The 'Suebi' or 'Suevi' (from
Proto-Germanic ★ ''swÄ“baz'' based on the root
★ ''swÄ“-'' meaning "one's own",
[1] cf.
Suiones) were a group of
Germanic peoples who were first mentioned by
Julius Caesar in connection with
Ariovistus' campaign, c. 58 BC.
[2] They remained a threat against the Romans on the
Rhine until
Nero Claudius Drusus secured the frontier c. 9 BC.
The historian
Tacitus considered the Suebi to comprise the
Quadi, the
Semnones and the
Marcomanni.
Moreover, he included all
North Germanic and
East Germanic tribes that were not directly annexed by the Romans, but this was due to a misunderstanding.
[3] Tacitus noted them for their fashion of the
Suebian knot.
The core tribe of the Suebi were the Semnones, but other tribes emanated from the Suebi, such as the Quadi and the Marcomanni and probably also the
Hermunduri.
The Suebi tribal group also included the
Alamanni and the
Langobards,
[4] but whether the latter group were part of the Suebi is doubtful.
In the
1st century AD, the Suebi were concentrated at the
Elbe river, but the
Huns would make some of them cross the Rhine and reach the
Iberian Peninsula.
Early history
2000 years ago the Baltic Sea was known to the
Romans as the ''
Mare Suebicum''.
The Suebi eventually migrated south and west to reside for a while in the
Rhineland area of modern
Germany, where their name survives in the historic region known as
Swabia. The Suebi under
Ariovistus were invited into
Gallia by the
Sequani but soon came to dominate them and were finally defeated by
Julius Caesar in
58 BC.
Migration period
Swabia
Closely related to the
Alamanni and often working in concert with them, the Suebi for the most part stayed on the right bank of the
Rhine until
December 31,
406, when much of the tribe joined the
Vandals and
Alans in breaching the Roman frontier at
Mainz, thus launching an invasion of the province of
Gaul.
Part of the Suebi, the northern Suebi were mentioned in
569 under
Frankish king
Sigebert I in areas of today's
Saxony-Anhalt. In connection to the Suebi,
Saxons and
Lombards, returning from the
Italian Peninsula in
573, are also mentioned.
Suebian kingdom in Gallaecia
Suebian kingdom in Gallaecia - notice that there were periods of control of territories south of the
Tejo river as far as the
Algarve.
Iberian Peninsula (530 AD-570 AD)
While the
Vandals and
Alans clashed with the Roman-allied
Franks for supremacy in Gaul, the Suebi under their king
Hermeric worked their way to the south, eventually crossing the
Pyrenees and entering the
Iberian Peninsula which was out of Imperial rule since the rebellion of
Gerontius and
Maximus in
409.
Passing through the
Basque country, they settled in the Roman province of
Gallaecia, in north-western
Hispania (modern
Galicia and
northern Portugal), swore fealty to the Emperor
Honorius and were accepted as ''
foederati'' and permitted to settle, under their own autonomous governance. Contemporaneously with the self-governing province of
Britannia, the kingdom of the Suebi in Gallaecia became the first of the sub-Roman kingdoms to be formed in the disintegrating territory of the Western Roman Empire. Suebic Gallaecia was the first kingdom separated from the Roman Empire to mint coins.
The Suebic kingdom in
Gallaecia and northern
Lusitania was established at
410 and lasted until
584 after a century of slow decline. Smaller than the
Ostrogothic kingdom of Italy or the
Visigothic kingdom in
Hispania, it never reached major political relevance. After the kingdom of the Suebi was conquered by the Visigoths in 585,
Braulio of
Zaragoza (590 - 651) depicted the region as "the edge of the west in an illiterate country where naught is heard but the sound of
gales". As the Suebi quickly adopted the local
Hispano-Roman language, few traces were left of their Germanic tongue. Some influence on the
Galician language and
Portuguese language remained, like ''lawerka'' for Portuguese and Galician ''laverca'' (synonym of ''cotovia'' -
lark).
German invaders settled mainly in the areas of
Braga (Bracara Augusta),
Porto (Portus Cale),
Lugo (Lucus Augusta) and
Astorga (Asturica Augusta). Bracara Augusta, the modern city of
Braga and former capital of Roman Gallaecia, became the capital of the Suebi.
Another Germanic group that accompanied the Suebi and settled in Gallaecia were the
Buri. They settled in the region between the rivers
Cávado and
Homem, in the area know as
Terras de Bouro (Lands of the Buri)
[5].
In
438 Hermeric ratified the peace with the Hispano-Roman local population and, weary of fighting, abdicated in favour of his son
Rechila.
The irruption of Visigoths in the Iberian Peninsula from
416 sent from Aquitania by the Emperor of the West to fight the
Vandals and the
Alans resulted into an ephemeral expansion of the Suebi Kingdom: at its heyday Suebic Gallaecia extended as far as
Mérida or
Seville.
In
448 Rechila died, leaving the crown to his son Rechiarius who had converted to Roman Catholicism circa
447. Catholicism became official to the pagan Suebi and otherwise mostly
Priscillianist population, only to convert to
Arianism a few years later, under the rule of Remismund and to revert back to Catholicism by the middle of the next century.
In
456 Rechiarius died after being defeated by the
Visigothic king Theodoric II, and the Sueve glory began to fade. The Sueve kingdom got cornered to the hostile northwest and political division arose across the river Minius (
Minho or Miño) with two different kings ruling in both sides of the river. Despite the
Visigoths' pressure, the Suebi maintained their nominal independence on the northwest until
584, when the
Visigothic king
Leovigild, dethroned
Andeca, last king of the Suebi, in
585.
Suebian kings of Gallaecia
★
Hermeric (
409-
438)
★
Rechila (
438-
448)
★
Rechiar (
448-
456)
★
Aioulf (
456-
457), in the south alone
★
Framta (
456-
457), in the north alone
★
Maldras (
457-
459), in the south alone, and the north following the death of Framta
★
Richimund (
459-
463), in the north alone
★
Frumar (
459-
463), in the south alone, opposed Remismund
★
Remismund (
459-
469), in the south alone, opposed Frumar; whole realm from 463
★ ''Obscurity'' (
469-
550), during this time one name alone is known:
Theodemund, but perhaps also a Vermund, Rechila II, and Rechiar II
★
Carriaric (
550-
559)
★
Theodemar (
559-
570)
★
Miro (
570-
583)
★
Eboric (also called ''Euric'') (
583-
584)
★
Andeca (
584-
585), deposed and put in a
monastery by
Leovigild
★
Malaric (
585-
586), opposed Leovigild and defeated
The
Visigoths conquered the Suevi in 585.
Norse mythology
The name of the Suebi also appears in
Norse mythology and in early Scandinavian sources. The earliest attestation is the
Proto-Norse name ''Swabaharjaz'' ("Suebian warrior") on the
Rö runestone and in the place name Svogerslev.
, whose name means "Suebian",
[6] was a
Valkyrie who appears in the eddic poem ''
Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar''. The kingdom ''Sváfaland'' also appears in this poem and in the ''
Þiðrekssaga''.
Notes
1. Peterson, Lena: ''Lexikon över urnordiska personnamn'', at ''Institutet för språk och folkminnen'', Sweden.
2. The article ''Sveber'' in ''Nationalencyklopedin''.
3. The article ''Sveber'' in ''Nordisk familjebok''.
4. The article ''Suebi'' in ''Encyclopædia Britannica online'', retrieved January 26, 2007.
5. Domingos Maria da Silva, ''Os Búrios'', Terras de Bouro, Câmara Municipal de Terras de Bouro, 2006. (in Portuguese)
6. Peterson, Lena. (2002). ''Nordiskt runnamnslexikon'', at ''Institutet för språk och folkminnen'', Sweden.
See also
External links
★
Territorial evolution of the Suebi kingdom of Gallaecia
★
Reconstruction of the Suebi flag of Gallaecia - in Galician
★
Suebi toponyms in Portugal
★
Identity and Interaction The Suevi and the Hispano-Romans
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