ths made
war and conquered the Romans, cut off the head of
Oppius Sabinus, and invaded and boldly plundered many
castles and cities belonging to the Emperor. In this plight 77
of his countrymen Domitian hastened with all his might
to Illyricum, bringing with him the troops of almost
the entire empire. He sent Fuscus before him as his
general with picked soldiers. Then joining boats together
like a bridge, he made his soldiers cross the river
Danube above the army of Dorpaneus. But the Goths 78
were on the alert. They took up arms and presently overwhelmed
the Romans in the first encounter. They slew
Fuscus, the commander, and plundered the soldiers' camp
of its treasure. And because of the great victory they
had won in this region, they thereafter called their leaders,
by whose good fortune they seemed to have conquered,
not mere men, but demigods, that is Ansis. Their
genealogy I shall run through briefly, telling the lineage
of each and the beginning and the end of this line. And
do thou, O reader, hear me without repining; for I speak
truly.

[Sidenote: GENEALOGY OF THE ANSIS OR AMALI]

XIV Now the first of these heroes, as they themselves 79
relate in their legends, was Gapt, who begat
Hulmul. And Hulmul begat Augis; and Augis begat
him who was called Amal, from whom the name of the
Amali comes. This Amal begat Hisarnis. Hisarnis
moreover begat Ostrogotha, and Ostrogotha begat Hunuil,
and Hunuil likewise begat Athal. Athal begat
Achiulf and Oduulf. Now Achiulf begat Ansila and
Ediulf, Vultuulf and Hermanaric. And Vultuulf begat
Valaravans and Valaravans begat Vinitharius. Vinitharius
moreover begat Vandalarius; Vandalarius begat 80
Thiudimer and Valamir and Vidimer; and Thiudimer
begat Theodoric. Theodoric begat Amalasuentha; Amalasuentha
bore Athalaric and Mathesuentha to her husband
Eutharic, whose race was thus joined to hers in
kinship. For the aforesaid Hermanaric, the son of 81
Achiulf, begat Hunimund, and Hunimund begat Thorismud.
Now Thorismud begat Beremud, Beremud begat
Veteric, and Veteric likewise begat Eutharic, who married
Amalasuentha and begat Athalaric and Mathesuentha.
Athalaric died in the years of his childhood, and
Mathesuentha married Vitiges, to whom she bore no
child. Both of them were taken together by Belisarius to
Constantinople. When Vitiges passed from human affairs,
Germanus the patrician, a cousin of the Emperor
Justinian, took Mathesuentha in marriage a