Category
page 1Gepid kings
Ardaric
Ardaric (; c. 450 AD) was the king of the Gepids, a Germanic tribe closely related to the Goths.
== Etymology ==
The name Ardaricus is assumed to represent Germanic *Hardu-reiks; Schütte (1933) tentatively identified the Heiðrekr of Germanic legend with the historical Gepid king.
== Biography ==
He was "famed for his loyalty and wisdom," one of the most trusted adherents of Attila the Hun, who "prized him above all the other chieftains."
Ardaric is first mentioned by Jordanes as Attila's most prized vassal at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (451):
"The renowned king of the Gepidae, Arda
Cunimund
Cunimund (died 567) was the last king of the Gepids, falling in the Lombard–Gepid War (567) against the Lombards and Pannonian Avars.
Thurisind
Thurisind (Latin: Turisindus, died ) was king of the Gepids, an East Germanic Gothic people, from c. 548 to 560. He was the penultimate Gepid king, and succeeded King Elemund by staging a coup d'état and forcing the king's son into exile. Thurisind's kingdom, known as Gepidia, was located in Central Europe and had its centre in Sirmium, a former Roman city on the Sava River (now the town of Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia).
Fastida
Fastida was a king of the Gepidae of the 3rd century. His battle against the Visigoths resulted in defeat, and was chronicled in Getica by Jordanes. He is the first Gepidic king whose name survives.
Elemund
Elemund (Latin: Elemundus, died 548) was king of the Gepids, an east Germanic people, during the first half of the 6th century. He may have been the son of Gunderit, himself son of Ardaric ascended by overthrowing a rival Ardariking branch. Based on archaeological evidence, István Boná believes that in the 520s or 530s Elemund must have consolidated his power in Transylvania by submitting or removing minor Gepid rulers. Elemund had a son and daughter, Ostrogotha and Austrigusa, respectively; the latter was given in marriage to Wacho, the king of the Lombards, in 512. The reasons behind the mar