Visigothic rule, the assimilation of Hispano-Romans and Visigoths was occurring at a fast pace. Their nobility had begun to think of themselves as constituting one people, the {{lang|la|gens Gothorum}} or the {{lang|la|Hispani}}. An unknown number of them fled and took refuge in Asturias or Septimania. In Asturias, they supported Pelagius's uprising, and joining with the indigenous leaders, formed a new aristocracy. The population of the mountain region consisted of native [[Astures]], [[Galicians]], [[Cantabri]], [[Basques]] and other groups unassimilated into Hispano-Gothic society.<ref name="O'Callaghan2013">{{Cite book |first=Joseph F. |last=O'Callaghan |title=A History of Medieval Spain |date=15 April 2013 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-6872-8 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=cq2dDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA176 176]}}</ref>

Resistance also continued in the regions around the [[Pyrenees]] with the establishment of the [[Marca Hispanica]] from 760 to 785 by the [[Frankish Empire]]. The [[Berber people|Berbers]] settled in the south and the [[Meseta Central]] in [[Castile (historical region)|Castile]]. Initially, the Muslims generally left the Christians alone to practise their religion, although non-Muslims were subject to Islamic law and treated as second-class citizens.{{sfn |Fouracre |2005 |pages=369-370}}<ref>{{cite book |title=The New Cambridge Medieval History |volume=II: c. 700&nbsp;– c. 900 |pages=256–258, 275–276}}</ref>

==Settlements==
Visigothic settlements were concentrated along the [[Garonne]] River between [[Bordeaux]] and [[Toulouse]] in [[Aquitaine]] during the 5th century, according to contemporary sources under the terms of the late Roman Empire as {{lang|la|foederatii}}, or allies, and assigned billeting obligations to provide lodging for Roman soldiers, more or less as the imperial military had done in other provinces.

Later in the century, following annexations made by King [[Euric]] in Gaul and Hispania once the Roman Empire of the West had collapsed, specially after the [[Battle of Vouille]], many Goths and their federated peoples, such as the [[Vandals]], [[Ostrogoths]] and [[Sarmatians]], moved to settle more freely under their kindred clans' rulers, the [[reiks]], who received dukedom territories or comital offices as counts over smaller territories or key urban locations within the provinces of Hispania and in southwestern Gaul and its Mediterranean coast. Their settlements were made around the Roman cities of {{lang|la|Emerita Augusta}} (Mérida), {{lang|la|Barcino}} (Barcelona), {{lang|la|Hispalis}} (Seville), {{lang|la|Toletum}} (Toledo) and [[Septimania]]n Narbonne, which would be the main bases of Gothic power politically as well as militarily during the rest of the kingdom's history, as well as other settlements that were dispersed in rural farming areas between the upper reaches of the [[Douro]], [[Ebro]] and [[Tagus]] rivers, in an area between [[Tierra de Campos]], also known as {{lang|la|Campi Gothorum}}, around Central [[Castile and León]] and [[La Rioja (Spain)|Rioja]], and Toledo to the east and south. After the fall of the [[Kingdom of the Suebi|Galician Kingdom of the Suebi]], some further settlements were made along the [[Tagus]] river north of [[Lisbon]], by [[Porto]] and [[Astorga, Spain|Astorga]] former strongholds of the [[Suebi]]. Little Visigothic settlement occurred elsewhere in the kingdom.<ref>{{cite book|title=World and Its Peoples: Europe |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-7614-7883-6 |page=60}}</ref>

==Founding of cities==
[[File:Wisig Quintanilla de las Vignas b.jpg|thumb|[[Hermitage of Santa María de Lara|Church of Santa Maria de Lara]], most likely built just before the Muslim invasion]]
The Visigoths founded the only new cities in Western Europe between the fifth and eighth centuries. It is certain (through contemporary Spanish accounts) that they founded four, and a possible fifth city is ascribed to them by a later Arabic source. All of these cities were founded for military purposes and three of them in celebration of victory.

[[File:Reccared I Conversión, by Muñoz Degrain, Senate Palace, Madrid.jpg|thumb|Conversion of [[Reccared]] to [[Chalcedonian Christianity]], painted by [[Muñoz Degrain]]. Senate Palace Spain.|left]]
The first, [[Reccopolis]], was founded by Liuvigild in 578 after his victory over the Franks, near what is today the tiny village of [[Zorita de los Canes]]. He named it after his son Reccared and built it with Byzantine imitations, containing a palace complex and mint, but it lay in ruins by the 9th century (after the [[Arab]] conquest).

At a slightly later date, Liuvigild founded a city he named ''Victoriacum'' after his victory over the Basques.<ref name="Thompson">Thompson, "The Barbarian Kingdoms in Gaul and Spain".</ref> Though it is often supposed to survive as the city of [[Vitoria, Spain|Vitoria]], contemporary 12th-century sources refer to the latter city's foundation by [[Sancho VI of Navarre]].

Liuvigild's son and namesake of the first Visigothic city founded his own sometime around 600. It is referred to by [[Isidore of Seville]] as {{lang|la|Lugo id est Luceo}} in the [[Asturias]], built after a victory over the Asturians or [[Cantabri]].<ref name="Thompson"/>

The fourth and possibly final city of the Goths was ''Ologicus'' (perhaps ''Ologitis''), founded using Basque labour in 621 by [[Suintila|Swinthila]] as a fortification against the recently subjected Basques. It is to be identified with modern [[Olite]].<ref name="Thompson"/>

The possible fifth Visigothic foundation is ''Baiyara'' (perhaps modern [[Montoro]]), mentioned as founded by Reccared in the ''Geography'' of [[Kitab al-Rawd al-Mitar]].<ref>Lacarra, "Panorama de la historia urbana en la Península Ibérica desde el siglo V al X", ''La città nell'alto medioevo'', '''6''' (1958:319–358), in ''Estudios de alta edad media española'', p. 48.</ref>

==Culture and classical heritage==
[[File:Couronne Wisigoth.jpg|upright=0.5|thumb|Elaborate [[votive crown]] of king [[Recceswinth]], part of the [[Treasure of Guarrazar]]. Spain]]
The Visigothic rule has often been misattributed to be a part of the so-called [[Dark Ages (historiography)|Dark Ages]], a time of supposedly cultural and scientific decay. Through the course of their existence the Visigoths supposedly remained "men of the woods never strayed too far from there," as [[Thomas F. Glick]] puts it.{{sfn|Fernández-Morera|2016|pp=57–59}}

[[File:Recopolis - Basilica (Exterior).jpg|left|thumb|220x220px|Remains of the basilica of [[Reccopolis]]. Spain]] However, in fact, the Visigoths were preservers of the classical culture.{{sfn|Fernández-Morera|2016|p=238}} The bathing culture of Andalusia, for example, often said to be a Muslim invention, is a direct continuation of Romano-Visigothic traditions. Visigothic [[Mérida, Spain|Mérida]] housed baths supplied with water by [[Roman aqueduct|aqueduct]]s, and such aqueducts are also attested in [[Cordoba (Spain)|Cordoba]], [[Cadiz]] and Recopolis. Excavations confirm that Recopolis and Toledo, the Visigothic capital, were heavily influenced by the contemporary Byzantine architecture.{{sfn|Fernández-Morera|2016|pp=68–70}} When the Muslims looted Spain during their conquest they were amazed by the fine and innumerable Visigothic treasures.{{sfn|Fernández-Morera|pp=60–64|2016}} A few of these treasures were preserved as they were buried during the Muslim invasions&nbsp;– e.g., the [[votive crown]]s from the [[treasure of Guarrazar]].{{sfn|Fernández-Morera|p=41, note 94|2016}}

Only the senior monks were allowed to read books of non-Christian or heretic authors.{{sfn|Kampers|2008|p=321}} This did not stop the rise of intellectuals such as [[Isidore of Seville]], one of the most quoted scholars of the Middle Ages. He was known for the breadth of his literary output, highlighted by his ''[[Etymologiae|Etymologies]]'', an encyclopedia of the knowledge of the epoch that was known and translated throughout medieval Europe. [[Eugenius I of Toledo]] was both theologian and poet, expert in [[mathematics]] and [[astronomy]]; [[Theodulf of Orléans]], theologian and poet, after he had fled to the Frankish kingdom, participated in the [[Carolingian Renaissance]].{{sfn|Fernández-Morera|2016|pp=68–69}} A Muslim source referred to Visigothic [[Seville]] as the "abode of the sciences".{{sfn|Fernández-Morera|2016|p=70}} The {{lang|la|Institutionum disciplinae}} from the mid seventh/early eight century confirms that Visigothic nobles were not only taught in reading and writing but also in science, medicine, law and philosophy.{{sfn|Kampers|2008|p=322}} An example of a highly educated nobleman was king [[Sisebut]], who was a patron of learning and writer of poems, one of them about astronomy.{{sfn|Fear|1997|loc=XXII-XXIII}}
<!--https://www.academia.edu/17372356/THE_TREASURE_OF_GUARRAZAR_TRACING_THE_GOLD_SUPPLIES_IN_THE_VISIGOTHIC_IBERIAN_PENINSULA_
==Military==
[[File:Coin of Wamba.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Coin of king Wamba, showing him wearing a Spangenhelmet]]

===Organization===
The army of the Visigoths was essentially [[feudalism|feudal]] in character.{{sfn|King|1972|p=62}}{{sfn|McCormick|1986|p=315}} Similar to the other Germanic kingdoms, the head of the army was the king, who was assisted by the dux exercitus and comes exercitus.{{sfn|Vázquez|2011|p=53}} The bodyguards of the king were known as the Spatharii ("sword bearers"), a Germanic institution which also [[Spatharios|found its way into Byzantium]].{{sfn|Maier|2005|pp=159-160}} The Spatharii were formed by noblemen and were onehundred men strong.{{sfn|Vázquez|2011|p=53–54}} Eventually they were commanded by the {{lang|la|comes spatharium}},{{sfn|Kampers|2008|p=241}} albeit it is also possible that this was just an honorary title.{{sfn|Maier|2005|pp=160}} While in the field the king was consulted by the {{lang|la|maiores palatii}}. Immediately below him stood the {{lang|la|dux exercitus Spaniae}}.{{sfn|Kampers|2008|p=267}} {{lang|la|Duces}}, {{lang|la|comites}}, {{lang|la|fidelis (regis)}}, {{lang|la|Spatarii}}. {{lang|la|Gardingi}} were also {{lang|la|fidelis regis}} pp. 246–247 Kampers Spatarii comes spatarium 241 Die Goten: von den Anfängen bis zur Mitte des sechsten Jahrhunderts, p. 244: Gardingi similar to domestici. Those who were summoned were also obliged to arm and bring 10% of their slaves, a phenomen unique in post-Roman Europe. It is not clear if these slave soldiers actually fought in open battles or were just employed to guard the baggages, though the latter is more likely.{{sfn|Halsall|2003|p=61}}
Eternal victory p. 315 protofeudal army
Law and Society in the Visigothic Kingdom pp. 72–75
Amtsträger und Herrscher in der Romania Gothica: vergleichende Maier 2005

===Equipment===
Helmets were only worn by the kings and nobility. Visigothic coins attest two types of helmets. First there were [[Spangenhelm]]ets, the most popular type. They are attested on the coins of Leovigild, Chintasuinth, Recceswinth, Wamba, Egica and Wittiza. They were the most common helmet type of the early Middle Ages and remained in use even after the fall of the Visigothic kingdom. The second type appears on a few coins of Ervig, Egica and possibly Leovigild. It seems to be very similar to the Nordic [[Vendel Period|Vendel helmets]]. On one coin the helmet is decorated with a bush of feathers.{{sfn|Reinhart|1951|pp=44–46}} Finally, an [[Umayyads|Umayyad]] [[Painting of the Six Kings|painting]] from [[Qusayr Amra]] depicts king Roderic wearing some type of helmet, but due to heavy damage only its top was recognizable.{{sfn|Drayson|2007|p=11}}-->

==List of kings{{anchor|Rulers}}==
===Terving kings===
These kings and leaders&nbsp;– with the exception of Fritigern and possibly Alavivus&nbsp;– were pagans.
* [[Ariaric]]
* [[Aoric]]
* [[Athanaric]] (369–381)
** [[Rothesteus]], sub-king
** [[Winguric]], sub-king
* [[Alavivus]] (c. 376), rebel against Valens
* [[Fritigern]] (c. 376–c. 380), rebel against Athanaric and Valens

===Balti dynasty===
These kings were [[Arians]] (followers of the theological teaching of [[Arius]]). They tended to succeed their fathers or close relatives on the throne and thus constitute a dynasty, the [[Balti dynasty|Balti]].
* [[Alaric I]] (395–410)
* [[Athaulf]] (410–415)
* [[Sigeric]] (415)
* [[Wallia]] (415–418)
* [[Theodoric I]] (418–451)
* [[Thorismund]] (451–453)
* [[Theodoric II]] (453–466)
* [[Euric]] (466–484)
* [[Alaric II]] (484–507)
* [[Gesalec]] (507–511)
** [[Theodoric the Great]] (511–526), regent
* [[Amalaric]] (511–531)

===Post-Balti kings===
The Visigothic monarchy took on a completely elective character with the fall of the Balti, but the monarchy remained Arian until Reccared I converted in 587 (Hermenegild had also converted earlier). Only a few sons succeeded their fathers to the throne in this period.
* [[Theudis]] (531–548)
* [[Theudigisel]] (548–549)
* [[Agila I]] (549–554)
* [[Athanagild]] (554–568)
* [[Liuva I]] (568–572), only ruled in Narbonensis from 569
* [[Liuvigild]] (569–586), ruled only south of the Pyrenees until 572
** [[Hermenegild]] (580–585), sub-king in Baetica
* [[Reccared I]] (580–601), son, sub-king in Narbonensis until 586, first Catholic king
** [[Segga]] (586–587), rebel
** [[Argimund]] (589–590), rebel
* [[Liuva II]] (601–603), son
* [[Witteric]] (603–610)
* [[Gundemar]] (610–612)
* [[Sisebut]] (612–621)
* [[Reccared II]] (621), son
* [[Suintila|Swinthila]] (621–631)
** [[Reccimer]] (626–631), son and associate
* [[Sisenand]] (631–636)
** [[Iudila]] (632–633), rebel
* [[Chintila]] (636–640)
* [[Tulga]] (640–641)[[File:Inscription de Narbonne.jpg|thumb|Funerary [[stele]] from [[Narbonne]] at the 7th-century beginning of the reign of Egica. The text begins with the Latin phrase {{lang|la|[[Rest in peace|requiescunt in pace]]}}. In various sources it is described as a "Christian inscription",<ref name="ECDS">{{cite web|url=http://db.edcs.eu/|title=EDCS-28300234|last1=Clauss|first1=Manfred|author-link=:de:Manfred Clauss|last2=Slaby|first2=Wolfgang A.|last3=Kolb|first3=Anne|author-link3=:de:Anne Kolb|last4=Woitas|first4=Barbara|work={{ill|Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss/Slaby|de|Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss-Slaby}}|publisher=[[Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt]]|language=de|oclc=435767433|id=EDCS-28300234 |access-date=2020-09-26|df=mdy-all}} (Click on search link and enter above EDCS-ID.)</ref> an "inscription relating to the Jews of France",<ref name="JE1906">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Broydé|first=Isaac Luria|author2=Executive Committee of the Editorial Board|display-authors=1|editor1-last=Funk|editor1-first=Isaac Kaufmann|editor1-link=Isaac K. Funk|editor2-last=Singer|editor2-first=Isidore|editor2-link=Isidore Singer|editor3-last=Vizetelly|editor3-first=Frank Horace|editor3-link=Frank Horace Vizetelly|encyclopedia=[[Jewish Encyclopedia|The Jewish Encyclopedia]]|title=France|hdl=2027/mdp.39015064245445?urlappend=%3Bseq=583|year=1906|publisher=[[Funk & Wagnalls|Funk and Wagnalls Company]]|volume=V|location=New York and London|oclc=61956716|page=445|df=mdy-all}}</ref> or as a Jewish inscription dated with the local calendar—the [[regnal year]] of Egica—rather than the [[Hebrew calendar]].<ref name="noms">{{cite book|last1=Fellous|first1=Sonia|author-link1=:fr:Sonia Fellous|date=2018-05-03|chapter=Les noms des juifs à Paris (XIIᵉ-XIVᵉ siècle)|url=https://books.openedition.org/pan/1018|editor1-last=Nadiras|editor1-first=Sébastien|title=Noms de lieux, noms de personnes: la question des sources|language=fr|doi=10.4000/books.pan.951|isbn=9791036512308|oclc=1193020908|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529105842/https://books.openedition.org/pan/1018|archive-date=2020-05-29|access-date=2020-09-26|df=mdy-all|quote=Mais la date du décès est calculée en fonction du calendrier local, ici celui du règne du roi [[Egica]], et non en fonction du calendrier juif comme au bas Moyen Âge.}}</ref>]]
* [[Chindasuinth|Chindaswinth]] (641–653)
* [[Recceswinth]] (649–672), son, initially co-king
** [[Froia]] (653), rebel
* [[Wamba, Visigothic king|Wamba]] (672–680)
** [[Hilderic of Nîmes|Hilderic]] (672), rebel
** [[Flavius Paulus|Paul]] (672–673), rebel
* [[Erwig]] (680–687)
* [[Egica]] (687–702)
** [[Suniefred]] (693), rebel
* [[Wittiza]] (694–710), son, initially co-king or sub-king in Gallaecia
* [[Roderic]] (710–711), only in Lusitania and Carthaginiensis
* [[Agila II]] (711–714), only in Tarraconensis and Narbonensis
** [[Oppas]] (712), perhaps in opposition to Roderic and Agila II
* [[Ardo]] (714–721), only in Narbonensis

==Family tree==
{{chart top|width=90%|Kings of the Visigoths family tree}}
{{tree chart/start|align=center|style=font-size:109%|summary=Kings of the Visigoths family tree}}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | Fr0 | | | | | | Th0 | | At0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | Fr0={{nowrap|[[Rothesteus]]<br /><small>Sub-king of<br />the Visigoths</small> }}| Th0={{nowrap|[[Theodosius I|Theodosius I<br /><small>the Great</small>]]<br /><small>Roman Emperor<br />347–'''379–395'''</small> }}| At0=<small>''?''</small><br />[[Athanaric]]<br /><small>?–381</small>}}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | |,|-|-|-|l| | | |,|-|-|-|b|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|.| | | | | | | | | }}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | Ar0 | |Al1  |y| Unc | | Ga1 |y|At1  | |Wa1  | | | | | | | | | Ar0={{nowrap|[[Atharid]] }}| Al1={{nowrap|[[Alaric I]]<br /><small>King of the<br />Visigoths<br />370/375–'''395–410'''</small> }}| boxstyle_Al1=border-width:2px| Unc=<small>''Unknown''</small>| Ga1={{nowrap|[[Galla Placidia]]<br /><small>388–450</small> }}| At1={{nowrap|[[Ataulf]]<br /><small>King of the<br />Visigoths<br />≈370–'''410–415'''</small> }}| boxstyle_At1=border-width:2px| Wa1={{nowrap|[[Wallia]]<br /><small>King of the<br />Visigoths</small><br /><small>≈385–'''415–418'''</small> }}| boxstyle_Wa1=border-width:2px}}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | |S|P|^|-|.| | | |,|-|'| | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | }}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | |Th2  |y| Unc | | To2 | | Re2 |~| Unc | | | | | | | | | Th2={{nowrap|[[Theodoric I]]<br /><small>King of the<br />Visigoths<br />≈393–'''418–451'''</small> }}| boxstyle_Th2=border-width:2px| Unc=<small>''Unknown''</small>| To2=Theodosius<br /><small>414–415</small>| Re2={{nowrap|[[Rechila]]<br /><small>[[Suebi|Suevic]]<br />King of Galicia<br />?–'''438–448'''</small> }}}}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | |,|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.| | | | | | | | | }}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | |To3  | |Th3  | | Fr3 | |Eu3  |y| Ra3 | | Re3 | | Hi3 | |Tg3  | | | | | To3={{nowrap|[[Thorismund]]<br /><small>King of the<br />Visigoths<br />≈420–'''451–453'''</small> }}| boxstyle_To3=border-width:2px| Th3={{nowrap|[[Theodoric II]]<br /><small>King of the<br />Visigoths<br />≈426–'''453–466'''</small> }}| boxstyle_Th3=border-width:2px| Fr3=Frederic <br /><small>?–466</small>| Eu3={{nowrap|[[Euric]]<br /><small>King of the<br />Visigoths<br />415–'''466–484'''</small> }}| boxstyle_Eu3=border-width:2px| Ra3=Ragnachildis| Re3=Retimer| Hi3=Himnerith| Tg3=[[Theodoric the Great|Theodoric<br /><small>the Great</small>]]<br /><small>K. of Ostrogoths<br />454–'''475–526'''<br />Regent<br />r.'''511–526'''</small>| boxstyle_Tg3=border-width:2px}}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | |,|-|^|-|.| | | |,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|'| | | | | }}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | Fr4 |~| Unc | | Od4 |~| Ev4 | |Al4  |y| Th4 | | CL4 | | | | | | | | | Fr4={{nowrap|[[Remismund]]<br /><small>[[Kingdom of Galicia|King of <br />the Suevi]]<br />?–'''464–469'''</small> }}| Unc=<small>''Unknown''</small>| Od4=[[Odoacer]]<br /><small>King of Italy<br />433–'''476–493'''</small>| Ev4=Evochilde<br /><small>446–?</small>| Al4={{nowrap|[[Alaric II]]<br /><small>King of the <br />Visigoths<br />≈458/466–'''484–507'''</small>}}| boxstyle_Al4=border-width:2px| Th4=Theodegotha<br /><small>476?–524</small>| CL4={{nowrap|[[Clovis I]]<br /><small>King of the Franks<br />466'''–509–511'''–511</small>}}}}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |,|-|-|-|'| |!| |,|-|-|-|^|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.| }}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | |,|-|^|-|b|-|-|-|.| | | |!| | | |!| }}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Ge5  | |Am5  |~| Cl5 | | Eu4 |~| Te4 | | Cl2 | Ge5={{nowrap|[[Gesalec]]<br /><small>King of the<br />Visigoths<br />?–'''507–511'''–513</small>}}| boxstyle_Ge5=border-width:2px| Am5={{nowrap|[[Amalaric]]<br /><small>King of the <br />Visigoths<br />502–'''511–531'''</small>}}| boxstyle_Am5=border-width:2px| Cl5=[[Clotilde (died 531)|Clotilde]]<br /><small>≈500–531</small>| Eu4=Eustere<br /><small>494?–521</small>| Te4={{nowrap|[[Theuderic I]]<br /><small>King of Metz<br />485–'''511–533/4'''</small>}}| Cl2={{nowrap|[[Chlothar I]]<br /><small>King of<br />the Franks<br />497–'''558–561'''</small>}}}}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| }}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | |,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| }}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | |Lu6  | | Th7 |y|Li6  |~| Go6 |y|At6  | | |,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|(| | Lu6={{nowrap|[[Liuva I]]<br /><small>King of the<br />Visigoths<br />?-'''568–571/2'''</small>}}| boxstyle_Lu6=border-width:2px| Th7=Theodosia| Li6={{nowrap|[[Liuvigild]]<br /><small>King of the<br />Visigoths<br />≈519–'''568–586'''</small>}}| boxstyle_Li6=border-width:2px| Go6=[[Goiswintha]]| At6={{nowrap|[[Athanagild]]<br /><small>King of the<br />Visigoths<br />≈517–'''554–567'''</small>}}| boxstyle_At6=border-width:2px}}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | |,|-|-|-|-|-|^|-|-|-|-|-|.| |`|-|v|-|-|-|b|-|-|-|.| | | |!| }}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | Ga7 |~| Cp7 |F| Br7 |y| Si7 | Ga7={{nowrap|[[Galswintha]]<br /><small>540–568</small>}}| Cp7={{nowrap|[[Chilperic I]]<br /><small>King of Neustria<br />c.539–'''561–584'''</small>}}| Br7={{nowrap|[[Brunhilda of Austrasia|Brunhilda]]<br /><small>of [[Austrasia]]<br />c.543–613</small>}}| Si7={{nowrap|[[Sigebert I]]<br /><small>King of [[Austrasia]]<br />c.535–'''561–c.575'''</small>}}}}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | |!| | | |,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|b|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|b|-|a|-|-|-|'| | | }}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | Ba8 |y|Re8  |y| Ch8 | | | | | | He7 |y| In7 | | Me8 |J| | | | | | | | Ba8=Baddo| Re8={{nowrap|[[Reccared I]]<br /><small>King of the<br />Visigoths<br />559–'''586–601'''</small>}}| boxstyle_Re8=border-width:2px| Ch8=Chlodosind<br /><small>569-?</small>| He7={{nowrap|[[Hermenegild]]<br /><small>?–585</small>}}| In7={{nowrap|[[Ingund (wife of Hermenegild)|Ingund]]<br /><small>568/567–585</small>}}| Me8=Merovech}}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | |,|-|'| |!| |`|-|-|-|-|-|.| | | | | |`|-|.| | | | | | | | | | | | | }}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | |Li9  | | Unc |y|Si9  | | |!| | | | | | | At9 | |Wi9  | | | | | | | | | Li9={{nowrap|[[Liuva II]]<br /><small>King of the <br />Visigoths<br />584–'''601–603'''</small>}}| boxstyle_Li9=border-width:2px| Unc=<small>''Unknown''</small>| Si9={{nowrap|[[Sisebut]]<br /><small>King of the<br /> Visigoths<br />565–'''612–621'''</small>}}| boxstyle_Si9=border-width:2px| At9=Atanagildo<br /><small>≈583–?</small>| Wi9={{nowrap|[[Witteric]]<br /><small>King of the<br />Visigoths<br />≈565–'''603–610'''</small>}}| boxstyle_Wi9=border-width:2px}}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | |,|-|'| |!| | | |)|-|-|-|.| | | |!| | | |!| | | | | | | | | }}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | |Re9  | | Te9 |y|Su9  | | Gl9 | | |!| | | Er9 |~| Th9 | | | | | Re9={{nowrap|[[Reccared II]]<br /><small>King of the<br /> Visigoths<br />?–'''621'''</small>}}| boxstyle_Re9=border-width:2px| Te9=Theodora<br /><small>≈590–?</small>| Su9={{nowrap|[[Suintila]]<br /><small>King of the<br />Visigoths<br />≈588–'''621–<br />631'''–633/635</small>}}| boxstyle_Su9=border-width:2px| Gl9=Geila| Er9=Ermenberga<br /><small>≈590–?</small>| Th9={{nowrap|[[Theuderic II]]<br /><small>King of Burgundy<br />587–'''595–613'''</small>}}}}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | |,|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|b|-|.| | | | | | | | | | | }}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | |Ch10 | |Si10 | |Ri10 | |Cd10 |y|Re10 | | |!| |!| | | | | | | | | | | | Ch10={{nowrap|[[Chintila]]<br /><small>King of the<br />Visigoths<br />≈606–'''636–640'''</small>}}| boxstyle_Ch10=border-width:2px| Si10={{nowrap|[[Sisenand]]<small><br />King of the <br />Visigoths<br />605–'''631–636'''</small>}}| boxstyle_Si10=border-width:2px| Ri10=Ricimer<br /><small>≈610–631</small>| Cd10={{nowrap|[[Chindasuinth]]<br /><small>King of the<br />Visigoths<br />563–'''641–653'''</small>}}| boxstyle_Cd10=border-width:2px| Re10=Recciberga}}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | |!| | | |,|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|.| | | |!| |!| | | | | | | | | | | }}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | |!| | | |!| | | |!| | | |!| | |NA   | |NA   |!| | | | | | | | | | | | NA=<small>''?''</small>| boxstyle_NA=border-width:0px}}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | |Tu10 | |Rc10 | |Th10 | |Fa10 | |Ga10 |y|Ad10 |!| | | | | | | | | | | | Tu10={{nowrap|[[Tulga]]<br /><small>King of the <br />Visigoths<br />?-'''640–641'''–?</small>}}| boxstyle_Tu10=border-width:2px| Rc10={{nowrap| [[Recceswinth]]<br /><small>King of the<br /> Visigoths<br />?–'''649–672'''</small>}}| boxstyle_Rc10=border-width:2px| Th10=Theodofred<br />Duke of<br /> Cordoba| Fa10=Favila<br /><small>Duke of Cantabria<br />≈684–701</small>| Ga10=Gada| Ad10=Ardabasto}}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | |NA   | | | | | |NA   | |NA   | | | | |!| | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | NA=<small>''?''</small>| boxstyle_NA=border-width:0px}}
{{tree chart|border=1| |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|.| | | |!| | | |!| | | |,|-|'| |,|-|'| | | | | | | | | | | }}
{{tree chart|border=1|Gi10 | |Ar10 | |Wa10 | |Ro10 | |Pe10 | |Er10 |y|Li10 | | | | | | | | | | | | | Gi10=''?''<br />Giscila| Ar10=Ariberga| Wa10={{nowrap|[[Wamba (king)|Wamba]]<br /><small>King of the<br />Visigoths<br />≈643–'''672–<br />680'''–687/688</small>}}| boxstyle_Wa10=border-width:2px| Ro10={{nowrap|[[Roderic]]<br /><small>King of the<br /> Visigoths<br />?–'''710–712'''</small>}}| boxstyle_Ro10=border-width:2px| Pe10={{nowrap|[[Pelagius of Asturias|Pelagius]]<br /><small>King of Asturias<br />685–'''718–737'''</small>}}| Er10={{nowrap|[[Erwig]]<br /><small>King of the<br /> Visigoths<br />''aft.''642–'''680–687'''</small>}}| boxstyle_Er10=border-width:2px| Li10=Liuvigoto<br /><small>620–?</small>}}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | |,|-|^|-|.| | | | | | | | | | | | | }}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | |KoA  | | |!| | |NA   | | | | | | | | | | | | | KoA={{nowrap|[[List of Asturian monarchs|Kings of the]]<br />Kingdom of<br />[[Kingdom of Asturias|Asturias]]}}| boxstyle_KoA=border-width:0px; vertical-align:top| NA=<small>''?''</small>| boxstyle_NA=border-width:0px}}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | |Eg10 |~|~|~|~|~|~|y|~|~|~|~|~|~|Ci11 | |Pe11 | | | | | | | | | | | | | Eg10={{nowrap|[[Egica]]<br /><small>King of the<br />Visigoths<br />610–687–'''701/703'''</small>}}| boxstyle_Eg10=border-width:2px| Ci11=Cixilo| Pe11={{nowrap|[[Peter of Cantabria|Peter]]<br /><small>Duke of <br />Cantabria<br />?–730</small>}}}}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|.| | | |,|-|-|-|(| | | | | | | | | | | | | }}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | |Wi11 | |Op11 | |Si11 | |Al11 | |Fr11 | | | | | | | | | | | | | Wi11=[[Wittiza]]<br /><small>King of the<br />Visigoths<br />≈687–'''694–710'''?</small>| boxstyle_Wi11=border-width:2px| Op11=[[Oppas]]<br /><small>Bishop of Seville<br />?–712</small>| Si11=Sisebuto| Al11={{nowrap|[[Alfonso I of Asturias|Alfonso I]]<br /><small>King of Asturias<br />≈693–'''739–757'''</small>}}| Fr11={{nowrap|[[Fruela of Cantabria|Fruela]]<br /><small>of Cantabria<br />?–758</small>}}}}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | }}
{{tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | |Ac12 | | | | | | | | | |KoA  | |KoA  | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ac12=<small>''?''</small><br />[[Achila II]]<br /><small>King of the<br />Visigoths<br />?–711–714?</small>| boxstyle_Ac12=border-width:2px| KoA={{nowrap|[[List of Asturian monarchs|Kings of the]]<br />Kingdom of<br />[[Kingdom of Asturias|Asturias]]}}| boxstyle_KoA=border-width:0px; vertical-align:top}}
{{tree chart/end}}
{{chart bottom}}{{The monarchs of the Iberian Peninsula}}

{{clear}}

==See also==
* [[List of Spanish words of Germanic origin#Surnames|Spanish surnames of Goth origin]]
* [[Romano-Germanic culture]]
* For evidence of Visigothic taxation, see ''[[De fisco Barcinonensi]]''
* [[Councils of Toledo]]
* [[Germanic peoples]]
* [[Barbarian kingdoms|Barbarian Kingdoms]]
* [[Visigothic script]]
* [[Arianism]]
* [[Protofeudalism]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
* [[Bernard Bachrach|Bachrach, Bernard S.]] "A Reassessment of Visigothic Jewish Policy, 589–711." ''American Historical Review'' 78, no. 1 (1973): 11–34.
* Collins, Roger. ''The Arab Conquest of Spain, 710–797''. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1989. Reprinted 1998.
* Collins, Roger. ''Law, Culture, and Regionalism in Early Medieval Spain''. Great Yarmouth: Variorum, 1992. {{ISBN|0-86078-308-1}}.
* Collins, Roger. ''Visigothic Spain, 409–711''. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2004. {{ISBN|0-631-18185-7}}.
* {{cite book |last1=DeHondt |first1=Justin |title=The Visigothic Kingdom of Toulouse: Conflict and Cooperation with the Roman Empire |date=2012 |publisher=Albion College |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2OF9MwEACAAJ |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |last=Drayson |first=Elizabeth |title=The King and the Whore. King Roderick and La Cava |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2007 |isbn=9781403974365}}
* {{Cite book |title=The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume 1 c.500-c.700 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-521-36291-7 |editor-last=Fouracre |editor-first=Paul |url=https://archive.org/details/the-new-cambridge-medieval-history-vol.-2_202012/The%20New%20Cambridge%20Medieval%20History%2C%20Vol.%201/ }}
* {{Cite book |last=Halsall |first=Guy |title=Warfare and Society in the Barbarian West, 450–900 |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=0415239400}}
* [[Peter Heather|Heather, Peter]]. ''The Goths''. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1996.
* [[Edward James (historian)|James, Edward]], ed. ''Visigothic Spain: New Approaches''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980. {{ISBN|0-19-822543-1}}.
* {{Cite book |last=Fernández-Morera |first=Darío |title=The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise. Muslims, Christians and Jews under Islamic Rule in Medieval Spain |publisher=ISI Books |year=2016 |isbn=9781504034692}}
* {{cite book |last1=Fernández |first1=Damián |last2=Lester |first2=Molly |last3=Wood |first3=Jamie |title=Rome and Byzantium in the Visigothic Kingdom: Beyond Imitatio Imperii |date=2023 |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |isbn=978-94-6372-641-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U3t2zwEACAAJ |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |last=Fear |first=A. T. |url=https://archive.org/details/livesofvisigothi00fear |title=Lives of the Visigothic Fathers |publisher=Liverpool University |year=1997 |isbn=0853235821 |url-access=registration }}
* {{Cite book |last=Kampers |first=Gerd |title=Geschichte der Westgoten |publisher=Ferdinand Schöningh |year=2008 |isbn=9783506765178 |language=de}}
* Lacarra, José María. ''Estudios de alta edad media española''. Valencia: 1975.
* {{Cite encyclopedia |year=2018 |title=Theodoric I the Visigoth |encyclopedia=The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity |publisher=Oxford University Press |last=Barrett |first=Graham |editor-last=Nicholson |editor-first=Oliver |volume=II}}1475
* Martínez Jiménez, Javier; Isaac Sastre de Diego; Carlos Tejerizo García. (2018) ''The Iberian Peninsula between 300 and 850. An Archaeological Perspective''. Late Antique and Early Medieval Iberia 6. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. {{ISBN|9789089647771}}
* Sivan, Hagith. "On ''Foederati'', ''Hospitalitas'', and the Settlement of the Goths in A.D. 418." ''American Journal of Philology'' 108, no. 4 (1987): 759–772.
* {{Cite journal |last=Reinhart |first=Wilhelm |year=1951 |title=Germanische Helme in westgotischen Münzbildern |url=http://www.bngev.de/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/1950-1951-Band-II.pdf#page=45&zoom=125(0,0) |journal=Jahrbuch für Numismatik und Geldgeschichte |language=de |publisher=Richard Pflaum |pages=43–46 |access-date=2018-04-12 |archive-date=2020-07-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716063023/http://www.bngev.de/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/1950-1951-Band-II.pdf#page=45&zoom=125(0,0) |url-status=dead }}
* [[Edward Arthur Thompson|Thompson, E. A.]] "The Barbarian Kingdoms in Gaul and Spain", ''Nottingham Mediaeval Studies'', '''7''' (1963:4n11).
* [[Edward Arthur Thompson|Thompson, E. A.]] ''The Goths in Spain''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969.
* {{Cite book |title=A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2010 |editor-last=Tucker |editor-first=Spencer C. |volume=I}}
* {{Cite book |last=Vázquez |first=Federico Gallegos |title=Reflexiones sobre poder, guerra y religión en la Historia de España |year=2011 |isbn=978-84-615-2931-5 |editor-last=Leandro Martínez Peñas |pages=11–56 |chapter=El ejército visigodo: el primer ejército español |editor-last2=Manuela Fernández Rodríguez}}
* [[J. M. Wallace-Hadrill|Wallace-Hadrill, John Michael]]. ''The Barbarian West, 400–1000''. 3rd ed. London: Hutchison, 1967.
* {{Cite book |last=Wolfram |first=Herwig |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofgoths0000wolf/mode/1up |title=History of the Goths |date=1988 |others=Thomas J. Dunlop, translator |isbn=0-520-05259-5 |edition=Revised |publisher=University of California Press }}
{{refend}}{{Early Germanic Kingdoms |state=expanded}}
{{Spanish Kingdoms |state=expanded}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Visigothic Kingdom}}
[[Category:Visigothic Kingdom| ]]
[[Category:States and territories established in the 410s]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 8th century]]
[[Category:Former countries on the Iberian Peninsula]]
[[Category:Former monarchies of Europe]]
[[Category:Medieval history of France]]
[[Category:Medieval history of Portugal]]
[[Category:Medieval history of Spain]]
[[Category:History of Portugal by polity]]
[[Category:418 establishments]]
[[Category:5th-century establishments in sub-Roman Gaul]]
[[Category:721 disestablishments]]
[[Category:8th-century disestablishments in Portugal]]
[[Category:8th-century disestablishments in Spain]]
[[Category:Barbarian kingdoms]]
[[Category:Former kingdoms]]