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{{short description|Historical ethnic grouping of Germanic tribes}}
{{redirect-distinguish|Suebians|Swabians}}
[[file:1st century Germani.png|thumb|300px|The approximate positions of some [[Germanic peoples]] reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 1st century. Suebian peoples in red, and other [[Irminones]] in purple.]]
The '''Suebi''' (also spelled '''Suavi''', '''Suevi''' or '''Suebians''') were a large group of [[Germanic peoples]] originally from the [[Elbe]] river region in what is now [[Germany]] and the [[Czech Republic]]. In the early [[Roman era]] they included many peoples with their own names such as the [[Marcomanni]], [[Quadi]], [[Hermunduri]], [[Semnones]], and [[Lombards]]. New groupings formed later, such as the [[Alamanni]] and [[Bavarians]], and two kingdoms in the [[Migration Period]] were simply referred to as Suebian.<ref name="Germanic">{{cite book |last1=Drinkwater |first1=John Frederick |author-link1=John Frederick Drinkwater |date=2012 |chapter=Suebi |chapter-url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001/acref-9780199545568-e-6113? |editor1-last=Hornblower |editor1-first=Simon |editor1-link=Simon Hornblower |editor2-last=Spawforth |editor2-first=Antony  |editor3-last=Eidinow |editor3-first=Esther |editor3-link=Esther Eidinow |title=The Oxford Classical Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=9780191735257 |access-date=January 26, 2020  |quote=Suebi, an elusive term, applied by Tacitus (1) in his Germania to an extensive group of German peoples living east of the Elbe and including the Hermunduri, Marcomanni, Quadi, Semnones, and others, but used rather more narrowly by other Roman writers, beginning with Caesar. |title-link=The Oxford Classical Dictionary }}</ref>
Although [[Tacitus]] specified that the Suebian group was not an old tribal group itself, the Suebian peoples are associated by [[Pliny the Elder]] with the [[Irminones]], a grouping of Germanic peoples who claimed ancestral connections. Tacitus mentions Suebian languages, and a geographical "Suevia".
The Suevians were first mentioned by [[Julius Caesar]] in connection with the [[Germanisation of Gaul|invasion of Gaul]] led by the Germanic king [[Ariovistus]] during the [[Gallic Wars]]. Unlike Strabo and Tacitus who wrote later, he described them as a single people, distinct from the Marcomanni, within the larger Germanic category, who he saw as a growing threat to Gaul and Italy in the first century BC, as they had been moving southwards aggressively, at the expense of [[Gauls|Gallic]] tribes, and establishing a Germanic presence in the immediate areas north of the [[Danube]]. In particular, Caesar saw the Suebians as the most warlike of the Germanic peoples.
During the reign of [[Augustus]] the first emperor, Rome made aggressive campaigns into ''[[Germania]]'', east of the Rhine and north of the Danube, pushing towards the Elbe. After suffering a major defeat to the Romans in 9 BC, [[Maroboduus]] became king of a Suevian kingdom which was established within the protective mountains and forests of [[Bohemia]]. The Suevians did not join the alliance led by [[Arminius]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Maroboduus |title=Maroboduus |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] |access-date=June 22, 2018 }}</ref>
In 69 AD the Suebian kings [[Italicus (chieftain)|Italicus]] and [[Sido (Suebian King)|Sido]] provided support to the Flavian faction under [[Vespasian]].<ref name="a">{{cite book |last=Tacitus |first=Publius |title=The Histories |date=25 June 2009 |publisher=Penguin |page=125 |isbn=978-0-140-44964-8}}</ref>
Under the reign of [[Marcus Aurelius]] in the 2nd century AD, the Marcomanni, perhaps under pressure from [[East Germanic tribes]] to their north, [[Marcomannic Wars|invaded]] Italy.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Marcomanni |title=Marcomanni |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] |access-date=June 22, 2018 }}</ref>
By the [[Crisis of the Third Century]], new Suebian groups had emerged, and Italy was invaded again by the [[Juthungi]], while the [[Alamanni]] ravaged [[Gaul]] and settled the [[Agri Decumates]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Alemanni |title=Alamanni |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] |access-date=June 22, 2018 }}</ref> The Alamanni continued exerting pressure on Gaul, while the Alamannic chieftain [[Chrocus]] played an important role in elevating [[Constantine the Great]] to [[Roman emperor]].
By the late 4th century AD, the Middle Danubian frontier inhabited by the Quadi and Marcomanni received large numbers of Gothic and other eastern peoples escaping disturbances associated with the [[Huns]]. In 406 AD, Suebian tribes led by [[Hermeric]], together with other Danubian groups including Alans and Vandals, [[Crossing of the Rhine|crossed the Rhine]] and overran [[Gaul]] and [[Hispania]]. They eventually established the [[Kingdom of the Suebi]] in [[Gallaecia|Galicia]]. With the breaking up of Hunnic power after the [[Battle of Nedao]] there was also a short-lived Kingdom of the Suebi on the Danube, under [[Hunimund]]. They were defeated by the [[Ostrogoths]], one of the peoples of eastern origin who had been allies of the Huns. In the sixth century the Suevic [[Longobards]] moved from the Elbe to become one of the major powers of the Middle [[Danube]], in competition with the dynasties from the east such as the [[Herules]], [[Gepids]] and [[Ostrogoths]].
During the last years of the [[Fall of the Western Roman Empire|decline]] of the [[Western Roman Empire]], the Suebian general [[Ricimer]] was its [[de facto]] ruler.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ricimer |title=Ricimer |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] |access-date=June 22, 2018 }}</ref> The Lombards, with many Danubian peoples both Suebian and eastern, later settled Italy and established the [[Kingdom of the Lombards]].
The Alamanni, [[Bavarii]] and [[Thuringii]] who remained in ''[[Germania]]'' gave their names to the still-existing [[Germany|German]] regions of [[Swabia]], [[Bavaria]] and [[Thuringia]] respectively.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Swabia |title=Swabia |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] |access-date=June 22, 2018 }}</ref> Suebian languages are thought to be a main source of the later [[High German languages]], especially the Upper-German dialects predominant in Southern Germany, Switzerland and Austria, which experienced the [[Second consonant shift]] some time after about 600 AD.<ref>{{citation|first=Volker |last=Harm |chapter="Elbgermanisch", "Weser-Rhein-Germanisch" und die Grundlagen des Althochdeutschen|editor-last1=Nielsen|editor-last2=Stiles |title= Unity and Diversity in West Germanic and the Emergence of English, German, Frisian and Dutch|year=2013 |series=North-Western European Language Evolution |volume=66 |pages=79–99 |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263591031}}</ref>
==Etymology==
Etymologists trace the name from [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] *''swēbaz'' based on the Proto-Germanic [[Root (linguistics)|root]] *''swē-'' found in the third-person [[reflexive pronoun]], giving the meaning "one's own" people,<ref name="urnordisk">{{cite web|last=Peterson|first=Lena|title=Swābaharjaz|work=Lexikon över urnordiska personnamn|publisher=Institutet för språk och folkminnen, Sweden|url=http://www.sofi.se/images/NA/pdf/urnord.pdf|page=16|access-date=2007-10-11|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518012642/http://www.sofi.se/images/NA/pdf/urnord.pdf|archive-date=2011-05-18}} (Text in [[Swedish language|Swedish]]); for an alternative meaning, as "free, independent" see {{Cite book|last=Room|first=Adrian|contribution=Swabia, Sweden | title=Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for 6,600 Countries, Cities, Territories, Natural Features and Historic Sites: Second Edition|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers|year=2006|location=Jefferson, North Carolina, and London|pages=363, 364|isbn=0786422483}}; compare [[Suiones]]</ref> in turn from an earlier [[Proto-Indo-European language|Indo-European]] root ''*swe-'' (Polish ''swe, swój, swoi,'' Latin ''sui,'' Italian ''suo, '' Sanskrit ''swa'', each meaning "one's own").<ref>{{cite web|last=Pokorny|first=Julius|author-link=Julius Pokorny|title=Root/Lemma se-|work=Indogermanisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch|publisher=Indo-European Etymological Dictionary (IEED), Department of Comparative Indo-European Linguistics, Leiden University|pages=882–884|url=http://www.indoeuropean.nl/cgi-bin/startq.cgi?flags=endnnnl&root=leiden&basename=%5Cdata%5Cie%5Cpokorny|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809064309/http://www.indoeuropean.nl/cgi-bin/startq.cgi?flags=endnnnl&root=leiden&basename=%5Cdata%5Cie%5Cpokorny|archive-date=2011-08-09}} ([[German language]] text); locate by searching the page number.{{cite web|first=Gerhard|last=Köbler|title=*se-|work=Indogermanisches Wörterbuch: 3. Auflage|year=2000|page=188|url=http://www.koeblergerhard.de/germanistischewoerterbuecher/indogermanischeswoerterbuch/idgS.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025144447/http://www.koeblergerhard.de/germanistischewoerterbuecher/indogermanischeswoerterbuch/idgS.pdf|archive-date=2007-10-25}} (German language text); the etymology in English is in {{cite web|last=Watkins|first=Calvert|author-link=Calvert Watkins|title=s(w)e-|work=Appendix I: Indo-European Roots|publisher=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition|year=2000|url=http://www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE509.html}} Some related English words are ''sibling, sister, swain, self''.
</ref>
The etymological sources list the following ethnic names as being from the same root: [[Swedes (Germanic tribe)|Suiones]] (whence also the name of the [[Swedes]]), [[Samnites]], [[Sabellians]], [[Sabines]], and, according to one of the hypotheses, [[Slavic people|Slavs]], indicating the possibility of a prior more extended and common Indo-European ethnic name, "our own people". Notably, the [[Semnones]], known to classical authors as one of the largest Suebian groups, also seem to have a name with this same meaning, but recorded with a different pronunciation by the Romans.
Alternatively, it may be borrowed from a [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] word for "vagabond".<ref>
{{cite book|last=Schrijver|first=Peter|title=Yr Hen Iaith: Studies in Early Welsh|year=2003|publisher=Celtic Studies Publications|location=Aberystwyth|isbn=978-1-891271-10-6|author-link=Peter Schrijver|editor-last=Russell|editor-first=Paul|chapter=The etymology of Welsh chwith and the semantics and morphology of PIE *k(w)sweibh-}}
</ref>
[[File:Mušov Cauldron.jpg|thumb|Mušov Cauldron, a Roman bronze cauldron found in 1988 in a Germanic chieftain's grave in [[Mušov]], Czech Republic, dating to the 2nd century A.D. The cauldron is decorated by four cast heads of Germanic men wearing a [[Suebian knot]] hairstyle]]
==Classification==
[[File:Bronze Statuette of a Suebi captive.jpg|thumb|Roman bronze statuette of a Suebian captive. First to 3rd century AD.]]
===More than one tribe===
Caesar placed the Suebi east of the [[Ubii]] apparently near modern [[Hesse]], in the position where later writers mention the [[Chatti]], and he distinguished them from their allies the [[Marcomanni]]. Some commentators believe that Caesar's Suebi were the later Chatti or possibly the [[Hermunduri]], or [[Semnones]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0062:entry=catti-harpers&highlight=chatti| last= Peck| title=Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities |year=1898}}</ref> Later authors use the term ''Suebi'' more broadly, "to cover a large number of tribes in central Germany".<ref>{{cite book|first=R. W.|last=Chambers|author-link = Raymond Wilson Chambers|title=Widseth: a Study in Old English Heroic Legend|pages=194, note on line 22 of Widsith|publisher=University Press|location=Cambridge|year=1912}} Republished in 2006 by Kissinger Publishing as {{ISBN|1-4254-9551-6}}.</ref>
While Caesar treated them as one Germanic tribe within an alliance, albeit the largest and most warlike one, later authors, such as [[Tacitus]], [[Pliny the Elder]] and [[Strabo]], specified that the Suevi "do not, like the [[Chatti]] or [[Tencteri]], constitute a single nation. They actually occupy more than half of Germania, and are divided into a number of distinct tribes under distinct names, though all generally are called Suebi".<ref>Tacitus ''Germania'' Section 8, translation by H. Mattingly.</ref> Although no classical authors explicitly call the Chatti Suevic, [[Pliny the Elder]] (23 AD – 79 AD), reported in his ''Natural History'' that the Irminones were a large grouping of related Germanic ''gentes'' or "tribes" including not only the Suebi, but also the Hermunduri, Chatti and [[Cherusci]].<ref name=plin4.14>{{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0137:book=4:chapter=28&highlight=suevi |title=Book IV section XIV |publisher=Perseus.tufts.edu |access-date=2014-05-01}}</ref> Whether or not the Chatti were ever considered Suevi, both Tacitus and Strabo distinguish the two partly because the Chatti were more settled in one territory, whereas Suevi remained less settled.<ref name=strabo>{{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0239:book=7:chapter=1&highlight=suevi%2Cchatti |title=Strab. 7.1 |publisher=Perseus.tufts.edu |access-date=2014-05-01}}</ref>
The definitions of the greater ethnic groupings within [[Germania]] were apparently not always consistent and clear, especially in the case of mobile groups such as the Suevi. Whereas Tacitus reported three main kinds of German peoples, Irminones, [[Istvaeones]], and [[Ingaevones]], Pliny specifically adds two more ''genera'' or "kinds", the [[Bastarnae]] and the Vandili ([[Vandals]]). The Vandals were tribes east of the Elbe, including the well-known [[Silingi]], [[Goths]], and [[Burgundians]], an area that Tacitus treated as Suebic. That the Vandals might be a separate type of Germanic people, corresponding to the modern concept of [[East Germanic]], is a possibility that Tacitus also noted, but for example the [[Varini]] are named as Vandilic by Pliny, and specifically Suebic by Tacitus.
At one time, classical ethnography had applied the name ''Suevi'' to so many Germanic tribes that it appeared as if, in the first centuries AD, that native name would replace the foreign name "Germans".<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c788wWR_bLwC&pg=PA467|page=[https://archive.org/details/lateantiquitygui00bowe/page/467 467]|title=Late Antiquity|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1999|chapter=Germanic Tribes|isbn=9780674511736|url=https://archive.org/details/lateantiquitygui00bowe/page/467}}</ref>
The modern term "Elbe Germanic" similarly covers a large grouping of Germanic peoples that at least overlaps with the classical terms "Suevi" and "Irminones". However, this term was developed mainly as an attempt to define the ancient peoples who must have spoken the Germanic dialects that led to modern [[Upper German]] dialects spoken in Austria, [[Bavaria]], [[Thuringia]], [[Alsace]], [[Baden-Württemberg]] and German speaking Switzerland. This was proposed by [[Friedrich Maurer (linguist)|Friedrich Maurer]] as one of five major ''Kulturkreise'' or "culture-groups" whose dialects developed in the southern German area from the first century BC through to the fourth century AD.<ref>{{cite book | last=Maurer | first=Friedrich | title=Nordgermanen und Alemannen: Studien zur germanischen und frühdeutschen Sprachgeschichte, Stammes – und Volkskunde | location=Bern, München | publisher=A. Franke Verlag, Leo Lehnen Verlag | orig-year=1942| year=1952}}</ref> Apart from his own linguistic work with modern dialects, he also referred to the archaeological and literary analysis of Germanic tribes done earlier by [[Gustaf Kossinna]]<ref>{{cite book | last=Kossinna | first=Gustaf | author-link=Gustaf Kossinna | title=Die Herkunft der Germanen | year=1911 | location=Leipzig | publisher=Kabitsch}}</ref> In terms of these proposed ancient dialects, the Vandals, Goths and Burgundians are generally referred to as members of the Eastern Germanic group, distinct from the Elbe Germanic.
===Tribes names in classical sources===
====Northern bank of the Danube====
[[File:20181124Lobdengau-Museum05.jpg|thumb|Suebi ceramics. Lobdengau-Museum, [[Ladenburg]], Germany]]
In the time of Caesar, southern Germany had a mixture of [[Celts|Celtic]] and Germanic tribes and was increasingly coming under pressure from Germanic groups led by the Suebi. As described later by Tacitus, what is today southern Germany between the [[Danube]], the [[Main (river)|Main]], and the Rhine had been deserted by the departure of two large Celtic nations, the [[Helvetii]] in modern [[Schwaben]] and the [[Boii]] further east near the [[Hercynian forest]].<ref name="Tac. Ger. 28">{{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Tac.%20Ger.%2028&lang=original |title=Tac. Ger. 28 |publisher=Perseus.tufts.edu |access-date=2014-05-01}}</ref> In addition, near the Hercynian forest Caesar believed that the Celtic [[Tectosages]] had once lived. All of these peoples had for the most part moved by the time of Tacitus. Nevertheless, [[Cassius Dio]] wrote that the Suebi, who dwelt across the Rhine, were called Celts.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dio|first1=Cassius|title=Delphi Complete Works of Cassius Dio (Illustrated)|date=19 September 2014|publisher=Delphi Classics}}</ref> This may follow a Greek tradition of labelling all barbarian people north of the Alps as Celtic.
Strabo (64/63 BC – c. 24 AD), in Book IV (6.9) of his ''Geography'' also associates the Suebi with the [[Hercynian Forest]] and the south of Germania north of the Danube. He describes a chain of mountains north of the Danube that is like a lower extension of the Alps, possibly the [[Swabian Alps]], and further east the [[Gabreta Forest]], possibly the modern [[Bohemian forest]]. In Book VII (1.3) Strabo specifically mentions as Suevic peoples the [[Marcomanni]], who under King [[Marobodus]] had moved into the same Hercynian forest as the [[Coldui]] (possibly the [[Quadi]]), taking over an area called "Boihaemum". This king "took the rulership and acquired, in addition to the peoples aforementioned, the [[Lugii]] (a large tribe), the [[Zumi]], the [[Butones]], the [[Mugilones]], the [[Sibini]], and also the [[Semnones]], a large tribe of the Suevi themselves". Some of these tribes were "inside the forest" and some "outside of it".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0198:book=7:chapter=1&highlight=boihaemum |title=Strab. 7.1 |publisher=Perseus.tufts.edu |access-date=2014-05-01}}</ref> Tacitus confirms the name "Boiemum", saying it was a survival marking the old traditional population of the place, the Celtic [[Boii]], though the population had changed.<ref name="Tac. Ger. 28"/>
[[Tacitus]] describes a series of very powerful Suebian states in his own time, running along the north of the Danube which was the frontier with Rome, and stretching into the lands where the Elbe originates in the modern day [[Czech Republic]]. Going from west to east the first were the [[Hermunduri]], living near the sources of the [[Elbe]] and stretching across the Danube into Roman [[Rhaetia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0083%3Achapter%3D41 |title=Section 41 |publisher=Perseus.tufts.edu |access-date=2014-05-01}}</ref> Next came the [[Naristi]], the [[Marcomanni]], and then the [[Quadi]]. The Quadi are on the edge of greater Suebia, having the [[Sarmatians]] to the southeast.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0083%3Achapter%3D42 |title=Section 42 |publisher=Perseus.tufts.edu |access-date=2014-05-01}}</ref>
[[File:Suebi Germanic with nodus found in Apt, France.jpg|thumb|Suebi Germanic with nodus found in Apt, France]]
[[Claudius Ptolemy]] the geographer did not always state which tribes were Suebi, but along the northern bank of the Danube, from west to east and starting at the "[[Agri Decumates|desert]]" formerly occupied by the [[Helvetii]], he names the [[Parmaecampi]], then the [[Adrabaecampi]], and then a "large people" known as the [[Baemoi]] (whose name appears to recall the [[Boii]] again), and then the [[Racatriae]]. North of the Baemoi, is the [[Luna forest]] which has iron mines, and which is south of the Quadi. North of the Adrabaecampi, are the [[Sudini]] and then the Marcomanni living in the Gambreta forest. North of them, but south of the Sudetes mountains (which are not likely to be the same as the modern ones of that name) are the [[Varisti]], who are probably the same as Tacitus' "Naristi" mentioned above.
[[Jordanes]] writes that in the early 4th century the Vandals had moved to the north of the Danube, but with the Marcomanni still to their west, and the Hermunduri still to their north. A possible sign of confusion in this comment is that he equates the area in question to later [[Gepidia]], which was further south, in Pannonia, modern Hungary, and east of the Danube.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.romansonline.com/Src_Frame.asp?DocID=Gth_Goth_22 |title=Chapt 22 |publisher=Romansonline.com |access-date=2014-05-01 |archive-date=2013-11-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105120230/http://www.romansonline.com/Src_Frame.asp?DocID=Gth_Goth_22 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In general, as discussed below, the Danubian Suebi, along with the neighbours such as the Vandals, apparently moved southwards into Roman territories, both south and east of the Danube, during this period.
====Approaching the Rhine====
Caesar describes the Suebi as pressing the German tribes of the Rhine, such as the [[Tencteri]], [[Usipetes]] and [[Ubii]], from the east, forcing them from their homes. While emphasizing their warlike nature he writes as if they had a settled homeland somewhere between the [[Cherusci]] and the [[Ubii]], and separated from the Cherusci by a deep forest called the Silva Bacenis. He also describes the Marcomanni as a tribe distinct from the Suebi, and also active within the same alliance. But he does not describe where they were living.
[[Strabo]] wrote that the Suebi "excel all the others in power and numbers."<ref>{{cite book | last=Strabo | title=Geographica  | pages=Book IV Chapter 3 Section 4 | no-pp=true}}</ref> He describes Suebic peoples (Greek ''ethnē'') as having come to dominate Germany between the Rhine and Elbe, with the exception of the Rhine valley, on the frontier with the Roman empire, and the "coastal" regions north of the Rhine.
The geographer [[Ptolemy]] (c. AD 90 – c. AD 168), in a fairly extensive account of Greater Germany,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Periods/Roman/_Texts/Ptolemy/2/10.html |title=Geography|last=Strabo |volume=Book II, chapter X |publisher=Penelope.uchicago.edu |access-date=2014-05-01}}</ref> makes several unusual mentions of Suebi between the Rhine and the Elbe. He describes their position as stretching out in a band from the Elbe, all the way to the northern Rhine, near the [[Sugambri]]. The "Suevi [[Langobardi]]" are the Suevi located closest to the Rhine, far to the east of where most sources report them. To the east of the Langobardi, are the "Suevi [[Angili]]", extending as far north as the middle Elbe, also to the east of the position reported in other sources. It has been speculated that Ptolemy may have been confused by his sources, or else that this position of the Langobardi represented a particular moment in history.<ref>[[Gudmund Schütte|Schütte]], [https://archive.org/stream/ptolemysmapsofno00schrich ''Ptolemy's Maps of Northern Europe'']</ref>
As discussed below, in the third century a large group of Suebi, also referred to as the [[Allemanni]], moved up to the Rhine bank in modern [[Schwaben]], which had previously been controlled by the Romans. They competed in this region with Burgundians who had arrived from further east.
====The Elbe====
Strabo does not say much about the Suebi east of the Elbe, saying that this region was still unknown to Romans,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198%3Abook%3D7%3Achapter%3D2 |title=''Geography'' 7.2 |publisher=Perseus.tufts.edu |access-date=2014-05-01}}</ref> but mentions that a part of the Suebi live there, naming only specifically the [[Hermunduri]] and the [[Langobardi]]. But he mentions these are there because of recent defeats at Roman hands which had forced them over the river. (Tacitus mentions that the Hermunduri were later welcomed on to the Roman border at the Danube.) In any case he says that the area near the Elbe itself is held by the Suebi.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198%3Abook%3D7%3Achapter%3D3 |title=''Geography'' 7.3 |publisher=Perseus.tufts.edu |access-date=2014-05-01}}</ref>
From Tacitus and Ptolemy we can derive more details:
* The [[Semnones]] are described by Tacitus as "the oldest and noblest of the Suebi", and, like the Suebi described by Caesar, they have 100 cantons. Tacitus says that "the vastness of their community makes them regard themselves as the head of the Suevic race".<ref name="Section 39">''Germania'' Section 39.</ref> According to Ptolemy the "Suevi Semnones" live upon the Elbe and stretch as far east as a river apparently named after them, the Suevus, probably the [[Oder]]. South of them he places the [[Silingi]], and then, again upon the Elbe, the [[Calucones]]. To the southeast further up the upper Elbe he places not the Hermunduri mentioned by other authors (who had possibly moved westwards and become Ptolemy's "[[Teuriochaemai]]", and the later [[Thuringii]]), but the [[Baenochaemae]] (whose name appears to be somehow related to the modern name [[Bohemia]], and somehow derived from the older placename mentioned by Strabo and Tacitus as the capital of King [[Marobodus]] after he settled his Marcomanni in the [[Hercynian forest]]). A monument confirms that the [[Juthungi]], who fought the Romans in the 3rd century, and were associated with the Alamanni, were Semnones.
* The [[Langobardi]] live a bit further from Rome's borders, in "scanty numbers" but "surrounded by a host of most powerful tribes" and kept safe "by daring the perils of war" according to Tacitus.<ref name=sect40>''Germania'' Section 40.</ref>
* Tacitus names seven tribes who live "next" after the Langobardi, "fenced in by rivers or forests" stretching "into the remoter regions of Germany". These all worshiped [[Nertha]], or Mother Earth, whose sacred grove was on an island in the Ocean (presumably the Baltic Sea): [[Reudigni]], [[Aviones]], [[Anglii]], [[Varini]], [[Eudoses]], [[Suarini]] and [[Nuitones]].<ref name=sect40/>
*At the mouth of the Elbe (and in the Danish peninsula), the classical authors do not place any Suevi, but rather the [[Chauci]] to the west of the Elbe, and the [[Saxons]] to the east, and in the "neck" of the peninsula.
Note that while various errors and confusions are possible, Ptolemy places the Angles and Langobardi west of the Elbe, where they may indeed have been present at some points in time, given that the Suebi were often mobile.
====East of the Elbe====
It is already mentioned above that stretching between the Elbe and the Oder, the classical authors place the Suebic Semnones. Ptolemy places the [[Silingi]] to their south in the stretch between these rivers. These Silingi appear in later history as a branch of the Vandals, and were therefore likely to be speakers of [[East Germanic]] dialects. Their name is associated with medieval [[Silesia]]. Further south on the Elbe are the Baenochaemae and between them and the Askibourgian mountains Ptolemy names a tribe called the [[Bateinoi|Batini]] (Βατεινοὶ), apparently north and/or east of the Elbe.
According to Tacitus, around the north of the Danubian Marcomanni and Quadi, "dwelling in forests and on mountain-tops", live the [[Marsigni]], and [[Buri (Germanic tribe)|Buri]], who "in their language and manner of life, resemble the Suevi".<ref name=sect43>{{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0083%3Achapter%3D43 |title=Section 43 |publisher=Perseus.tufts.edu |access-date=2014-05-01}}</ref> (Living partly subject to the Quadi are the [[Gotini]] and [[Osi (ancient tribe)|Osi]], who Tacitus says speak respectively [[Gaulish]] and [[Pannonians|Pannonian]], and are therefore not Germans.) Ptolemy also places the "[[Lugi Buri]]" in mountains, along with a tribe called the [[Corconti]]. These mountains, stretching from near the upper [[Elbe]] to the headwaters of the [[Vistula]], he calls the [[Askibourgian]] mountains. Between these mountains and the Quadi he adds several tribes, from north to south these are the [[Sidones]], [[Cotini]] (possibly Tacitus' Gotini) and the [[Visburgi]]. There is then the Orcynian (Hercyian) forest, which Ptolemy defines with relatively restricted boundaries, and then the Quadi.
Beyond this mountain range (probably the modern [[Sudetes]]) where the Marsigni and Buri lived, in the area of modern southwest Poland, Tacitus reported a multitude of tribes, the most widespread name of which was the [[Lugii]]. These included the [[Harii]], [[Helveconae]], [[Manimi]], [[Helisii]] and [[Naharvali]].<ref name="sect43"/> (Tacitus does not mention the language of the Lugii.) As mentioned above, Ptolemy categorizes the Buri amongst the Lugii, and concerning the Lugii north of the mountains, he named two large groups, the Lougoi Omanoi and the Lougoi Didounoi, who live between the "Suevus" river (probably the [[Saale]] ([[Sorbian languages|Sorbian]]: ''Solawa'') or [[Oder]] river) and the Vistula, south of the [[Burgundi]].
[[File:Vindobona Hoher Markt-79.JPG|thumb|Suebi Captive Representation in Roman bronze figure]]
These Burgundians who according to Ptolemy lived between the Baltic sea Germans and the Lugii, stretching between the Suevus and Vistula rivers, were described by Pliny the Elder (as opposed to Tacitus) as being not Suevic but [[Vandals|Vandili]], amongst whom he also included the Goths, and the Varini, both being people living north of them near the Baltic coast. Pliny's "Vandili" are generally thought to be speakers of what modern linguists refer to as [[Eastern Germanic]]. Between the coastal Saxons and inland Suebi, Ptolemy names the [[Teutonari]] and the "Viruni" (presumably the Varini of Tacitus), and further east, between the coastal Farodini and the Suebi are the [[Teutones]] and then the [[Avarni]]. Further east again, between the Burgundians and the coastal Rugiclei were the "Aelvaeones" (presumably the Helveconae of Tacitus).
====Baltic Sea====
Tacitus called the Baltic sea the Suebian sea. [[Pomponius Mela]] wrote in his ''Description of the World'' (III.3.31) beyond the Danish isles are "the farthest people of Germania, the Hermiones".
North of the Lugii, near the [[Baltic Sea]], Tacitus places the [[Goths|Gothones (Goths)]], [[Rugii]], and [[Lemovii]]. These three Germanic tribes share a tradition of having kings, and also similar arms – round shields and short swords.<ref name=sect43/> Ptolemy says that east of the Saxons, from the "Chalusus" river to the "Suevian" river are the [[Farodini]], then the [[Sidini]] up to the "Viadua" river, and after these the "Rugiclei" up to the Vistula river (probably referring to the "Rugii" of Tacitus). He does not specify if these are Suevi.
In the sea, the states of the [[Suiones]], "powerful in ships" are, according to Tacitus, Germans with the Suevic (Baltic) sea on one side and an "almost motionless" sea on the other more remote side. Modern commentators believe this refers to [[Scandinavia]].<ref>Section 44.</ref> Closely bordering on the Suiones and closely resembling them, are the tribes of the [[Sitones]].<ref name=sect45/> Ptolemy describes Scandinavia as being inhabited by [[Chaedini]] in the west, [[Favonae]] and [[Firaesi]] in the east, [[Fenni|Finni]] in the north, [[Geats|Gautae]] and [[Dauciones]] in the south, and [[Levoni]] in the middle. He does not describe them as Suebi.
Tacitus describes the non-Germanic [[Aestii]] on the eastern shore of the "Suevic Sea" (Baltic), "whose rites and fashions and style of dress are those of the Suevi, while their language is more like the British."<ref name=sect45>''Germania'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0083%3Achapter%3D45 Section 45]</ref> After giving this account, Tacitus says: "Here Suebia ends."<ref>Section 46.</ref> Therefore, for Tacitus ''geographic'' "Suebia" comprises the entire periphery of the [[Baltic Sea]], including within it tribes not identified as Suebi or even Germanic. On the other hand, Tacitus does clearly consider there to be not only a Suebian region, but also Suebian languages, and Suebian customs, which all contribute to making a specific tribe more or less "Suebian".<ref>Tacitus' modern editor Arthur J. Pomeroy concludes "it is clear that there is no monolithic 'Suebic' group, but a series of tribes who may share some customs (for instance, warrior burials) but also vary considerably." {{cite journal | last=Pomeroy | first=Arthur J. | title=Tacitus' Germania | journal=The Classical Review |series=New Series | volume=44 | issue=1 | pages=58–59 | year=1994 | doi=10.1017/S0009840X00290446| s2cid=246879432 }} A review in English of {{cite book | first=Gunter | last=Neumann | author2=Henning Seemann | title=Beitrage zum Verstandnis der Germania des Tacitus, Teil II: Bericht uber die Kolloquien der Kommission fur die Altertumskunde Nord- und Mitteleuropas im Jahre 1986 und 1987}} A German-language text.</ref>
==Cultural characteristics==
Caesar noted that rather than grain crops, they spent time on animal husbandry and hunting. They wore animal skins, bathed in rivers, consumed milk and meat products, and prohibited wine, allowing trade only to dispose of their booty and otherwise they had no goods to export. They had no private ownership of land and were not permitted to stay resident in one place for more than one year. They were divided into 100 cantons, each of which had to provide and support 1000 armed men for the constant pursuit of war.
[[File:IArta romana prizonier MG 1761 02.JPG|thumb|Captive with Suebian knot National Museum of Romanian History]]
Strabo describes the Suebi and people from their part of the world as highly mobile and nomadic, unlike more settled and agricultural tribes such as the [[Chatti]] and [[Cherusci]]:<blockquote>...they do not till the soil or even store up food, but live in small huts that are merely temporary structures; and they live for the most part off their flocks, as the Nomads do, so that, in imitation of the Nomads, they load their household belongings on their wagons and with their beasts turn whithersoever they think best.</blockquote>
Notable in classical sources, the Suebi can be identified by their hair style called the "[[Suebian knot]]", which "distinguishes the freeman from the slave";<ref>Section 38.</ref> or in other words served as a badge of social rank. The same passage points out that chiefs "use an even more elaborate style".
Tacitus mentions the sacrifice of humans practiced by the [[Semnones]] in a sacred grove<ref name="Section 39"/> and the murder of slaves used in the rites of [[Nerthus]] practiced by the tribes of [[Schleswig-Holstein]].<ref name="sect40"/> The chief priest of the [[Naharvali]] dresses as a woman and that tribe also worships in groves. The [[Harii]] fight at night dyed black. The [[Suiones]] own fleets of rowing vessels with prows at both ends.
==Language==
[[File:Germanic dialects ca. AD 1.png|thumb|Proposed theory on the distribution of the primary [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] dialect groups in Europe in around AD 1:
{{legend|Blue|[[North Germanic languages|North Germanic]]}}
{{legend|Red|[[North Sea Germanic]], or Ingvaeonic}}
{{legend|Orange|[[Weser–Rhine Germanic]], or Istvaeonic}}
{{legend|Yellow|[[Elbe Germanic]], or Irminonic}}
{{legend|Green|[[East Germanic languages|East Germanic]]}}]]
While there is debate possible about whether all tribes identified by Romans as Germanic spoke a [[Germanic languages|Germanic language]], the Suebi are generally agreed to have spoken one or more Germanic languages. Tacitus refers to Suebian languages, implying there was more than one by the end of the first century. In particular, the Suebi are associated with the concept of an "Elbe Germanic" group of early dialects spoken by the [[Irminones]], entering Germany from the east, and originating on the Baltic. In late classical times, these dialects, by now situated to the south of the Elbe, and stretching across the Danube into the Roman empire, experienced the [[High German consonant shift]] that defines modern [[High German languages]], and in its most extreme form, [[Upper German]].<ref name=robinson>{{citation| title=Old English and its Closest Relatives| year=1992| first=Orrin |author-link=Orrin W. Robinson (philologist)|last= Robinson}} pages 194–5.</ref>
Modern [[Swabian German]], and [[Alemannic German]] more broadly, are therefore "assumed to have evolved at least in part" from Suebian.<ref>Waldman & Mason, 2006, ''Encyclopedia of European Peoples'', p. 784.</ref> However, [[Bavarian language|Bavarian]], the [[Thuringian dialect]], the [[Lombardic language]] spoken by the Lombards of Italy, and [[standard German|standard "High German"]] itself, are also at least partly derived from the dialects spoken by the Suebi. (The only non-Suebian name among the major groups of Upper Germanic dialects is [[High Franconian German]], but this is on the transitional frontier with [[Central German]], as is neighboring Thuringian.)<ref name=robinson/>
==Historical events==
===Ariovistus and the Suebi in 58 BC===
[[File:Julius Caesar.jpg|thumb|Marble bust of Julius Caesar, first century C.E.; recent discovery on the [[Pantelleria|Island of Pantelleria]].]]
{{Wikisource|Commentaries on the Gallic War/Book 4}}
Julius Caesar (100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) describes the Suebi in his firsthand account, ''[[De Bello Gallico]]'',<ref>Book IV, sections 1–3, and 19; Book VI, section 10.</ref> as the "largest and the most warlike nation of all the Germans".
Caesar confronted a large army led by a Suevic King named [[Ariovistus]] in 58 BC who had been settled for some time in Gaul already, at the invitation of the Gaulish [[Arverni]] and [[Sequani]] as part of their war against the Aedui. He had already been recognized as a king by the Roman senate. Ariovistus forbade the Romans from entering into Gaul. Caesar on the other hand saw himself and Rome as an ally and defender of the Aedui.
The forces Caesar faced in battle were composed of "[[Harudes]], [[Marcomanni]], [[Tribocci]], [[Vangiones]], [[Nemetes]], [[Sedusii]], and Suevi". While Caesar was preparing for conflict, a new force of Suebi was led to the Rhine by two brothers, Nasuas and Cimberius, forcing Caesar to rush in order to try to avoid the joining of forces.
Caesar defeated Ariovistus in battle, forcing him to escape across the Rhine. When news of this spread, the fresh Suebian forces turned back in some panic, which led local tribes on the Rhine to take advantage of the situation and attack them.
===Caesar and the Suebi in 55 BC===
Also reported within Caesar's accounts of the Gallic wars, the Suebi posed another threat in 55 BC.<ref>Book IV sections 4–19.</ref> The Germanic [[Ubii]], who had worked out an alliance with Caesar, were complaining of being harassed by the Suebi, and the Tencteri and Usipetes, already forced from their homes, tried to cross the Rhine and enter Gaul by force. Caesar bridged the Rhine, the first known to do so, with a [[pile bridge]], which though considered a marvel, was dismantled after only eighteen days. The Suebi abandoned their towns closest to the Romans, retreated to the forest and assembled an army. Caesar moved back across the bridge and broke it down, stating that he had achieved his objective of warning the Suebi. They in turn supposedly stopped harassing the Ubii. The Ubii were later resettled on the west bank of the Rhine, in Roman territory.
===Rhine crossing of 29 BC===
[[Cassius Dio]] (c. 150 – 235 AD) wrote the history of Rome for a Greek audience. He reported that, shortly before 29 BC, the Suebi crossed the Rhine, only to be defeated by [[Gaius Carrinas (consul 43 BC)|Gaius Carrinas]] who, along with the young [[Octavian Caesar]], celebrated a triumph in 29 BC.<ref>{{cite web | first=Lucius Claudius Cassius | last=Dio | author-link=Cassius Dio |translator=Herbert Baldwin Foster | title=Dio's Rome | work=Project Gutenberg | url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10162/10162-8.txt | pages=Book 51 sections 21, 22}}</ref> Shortly after, they turn up fighting a group of [[Dacia]]ns in a gladiatorial display at Rome celebrating the consecration of the Julian hero-shrine.
===The victory of Drusus in 9 BC===
[[Suetonius]] (c. 69 AD – after 122 AD), gives the Suebi brief mention in connection with their defeat against [[Nero Claudius Drusus]] in 9 BC. He says that the Suebi and [[Sugambri]] "submitted to him and were taken into Gaul and settled in lands near the Rhine" while the other Germani were pushed "to the farther side of the [[Elbe|river Albis]]" (Elbe).<ref>{{cite web | first=Gaius | last=Suetonius Tranquillus | author-link=Suetonius | title=The Life of Augustus | work=The Lives of the Twelve Caesars | publisher=Bill Thayer in LacusCurtius | pages=section 21 | url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Augustus*.html}}</ref> He must have meant the temporary military success of Drusus, as it is unlikely the Rhine was cleared of Germans. Elsewhere he identifies the settlers as 40,000 prisoners of war, only a fraction of the yearly draft of militia.<ref>{{cite web | first=Gaius | last=Suetonius Tranquillus | author-link=Suetonius | title=The Life of Tiberius | work=The Lives of the Twelve Caesars | publisher=Bill Thayer in LacusCurtius | pages=section 9 | url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Tiberius*.html}}</ref>
[[Florus]] (c. 74 AD – c. 130 AD), gives a more detailed view of the operations of 9 BC. He reports that the [[Cherusci]], Suebi and [[Sicambri]] formed an alliance by crucifying twenty Roman centurions, but that Drusus defeated them, confiscated their plunder and sold them into slavery.<ref>{{cite book | first=Lucius Annaeus | last=Florus | author-link=Florus | title=Epitome of Roman History | pages=Book II section 30 | no-pp=true}}</ref> Presumably only the war party was sold, as the Suebi continue to appear in the ancient sources.
Florus's report of the peace brought to Germany by Drusus is glowing but premature. He built "more than five hundred forts" and two bridges guarded by fleets. "He opened a way through the [[Hercynian Forest]]", which implies but still does not overtly state that he had subdued the Suebi. "In a word, there was such peace in Germany that the inhabitants seemed changed ... and the very climate milder and softer than it used to be."
In the ''[[Annals (Tacitus)|Annales]]'' of Tacitus, it is mentioned that after the defeat of 9 BC the Romans made peace with  [[Marbod|Maroboduus]], who is described as king of the Suevians. This is the first mention of any permanent king of the Suebi.<ref name="Book II section 26">Book II section 26.</ref> However, Maroboduus was in most sources referred to as the king of the [[Marcomanni]], a tribal name that had already been distinct from the Suebi in Caesar's time. (As discussed above, it is not sure which Suebi were the Suebi of Caesar, but at least they were distinguished from the Marcomanni.) However, Maroboduus was also described as Suebian, and his association with the Marcomanni more specifically comes after the Langobards and Semnones were specifically said to have left his kingdom, having previously been under his rule. At some point in this period the Marcomanni had come to be settled in the forested regions once inhabited by the [[Boii]], in and around [[Bohemia]], under his rule.
Augustus planned in 6 AD to destroy the kingdom of Maroboduus, which he considered to be too dangerous for the Romans. The later emperor [[Tiberius]] commanded twelve legions to attack the Marcomanni, but the outbreak of a [[Great Illyrian revolt|revolt]] in [[Illyria]], and the need for troops there, forced Tiberius to conclude a treaty with Maroboduus and to recognize him as king.<ref>Velleius Paterculus, ''Compendium of Roman History'' 2, 109, 5; [[Cassius Dio]], ''Roman History'' 55, 28, 6–7</ref>
===Roman defeat in 9 AD===
{{Main|Battle of the Teutoburg Forest}}
After the death of Drusus, the [[Cherusci]] annihilated three legions at the [[Battle of Teutoburg Forest]] and thereafter "... the empire ... was checked on the banks of the Rhine." While elements of the Suevi may have been involved, this was an alliance mainly made up of non-Suebic tribes from northwestern Germany, the Cherusci, [[Marsi (Germanic)|Marsi]], Chatti, Bructeri, Chauci, and Sicambri. The kingdom of the Marcomanni and their allies stayed out of the conflict and when Maroboduus was sent the head of the defeated Roman leader [[Publius Quinctilius Varus|Varus]], he sent it on to Rome for burial. Within his own alliance were various Suebic peoples, Hermunduri, Quadi, Semnones, Lugii, Zumi, Butones, Mugilones, Sibini and Langobards.
===Aftermath of 9 AD===
[[File:Germanic limes.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Roman limes and modern boundaries.]]
Subsequently, Augustus placed [[Germanicus]], the son of Drusus, in charge of the forces of the Rhine and he, after dealing with a mutiny among his troops, proceeded against the [[Cherusci]] and their allies, breaking their power finally at the battle of Idistavisus, a plain on the [[Weser]]. All eight legions and supporting units of Gauls were required in order to accomplish this.<ref>Book II section 16.</ref> Germanicus' zeal led finally to his being replaced (17 AD) by his cousin Drusus, Tiberius' son, as [[Tiberius]] thought it best to follow his predecessor's policy of limiting the empire. Germanicus certainly would have involved the Suebi, with unpredictable results.<ref name="Book II section 26"/>
[[Arminius]], leader of the [[Cherusci]] and allies, now had a free hand. He accused Maroboduus of hiding in the [[Hercynian Forest]] while the other Germans fought for freedom, and of being the only king among the Germans. The two groups "turned their arms against each other." The Suebic [[Semnones]] and [[Langobardi]] rebelled against their king and went over to the Cherusci. Left with only the [[Marcomanni]] and Herminius' uncle, who had defected, Maroboduus appealed to [[Drusus Julius Caesar|Drusus]], now governor of [[Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum|Illyricum]], and was given only a pretext of aid.<ref>Book II sections 44–46.</ref>
The resulting battle was indecisive but Maroboduus withdrew to Bohemia and sent for assistance to Tiberius. He was refused on the grounds that he had not moved to help [[Publius Quinctilius Varus|Varus]]. Drusus encouraged the Germans to finish him off. A force of [[Goths]] under [[Catualda]], a Marcomannian exile, bought off the nobles and seized the palace. Maroboduus escaped to [[Noricum]] and the Romans offered him refuge in [[Ravenna]] where he remained the rest of his life.<ref>Book II sections 62–63.</ref> He died in 37 AD. After his expulsion the leadership of the Marcomanni was contested by their Suebic neighbours and allies, the Hermunduri and Quadi.
===Marcomannic wars===
{{main|Marcomannic Wars}}
In the 2nd century AD, the Marcomanni entered into a confederation with other peoples including the [[Quadi]], Vandals, and [[Sarmatians]], against the Roman Empire. The war began in 166, when the Marcomanni overwhelmed the defences between [[Vindobona]] and [[Carnuntum]], penetrated along the border between the provinces of [[Pannonia]] and [[Noricum]], laid waste to [[Flavia Solva]], and could be stopped only shortly before reaching [[Aquileia]] on the [[Adriatic]] sea. The war lasted until Marcus Aurelius' death in 180.
In the third century Jordanes claims that the Marcomanni paid tribute to the Goths, and that the princes of the Quadi were enslaved. The Vandals, who had moved south towards Pannonia, were apparently still sometimes able to defend themselves.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.romansonline.com/Src_Frame.asp?DocID=Gth_Goth_16 |title=chapt 16 |publisher=Romansonline.com |access-date=2014-05-01 |archive-date=2014-05-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502033048/http://www.romansonline.com/Src_Frame.asp?DocID=Gth_Goth_16 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Migration period==
[[File:Alemanni expansion.png|thumb|Alemanni expansion and Roman-Alemannic battle sites, 3rd to 5th century]]
In 259/60, one or more groups of Suebi appear to have been the main element in the formation of a new tribal alliance known as the [[Alemanni]] who came to occupy the Roman frontier region known as the [[Agri Decumates]], east of the Rhine and south of the Main. The Alamanni were sometimes simply referred to as Suebi by contemporaries, and the region came to be known as [[Swabia]] – a name which survives to this day. People in this region of Germany are still called [[Schwaben]], a name derived from the Suebi. One specific group in the region in the 3rd century, sometimes distinguished from the Alamanni, were the [[Juthungi]], which a monument found in Augsburg refers to as Semnones.
A large group of Suebi, whose origins are unclear, breached the Roman frontier by [[Crossing of the Rhine|crossing the Rhine]], perhaps at [[Mainz]], at about the same time as the Vandals and [[Alans]] (31 December 406), thus launching an invasion of northern [[Gaul]]. It is thought that this group probably contained a significant amount of [[Quadi]], moving out of their homeland under pressure from [[Radagaisus]]. This group later invaded Spain and became rulers of Roman Gaellicia.
Other Suebi apparently remained in or near to the original homeland areas near the Elbe and the modern Czech Republic, occasionally still being referred to by this term. Another group of Suebi, the so-called "northern Suebi" were described as a part of the Saxons in 569 under the [[Franks|Frankish]] king [[Sigebert I]] in areas of today's [[Saxony-Anhalt]]. An area known as [[Schwabengau]] or Suebengau existed at least until the 12th century.
Further south, a group of Suebi established a kingdom in parts of [[Pannonia]], which appears in records after the [[Huns]] were defeated in 454 at the [[Battle of Nedao]]. Their king [[Hunimund]] fought against the [[Ostrogoths]] in the [[battle of Bolia]] in 469. The Suebian coalition lost the battle, and Hunimund appear to have migrated towards southern Germany.<ref>Geschichte der Goten. Entwurf einer historischen Ethnographie, C.H. Beck, 1. Aufl. (München 1979), 2. Aufl. (1980), unter dem Titel: Die Goten. Von den Anfängen bis zur Mitte des sechsten Jahrhunderts. 4. Aufl. (2001)</ref> The [[Marcomanni]] probably made up one significant part of these Suebi, who lived in at least two distinct areas.<ref>See [[Friedrich Lotter]] on the "Donausueben".</ref> Later, the Lombards, a Suebic group long known on the Elbe, came to dominate the Pannonian region before successfully invading Italy.
==Suevian Kingdom of Gallaecia==
{{main|Kingdom of the Suebi}}
[[File:Suebic migrations.jpg|thumbnail|400px|Suebic migrations across Europe.]]
===Migration===
Suebi under king [[Hermeric]], probably coming from the Alemanni, the Quadi, or both,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=López Quiroga |first1=Jorge |title=Elementos foráneos en las necrópolis tardorromanas de Beiral (Ponte de Lima, Portugal) y Vigo (Pontevedra, España): de nuevo la cuestión del siglo V d. C. en la Península Ibérica |journal=CuPAUAM |date=2001 |volume=27 |pages=115–124 |url=https://www.uam.es/otros/cupauam/pdf/Cupauam27/2706.pdf |access-date=2 July 2018}}</ref> worked their way into the south of France, eventually crossing the [[Pyrenees]] and entering the [[Iberian Peninsula]] which was no longer under Imperial rule since the rebellion of [[Gerontius (magister militum)|Gerontius]] and [[Maximus of Hispania|Maximus]] in 409.
Passing through the [[Basque Country (historical territory)|Basque country]], they settled in the Roman province of [[Gallaecia]], in north-western [[Hispania]] (modern [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], [[Asturias]], and the northern half of [[Portugal]]), where, swearing fealty to Emperor [[Honorius (emperor)|Honorius]], they were accepted as ''[[foederati]]'' and permitted to settle under their own autonomous governance. Contemporaneously with the self-governing province of [[Sub-Roman Britain|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 in 410 and lasted until 584. Smaller than the [[Ostrogoths|Ostrogothic]] kingdom of Italy or the [[Visigoths|Visigothic]] kingdom in [[Hispania]], it reached a relative stability and prosperity—and even expanded military southwards—despite the occasional quarrels with the neighbouring Visigothic kingdom.
===Settlement===
[[File:Suevos.JPG|thumb|right|Road sign at the village of Suevos, [[Ames, A Coruña|Ames]] ([[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]]).]]
[[File:Sueben coin II.jpg|thumb|Golden coin from the [[Kingdom of the Suebi]], 410–500 AD]]
The Germanic invaders and immigrants settled mainly in rural areas, as [[Idacius]] clearly stated: "The Hispanic, spread over cities and [[oppidum|oppida]]..." and the "Barbarians, govern over the provinces". According to [[Dan Stanislawski]], the [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] way of living in Northern regions is mostly inherited from the Suebi, in which small farms prevail, distinct from the large properties of Southern Portugal. Bracara Augusta, the modern city of [[Braga]] and former capital of Roman Gallaecia, became the capital of the Suebi. [[Paulus Orosius|Orosius]], at that time resident in Hispania, shows a rather pacific initial settlement, the newcomers working their lands<ref>"the barbarians, detesting their swords, turn them into ploughs", ''Historiarum Adversum Paganos'', VII, 41, 6.</ref> or serving as bodyguards of the locals.<ref>"anyone wanting to leave or to depart, uses these barbarians as mercenaries, servers or defenders", ''Historiarum Adversum Paganos'', VII, 41, 4.</ref> Another Germanic group that accompanied the Suebi and settled in Gallaecia were the [[Buri (Germanic tribe)|Buri]]. They settled in the region between the rivers [[Cávado River|Cávado]] and [[Homem River|Homem]], in the area known as [[Terras de Bouro]] (Lands of the Buri), Portugal.<ref>Domingos Maria da Silva, ''Os Búrios'', Terras de Bouro, Câmara Municipal de Terras de Bouro, 2006. (in [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]])</ref>
As the Suebi quickly adopted the local [[Iberian Romance languages|language]], few traces were left of their Germanic tongue, but for some words and for [[Germanic personal names in Galicia#Names used by the Suevi|their personal and land names]], adopted by most of the Gallaeci.<ref>Medieval Galician records show more than 1500 different Germanic names in use for over 70% of the local population. Also, in Galicia, Northern and Central Portugal, there are more than 5.000 toponyms (villages and towns) based on personal Germanic names ([[Mondariz]] < *villa *Mundarici; [[Baltar, Ourense|Baltar]] < *villa *Baldarii; [[Gomesende]] < *villa *Gumesenþi; [[Gondomar, Portugal|Gondomar]] < *villa *Gunþumari...); and several toponyms not based on personal names, mainly in Galicia (Malburgo, [[Samos, Lugo|Samos]] < Samanos "Congregated", near a hundred Saa/Sá < *Sala "house, palace"...); and some lexical influence on the [[Galician language]] and [[Portuguese language]], such as:<br />''laverca'' "[[lark]]" < protogermanic *laiwarikō "lark"<br />''brasa'' "torch; ember" < protogermanic *blasōn "torch"<br />''britar'' "to break" < protogermanic *breutan "to break"<br />''lobio'' "vine gallery" < protogermanic *laubjōn "leaves"<br />''ouva'' "elf" < protogermanic *albaz "elf"<br />''trigar'' "to urge" < protogermanic *þreunhan "to urge"<br />''maga'' "guts (of fish)" < protogermanic *magōn "stomach"</ref> In Galicia four [[parish]]es and six villages are named ''Suevos'' or ''Suegos'', i.e. ''Sueves'', after old Suebic settlements.
===Establishment===
[[File:Espada sueva - Conimbriga.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Suebic sword. Conimbriga, Portugal]]
The [[Visigoths]] were sent in 416 by the emperor Honorius to fight the Germanic invaders in Hispania, but they were re-settled in 417 by the Romans  as ''foederati'' in Aquitania after completely defeating the [[Alans]] and the [[Silingi]] Vandals. The absence of competition permitted first, the [[Asdingi]] Vandals, and later, the Suebi, to expand south and east. After the departure of the Vandals for Africa in 429 Roman authority in the peninsula was reasserted for 10 years except in northwest where the Suevi were confined. In its heyday Suebic Gallaecia extended as far south as [[Mérida, Spain|Mérida]] and [[Seville]], capitals of the Roman provinces of [[Lusitania]] and [[Betica]], while their expeditions reached [[Zaragoza]] and [[Lleida]] after taking the Roman capital, Mérida, in 439. The previous year 438 [[Hermeric]] ratified the peace with the [[Gallaeci]], the local and partially romanized rural population, and, weary of fighting, abdicated in favour of his son [[Requila|Rechila]], who proved to be a notable general, defeating first Andevotus, ''Romanae militiae dux'',<ref>Isidorus Hispalensis, ''[[Historia de regibus Gothorum, Vandalorum et Suevorum]]'', 85</ref> and later [[Vitus (magister militum)|Vitus ''magister utriusque militiae'']]. In 448, [[Rechila]] died, leaving the crown to his son [[Rechiar]] who had converted to Roman Catholicism c. 447. Soon, he married a daughter of the Gothic king [[Theodoric I]], and began a wave of attacks on the [[Hispania Tarraconensis|Tarraconense]], still a Roman province. By 456 the campaigns of [[Rechiar]] clashed with the interests of the Visigoths, and a large army of Roman federates (Visigoths under the command of [[Theodoric II]], [[Burgundians]] directed by kings [[Gundioc]] and [[Chilperic I of Burgundy|Chilperic]]) crossed the [[Pyrenees]] into Hispania, and defeated the Suebi near modern-day [[Astorga, Spain|Astorga]]. Rechiar was executed after being captured by his brother-in-law, the Visigothic king Theodoric II. In 459, the Roman emperor [[Majorian]] defeated the Suebi, briefly restoring Roman rule in northern [[Hispania]]. Nevertheless, the Suebi became free of Roman control forever after Majorian was assassinated two years later. The Suebic kingdom was confined in the northwest in Gallaecia and northern Lusitania where political division and civil war arose among several pretenders to the royal throne. After years of turmoil, [[Remismund]] was recognized as the sole king of the Suebi, bringing forth a politic of friendship with the Visigoths, and favoring the conversion of his people to [[Arianism]].
===Last years of the kingdom===
[[Image:Hispania3c.JPG|thumb|The Suebic kingdom of Gallaecia (green), c. 550, (with borders of the former Roman provinces of Hispania)]]
In 561 king Ariamir called the catholic [[First Council of Braga]], which dealt with the old problem of the [[Priscillianism]] heresy. Eight years after, in 569, king Theodemir called the [[First Council of Lugo]],<ref>Ferreiro, 199 n11.</ref> in order to increase the number of dioceses within his kingdom. Its acts have been preserved through a medieval resume known as ''Parrochiale Suevorum'' or ''Divisio Theodemiri''.
===Defeat by the Visigoths===
In 570 the Arian king of the Visigoths, [[Leovigild]], made his first attack on the Suebi. Between 572 and 574, Leovigild invaded the valley of the [[Douro]], pushing the Suebi west and northwards. In 575 the Suebic king, [[Miro of Gallaecia|Miro]], made a peace treaty with Leovigild in what seemed to be the beginning of a new period of stability. Yet, in 583 Miro supported the rebellion of the Catholic Gothic prince [[Hermenegild]], engaging in military action against king Leovigild, although Miro was defeated in Seville when trying to break on through the blockade on the Catholic prince. As a result, he was forced to recognize Leovigild as friend and protector, for him and for his successors, dying back home just some months later. His son, king [[Eboric]], confirmed the friendship with Leovigild, but he was deposed just a year later by his brother-in-law [[Andeca|Audeca]], giving Leovigild an excuse to attack the kingdom. In 585 AD, first Audeca and later [[Malaric]], were defeated and the Suebic kingdom was incorporated into the Visigothic one as its sixth province. The Suebi were respected in their properties and freedom, and continued to dwell in Gallaecia, finally merging with the rest of the local population during the early Middle Ages.
===Religion===
====Conversion to Arianism====
The Suebi remained mostly pagan, and their subjects [[Priscillianism|Priscillianist]] until an [[Arianism|Arian]] missionary named [[Ajax (missionary)|Ajax]], sent by the Visigothic king Theodoric II at the request of the Suebic unifier [[Remismund]], in 466 converted them and established a lasting Arian church which dominated the people until the conversion to Trinitarian Catholicism the 560s.
====Conversion to Orthodox Trinitarianism====
Mutually incompatible accounts of the conversion of the Suebi to Orthodox Catholic Trinitarian Christianity of the First and Second Ecumenical Councils are presented in the primary records:
* The minutes of the [[First Council of Braga]]—which met on 1 May 561—state explicitly that the synod was held at the orders of a king named [[Ariamir]]. Of the eight assistant bishops, just one bears a Suebic name: Hildemir. While the Catholicism of Ariamir is not in doubt, that he was the first Chalcedonian monarch of the Suebi since Rechiar has been contested on the grounds that his Catholicism is not explicitly stated.{{Clarify|date=March 2011}}<!--His Catholicism is not in doubt, but is contested (because it isn't stated)? This is a contradiction if there ever was one.--><ref name = "Thompson86"/> He was, however, the first Suebic monarch to hold a Catholic synod, and when the [[Second Council of Braga]] was held at the request of king [[Miro (Suevic king)|Miro]], a Catholic himself,<ref>St. Martin on Braga wrote in his [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/martinbraga/formula.shtml Formula Vitae Honestae] ''Gloriosissimo ac tranquillissimo et insigni catholicae fidei praedito pietate Mironi regi''</ref> in 572, of the twelve assistant bishops five bears Suebic names: Remisol of [[Viseu]], Adoric of [[Idanha-a-Velha|Idanha]], Wittimer of [[Ourense]], Nitigis of [[Lugo]] and Anila of [[Tui, Galicia|Tui]].
* The ''[[Historia Suevorum]]'' of [[Isidore of Seville]] states that a king named [[Theodemir (Suebian king)|Theodemar]] brought about the conversion of his people from [[Arianism]] with the help of the missionary [[Martin of Dumio]].<ref>Ferreiro, 198 n8.</ref>
* According to the [[Franks|Frankish]] historian [[Gregory of Tours]], on the other hand, an otherwise unknown sovereign named [[Chararic (Suevic king)|Chararic]], having heard of [[Martin of Tours]], promised to accept the beliefs of the saint if only his son would be cured of [[leprosy]]. Through the relics and intercession of Saint Martin the son was healed; Chararic and the entire royal household converted to the [[Nicene Creed|Nicene faith]].<ref name="Thompson83">Thompson, 83.</ref>
* By 589, when the [[Third Council of Toledo]] was held, and the Visigoth Kingdom of Toledo converted officially from Arianism to Catholicism, king [[Reccared I]] stated in its minutes that also "an infinite number of Suebi have converted", together with the Goths, which implies that the earlier conversion was either superficial or partial. In the same council, four bishops from Gallaecia abjured of their Arianism. And so, the Suebic conversion is ascribed, not to a Suebe, but to a Visigoth by [[John of Biclarum]], who puts their conversion alongside that of the Goths, occurring under Reccared I in 587–589.<!--an essential summary here would report Knut Schäferdiek, ''Die Kirche in den Reichen der Westgoten und Suewen bis zur Errichtung der westgotischen katholischen Staatskirche.'' 1967:214-28.-->
Most scholars have attempted to meld these stories. It has been alleged that Chararic and Theodemir must have been successors of Ariamir, since Ariamir was the first Suebic monarch to lift the ban on Catholic synods; Isidore therefore gets the chronology wrong.<ref>Thompson, 87.</ref><ref>Ferreiro, 199.</ref> Reinhart suggested that Chararic was converted first through the [[relics]] of Saint Martin and that Theodemir was converted later through the preaching of Martin of Dumio.<ref name="Thompson86">Thompson, 86.</ref> Dahn equated Chararic with Theodemir, even saying that the latter was the name he took upon baptism.<ref name="Thompson86"/> It has also been suggested that Theodemir and Ariamir were the same person and the son of Chararic.<ref name="Thompson86"/> In the opinion of some historians, Chararic is nothing more than an error on the part of Gregory of Tours and never existed.<ref>Thompson, 88.</ref> If, as Gregory relates, Martin of Dumio died about the year 580 and had been bishop for about thirty years, then the conversion of Chararic must have occurred around 550 at the latest.<ref name="Thompson83"/> Finally, Ferreiro believes the conversion of the Suebi was progressive and stepwise and that Chararic's public conversion was only followed by the lifting of a ban on Catholic synods in the reign of his successor, which would have been Ariamir; Thoedemir was responsible for beginning a persecution of the Arians in his kingdom to root out their heresy.<ref>Ferreiro, 207.</ref>
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Galicia - Quiroga Chi Rho.jpg|Christian [[Chi Rho]] on a 5th-century marble table, [[Quiroga, Galicia|Quiroga]], [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]].
File:Fíbulas suevas.jpg|Suebic and Roman fibullae from [[Conimbriga]], Portugal
</gallery>
==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.<ref name="urnordisk"/> [[Sváfa]], whose name means "Suebian",<ref name="runnamn">[http://www.sofi.se/servlet/GetDoc?meta_id=1017 Peterson, Lena. (2002). ''Nordiskt runnamnslexikon'', at ''Institutet för språk och folkminnen'', Sweden.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014171959/http://www.sofi.se/servlet/GetDoc?meta_id=1017 |date=October 14, 2013 }}</ref> was a [[Valkyrie]] who appears in the eddic poem ''[[Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar]]''. The kingdom ''Sváfaland'' also appears in this poem and in the ''[[Þiðrekssaga]]''.
==See also==
* [[Swabia]]
* [[Dukes of Swabia family tree]]
* [[Germanic personal names in Galicia]]
* [[Laeti]]
== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}
=== General sources ===
{{Refbegin}}
* Ferreiro, Alberto. [http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pao-us:&rft_dat=xri:pao:article:v530-1995-003-00-000009 "Braga and Tours: Some Observations on Gregory's ''De virtutibus sancti Martini''."] ''[[Journal of Early Christian Studies]]''. 3 (1995), p.&nbsp;195–210.
* [[Edward Arthur Thompson|Thompson, E. A.]] "The Conversion of the Spanish Suevi to Catholicism." ''Visigothic Spain: New Approaches''. ed. [[Edward James (historian)|Edward James]]. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980. {{ISBN|0-19-822543-1}}.
* Reynolds, Robert L., [http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/rbph_0035-0818_1957_num_35_1_2022 "Reconsideration of the history of the Suevi"], ''Revue belge de pholologie et d'histoire'', 35 (1957), p.&nbsp;19–45.
*{{citation|first= Ralf|last=Scharf |title=Sweben § 2-7|encyclopedia=Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde |volume=30| edition=2 | editor1-first=Heinrich |editor1-last=Beck| editor2-first=Dieter |editor2-last= Geuenich| editor3-first=Heiko |editor3-last=Steuer |publisher=De Gruyter |year=2005 |isbn=978-3-11-018385-6 }}
{{Refend}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category|Suebi}}
*[http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/hydatiuschronicon.html The Chronicle of Hydatius] is the main source for the history of the Suebi in Galicia and Portugal up to 468.
*[https://ucla.academia.edu/JorgeArias/Papers/1584561/Identity_and_Interaction_the_Suevi_and_the_Hispano-Romans Identity and Interaction: the Suevi and the Hispano-Romans, University of Virginia, 2007]
*[http://www.celtiberia.net/articulo.asp?id=1670 Medieval Galician anthroponomy]
*[http://www.benedictus.mgh.de/quellen/chga/index.htm Minutes of the Councils of Braga and Toledo], in the ''Collectio Hispana Gallica Augustodunensis''
*[http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/orosius.html Orosius' ''Historiarum Adversum Paganos Libri VII'']
{{Germanic peoples}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Suebi| ]]
[[Category:Early Germanic peoples]]
[[Category:Foederati]]
[[Category:Irminones]]