Goti i južna Panonija
Goths and South Pannonia

Summary/Abstract: Gothic presence in Southpannonian provinces can be observed in three different periods of history: 1. 379/380-408; 2. 454/455-473; 3. 488/493-537. The first period was marked by initial raids, settlements and the state of unrest among members of the group comprised of three peoples: the Ostrogoths, the Alans and the Huns. The rebel Visigoth Federates also made their presence felt under Alaric’s leadership. Except in the earliest stages of the period, i.e. before the conclusion of the federate accord (380), Southpannonian provinces were not exposed to immediate danger of the federates themselves, who in fact had not been settled there in the first place (except perhaps in the part of Second Pannonia across the Drava river). However, their unreliability as the defensive line at the Danube border did instill a sense of insecurity in the life of the towns and villages. Neither did Alaric’s Goths, as far as we can tell, raid these areas, although the very appearance of an organized barbaric army must have been cause enough for fear on the part of the local population. After Ataulf joined with Alaric, they left Pannonia. This meant the disappearance of the last remnants of the Gothic component of the formerly unique tripartite group. The second period started with the appearance of Valamir’s Ostrogoths, who chose to settle over a larger portion of South Pannonia, and subsequently gained the permission from the Eastern Empire, i.e. from Emperor Marcian (455). The Ostrogoths established three separate settlements, one of which was directly governed by Valamir, occupying most of Second Pannonia and the Eastern fringes of Pannonia Savia. This whole period was fraught with incessant offensive or defensive wars waged by the Ostrogoths. On several occasions the area between the rivers Drava and Sava became the stage for different battles (against the Huns in 455 and 466, and perhaps against the Sciri in 468). Its western part was traversed by the Suavi under King Hunimundus en route to plunder (467). Sirmium served the Ostrogoths as the command point during their attempts to penetrate the Illyrian Prefecture (459, 473), i.e. in the battle against the Sarmatians (471). The constant threats of attack from the outside and the frequent Ostrogothic expeditions made the life of the local population impossible, which forced them to emigrate. Having exhausted all the immediately available resources of the region, the Ostrogoths left Pannonia (in 473). It seems that the period after their arrival should also take account of the planned settlement of a portion of the Suavi in Savia. Namely, they must have formed massive settlements in Savia, since at the beginning of the 6th century the province assumed a name reminiscent of the name of this people (Savia - Suavia = Suevia). The third period was marked by Theoderic’s attempts at bringing some order into Southpannonian provinces, i.e. to reinstitute the provincial administration which

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