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On 30 April 535, Ostrogothic queen Amara Sunza was assassinated in captivity. The Eastern Roman Empire then used the murder of Amara Sunza as an excuse to wage war against the Ostrogothic Kingdom and destroyed the Ostrogothic Kingdom. As the Ostrogothic regent who was deeply influenced by Roman culture, why didN't Romanize ostrogoths and be assassinated by conservative nobles?
First, born into the nobility
Amara Sunsha
Amala Sunsa was born in Ravenna, the capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom, in 495 as the daughter of Ostrogothic and Italian King Theodoric the Great. Therefore, Amarasonsa lived a carefree life since childhood, and received a good aristocratic education. Because Theodoric admired Roman culture, Amarasonsa was also deeply influenced by Roman culture and loved the Roman way of life.
Theodoric
In 515, under Theodoric's arrangement, Amara Sunsha married Utarić, who was also from a prominent background, and subsequently bore him a son and a daughter (Atalaric and Masse sunsha). Since Theodoric had no sons, his son-in-law, Utaric, became the presumptive heir to the Ostrogothic throne. However, Yutalic died in 522 before Theodoric, so he failed to become Ostrogothic king.
Second, as regent
Atalaric
Theodoric died in 526 and was succeeded by his grandson Attalarik as Ostrogothic king. Due to Atalarik's young age, his mother, Amara Sunsha, served as regent. As soon as Amarasonsa came to power, she immediately showed admiration and yearning for Roman culture, maintained good relations with the Eastern Roman Empire, appointed the former Western Roman nobles as high-ranking officials, and remained neutral in the conflict between the Ally Visigothic Kingdom and the Frankish Kingdom. At the same time, Amara Sunsha taught her son Atalalalik a Romanesque rather than a Gothic education.
Ostrogothic Kingdom
Amala Sunza's series of acts of promoting Roman culture drew opposition from the Conservative Ostrogothic nobility, who sought to overthrow Amara Sunza's rule and educate King Atalaric in Gothic so that he could restore Ostrogothic traditions. Amara Sunsha then discovered the plot of the conservative nobility, knew that her dominance was in jeopardy, and feared that they would exile or execute her, so she had to compromise with them and give the king to them for education. Amara Sunsa also contacted the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I to obtain the protection of Eastern Rome.
Justinian I
In 533, Amarasonsa formally negotiated with Justinian I (the content of the negotiations was unclear due to limited historical data). Amala Sunsha is said to have replaced the Eastern Roman Empress Theodora as the new empress of Justinian I, and then fled to Constantinople with 2.88 million pounds of gold. It is also said that Amara Sunsa would marry an Ostrogoth nobleman, depriving King Atalaric of his right to rule and his new husband ruling the Ostrogothic.
At that time, the Eastern Roman general Flavius Belisarius attacked the Vandal-Dalland kingdom in North Africa in order to regain the Roman homeland. Belisarius then destroyed the Vandal-Dharan kingdom and occupied all its lands. Previously, Amara Sunsha's aunt Amara Frida married the Vandal-Aran king Seresamon, bringing part of Sicily into the country as a dowry. Justinian I did not approve of this, and Amara Sunsa had no intention of returning this part of the land.
Third, embrace the cousin
Theodahard
Atalarik contracted alcoholism under the education of the conservative Ostrogothic nobility, which seriously damaged his body. On October 2, 534, Atalaric died of a sudden illness due to an overdose. In order to be able to continue to rule the Ostrogothic kingdom, Amara Sunsha chose to make her Cousin Theodahad (Nephew of Theodoric), the Duke of Tusha, who was deeply educated in Rome, become the Ostrogothic king and control the government behind the scenes, which could avoid the nobles' suspicions about the legitimate rule of women and maintain good relations with Eastern Rome.
Ostrogothic and Eastern Rome
Theodhad then married his cousin Amala Sunza and was crowned Ostrogothic king. However, the rule of the couple was not stable, which caused many Ostrogoths to oppose. Because the Ostrogothic conservative nobility was so hostile to Roman culture, Theodahard was soon forced to succumb to their strong pressure and imprisoned Amala Sunsha on suspicion of murdering her mother, Odofreda (the wife of Theodoric).
Fourth, he was assassinated
Gothic Wars
Justinian I was so angry at Amara Sunsha's imprisonment that he sent someone to accuse Theodahard. Theodhad thus forced Amala Sunsa to write a letter to Justinian I, saying that he was being treated well in captivity. On 30 April 535, at the behest of Theodahard or a conservative nobleman, Amala Sunza was assassinated by the Assassins in captivity. Justinian I was furious and used this as an excuse to wage a Gothic war against the Ostrogothic kingdom and destroy it.
In general, Amala Sunsa was a deeply Romanized Ostrogothic aristocratic woman who was eager to maintain friendly relations with Eastern Rome and promote Ostrogothic Romanization. However, the Ostrogothic conservative aristocracy was so powerful that it not only forced the king to imprison Amara Sunsha, but also assassinated her, so that the Ostrogoths not only failed to Romanize, but also perished by Eastern Rome.