Amalasuintha (495 – 30 April 534/535) was a ruler of Ostrogothic Kingdom from 526 to 535. She ruled first as regent for her son Athalaric and thereafter as queen. Amalasuintha was highly educated and was praised by both Cassiodorus, and Procopius for her wisdom and her ability to speak three languages, (Greek, Gothic, Latin). Family Amalasuintha was likely born in Ravenna in 495, the only child of Theodoric and his wife Audofleda, the sister of Clovis, King of the Franks. The union of Amalasuintha’s parents were of a political purpose, as many royal marriages were at the time. Theodoric married Audofleda about the year 493, after he had defeated the various Gothic kingdoms and sought an alliance with the Franks. Amalasuintha was born into the Amali dynasty on her father’s side, which dynasty comprised Goths of Germanic descent. Like her father, Amalasuintha was married out of political reasons to Eutheric, an Amali prince, to ensure a legitimate heir to the throne. They had two children together, Athalaric and Matasuntha. Eutheric died in 522, causing Theodoric some alarm, as his kingdom lacked an adult male heir to inherit the throne. As Amalasuintha's son Athalaric was only 10 years old at the time of Theodoric's death, Amalasuintha took control of the kingdom alongside her son as regent and, although accounts by Cassiodorus and Procopius refer to Athalaric as King, she effectively ruled on his behalf. Rule Regent After the death of her father in 526, Amalasuintha served alongside her son as a regent queen from 526 to 534, until Athalaric died from what was most likely the combination of excessive drinking, a part of Gothic culture, and the likelihood that he had diabetes. Although some sources refer to Athalaric as King, Amalasuintha ruled on his behalf, as a child of his age would be incapable of governing effectively. According to Procopius, the Goth aristocracy wanted Athalaric to be raised in the Gothic manner, but Amalasuintha wanted him to resemble the Roman princes. Amalasuintha had close ties to Justinian I, the emperor of the Byzantine Empire. Knowing how the Goth aristocrats viewed Amalasuintha’s Roman virtues and education, her ties to Justinian would have certainly made the nobles object to her rule even more. Before Athalaric grew up to the proper age, he became very ill. In order to secure the power in the Amali name, Amalasuintha created the consortium regni that allowed her