Totila the Ostrogoth

Although the coins later minted during his reign as king of the Osgtrogoths name him Baduila, he has become known as Totila through the writings of men like Procopius. "Totila" was a diminutive name, made to make him sound less legitimate.In one sense he was illegitimate, since he was not slated to become king. His uncle, King Ildibad, was assassinated in 541 and succeeded by Eraric. Erratic, however, had been negotiating with the Byzantines to hand over control of the Gothic kingdom in exchange for money. When this became known, Pavia offered the throne to Totila. Totila helped plan the assassination of Eraric after only five months of his reign, and was made king himself.So Procopius and other writers of the empire labeled him a usurper, thereby legitimizing war against him, especially since under Eraric there was a chance for peace between Goths and Byzantines. Totila began a campaign of trying to drive out the Byzantines from Italy.One of the first encounters between the two…