Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/256

 1 84 General History of Europe 292. Theodoric establishes the Kingdom of the East Goths in Italy. It was not, however, given to Odoacer to establish an enduring German kingdom on Italian soil, for he was conquered , < ROMAN GATE AT TREVES Colonia Augusta Trevirorum (now called Trier or Treves) was one of the chief Roman colonies on the German boundaries of the Empire. The Roman emperors often resided there, and the remains of their palace are still to be seen. The great gate here represented was designed to protect the entrance of the town, which was surrounded with a wall, for the Romans were in constant danger of attack from the neighboring German tribes. One can also see at Treves the remains of a vast amphitheater in which on two occasions Constantine had several thousand German prisoners cast to be killed by wild animals for the amusement of the spectators by the great Theodoric, the king of the East Goths (or Ostro- goths}. Theodoric had spent ten years of his early youth in Constantinople and had thus become familiar with Roman life and was on friendly terms with the emperor of the East. He greatly admired the Roman laws and institutions, and when he