Teias

Biography

The last king of the Ostrogoths, Teias took up the doomed cause after Totila's death at Taginae, gathering the remnants of his people for a final stand. With the reconquest all but complete, he led the surviving Goths to the slopes of Mons Lactarius near Vesuvius, where Narses blockaded them until hunger forced a desperate battle. In the two-day fight Teias reportedly fought in the front rank until, as he paused to exchange his shield heavy with spears, he was struck down and killed — his severed head raised on a pole to break the Goths' will. The survivors negotiated safe passage out of Italy, and with them the Ostrogothic kingdom, and the Gothic people themselves, passed out of history. Teias became a tragic hero of later Germanic legend.

Key Battles