Agila I

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Agila I (also Achila, Akhila, Aquila, or Agil) was Visigothic King of Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula) (549–554). During his reign, in 551, a rival to the throne, Athanagild, arranged that Justinian I, the Eastern Roman emperor, should send a Roman force from Gaul to seize lands in southern Hispania, forming the province of Spania.

So in 554 Justinian's armies took Andalusia and Granada, leading to much rejoicing by the local people, who were mostly Hispano-Romans.

In Hispania at this time the Visigoths still hadn't won the hearts and minds of their supposed subjects. Indeed, in most respects, the Kingdom of the Visigoths consisted only of the Visigothic populace; the Hispano-Romans pledged their fealty to Imperial Rome. This was despite the weakness of Rome's power, particularly in the west.

During the conflict, King Agila was defeated and killed near Seville. Athanagild then became king of Visigothic Hispania.

[edit] Sources

This article does not cite any references or sources. (September 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Regnal titles
Preceded by Theudigisel	King of the Visigoths 549 – 554	Succeeded by Athanagild