In 489AD a new group of barbarians entered the ravaged and shattered land of Italy. Thirteen years ago the last Roman Emperor of the West had been deposed and the Western Empire lay in ruins, a plaything for the barbarian armies that fought and rampaged across it. Within four years their leader Theoderic stood over his dying predecessor sword in hand as he gasped his last words – ‘Where is God?’. There was little to suggest that 33 years later this man would have proved to be one of the greatest rulers Italy had ever had, a worthy heir to the Emperors he replaced. The Goth bestrode not simply Italy, but Spain, the Balkans and southern France.
Ross Laidlaw was born in Aberdeen and educated at Cambridge University. He has worked and travelled extensively in Southern Africa and currently lives in East Lothian.
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