Ostrogoth military history.

Though they spoke a Germanic language, the Ostrogoths were composed of many ethnic groups. Their main cohesion was supplied by the reigning Amal Dynasty as well as their identity as a military force. The Ostrogoths’ military strength was their cavalry, which they used in swift surprise attacks. The Ostrogoths had been subject peoples of the Huns in Pannonia, then in the 470’s emerged as a forceful power in the Balkans. Under the Amal king Theodoric, their foot soldiers and horsemen caused so much trouble that the Eastern Roman emperor Zeno convinced them to invade Italy and overthrow Odoacer. In Italy, Theodoric established a strong realm that allowed the Roman aristocracy some role in government. When Theodoric died, weak monarchs left the Ostrogoths open to a Roman reconquest. The Roman general Belisarius seemed about to conquer all when a new Ostrogoth leader, Totila, emerged. Under Totila’s leadership, the Ostrogoths defeated the Romans at Faenza and reconquered Rome in 546. However, Totila lost to the Romans under Narses at Taginae in 552. After Totila’s death, the last leader of the Ostrogoths, Teias, was weakened by the defection of his naval commander and subsequently lost to Narses at Mons Lactarius in 553.