Chapter IX is dedicated to a “conspiracy of Rosomoni” against Ermanaric. In this chapter, the author reviews various versions of Rosomones’ ethnicity: Slavic, Iranian and Germanic. According to comparative analysis of Jordanes’ evidence (Get., 129), Germanic epic tradition (Hervarar saga, 10-11) and an image on a Gottland stone of Ardre VIII, Rosomoni may initially mean ‘those around the ai)Ату Most likely, they were courtiers, servants of Ermanaric and not a special tribe (ethnos), which had been unsuccessfully looked for by lots of historians and archaeologists.

Chapter X “Ermanaric’s kingdom — an early ‘barbarian state” contains the reconstruction of Ostrogothic statehood formation based on the analysis of the whole set of narrative, linguistic and archaeological sources. Paragraph 1 contains the analysis of Ermanaric’s regnum. According to Jordanes’ account, Ermanaric was the sixth descendant of legendary Amalus and obtained a royal status by inheritance (in regno successit). Time of Ermanaric’s reign most likely fell on the period of 333—375 AD. Evidence of Ammianus and Jordanes leave no doubt that Ermanaric created a very large politico-military formation, which included a considerable part of Eastern Europe between the Lower Don region occupied by Alani-Tanaitae and the Dniester marking the boundary with the domain of Visigoths. Judging by a list of tribes conquered by Ermanaric (Get., 116-119), his ‘empire’ was very polyethnic (Goths, Heruli, Vandali, pre-Slavs — Venetiae, Aestiorum natio, Galindi). Perhaps, arctoi gentes also depended on Ermanaric’s kingdom. Therefore there is no cause to call Ermanaric’s domain as an ‘alliance of tribes’, as was traditionally accepted in Soviet science, since sources do not offer any evidence of their alliance relations with Ostrogoths. Vice versa, virtually all these peoples (excluding Aesti) turned out to be included in Ermanaric’s kingdom as a result of conquest. Huge extent of the territory controlled by Ermanaric and a great deal of dependant peoples serve as a direct evidence of the measure of his rule. Probably, it is also testified by his name, which could be a title (Erman — ‘great’ and riks — ‘king’) emphasizing the might of the last Ostrogothic ruler.

According to ancient Germanic tradition, Ostrogothic king ruled his people as a rex Gothorum. (Getarum) (Get., 118). But when describing Ermanaric’s deeds Jordanes uses Latin verbs imperare (Get., 120) and servlre (Get., 118-119) denoting absolute character of his royal power over the conquered peoples. The king wielded a supreme military authority. It is interesting that Jordanes wrote that the last Ostrogothic ruler forced all the conquered peoples suisque parère legibus fecit (Get., 116). He knew the genuine Gothic name of these legibus — belagines (Get., 69). Most probably, these were conventional rules used for legal proceedings within Goths themselves. However, it is also necessary to pay attention to the fact that Ostrogoths had a popular assembly like Germanic thing (Get., 129).