La figura del comes nell'amministrazione e nella prassi di governo del regno ostrogoto

This research examines the figure of the comes within the framework of the Ostrogothic Kingdom, interpreting its significance through the lens of the administrative transformations characterizing Late Antiquity. The comes stands out as a distinctive Theoderician innovation within an administrative landscape otherwise defined by the substantial continuity of Roman structures. Precisely because of this innovative character, historiography has frequently identified the count as the cornerstone of the sovereign’s broader political project. The investigation begins with a critical review of the historiographical positions that have traditionally approached this subject from an institutional perspective. This section highlights the complexities of the vexata questio regarding the comital office, focusing specifically on the classification of the various comitivae and the debate surrounding their ethnicity. The varying combinations of these elements have historically fostered a plurality of reconstructive hypotheses; however, these often clash with a documentary record whose perspective does not allow for a definitive clarification of the issue through traditional means. To overcome these interpretive impasses, the work is structured around a series of territorial case studies that map the comital geography across the kingdom. The importance of this approach lies in situating the comites within their specific functional contexts, thereby providing an operational perspective on their authority. By reconstructing the social, political, and economic realities in which these officials operated, this study demonstrates how the comes emerged as a "new office," endowed with a structural fluidity that eludes the rigid normative categorizations of late antique administration. Consequently, the adopted methodology moves away from purely theoretical analysis to embrace a territorial approach. This allows for the observation of the comes not as an abstract entity, but as an official embedded in specific geographical and social settings, fully immersed in the governmental practices of the Ostrogothic regnum. The organization of the thesis reflects this shift in perspective, articulating an analysis of operational case studies: from Gaul (the cases of Marabado and Gemellus) to the Eastern provinces (Osuin in Dalmatia and Pannonia), and from Sicily (the counts Adila and Gildila) to Italian urban centers such as Rome, Naples, and Pavia. The research findings present an image of an official characterized by remarkable flexibility. The comes emerges as a "systemic mediator" whose professional identity—alternating between military, fiscal, and judicial roles—was constantly molded by the specific requirements of the territory. In conclusion, the territorial approach demonstrates that the efficacy of Theoderic’s government did not rely on a static hierarchy, but rather on the count’s ability to act as a pivot between the court in Ravenna and the peripheries, ensuring the cohesion of the regnum through pragmatic adaptation to diverse local realities. Ultimately, this work restores a more pronounced personal and relational dimension to the comes, bringing to light the specific circumstances and resources at his disposal. This facilitates a deeper reflection on the interplay between personal agency, relational networks, and the institutional framework, all of which concur to bring into focus the otherwise "elusive" figure of the count in the Ostrogothic Kingdom.