The Sciri, or Scirians, were a

Germanic people The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...

. They are believed to have spoken an East Germanic language. Their name probably means "the pure ones". The Sciri were mentioned already in the late 3rd century BC as participants in a raid on the city of

Olbia Olbia (, ; ; ) is a city and communes of Italy, commune of 61,000 inhabitants in the Italy, Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called in the Roman age, Civita in the Middle ...

near modern-day

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

. In the late 4th century they lived somewhere north of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

and

Lower Danube The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important r ...

in the vicinity of the

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

. By the early 5th century, the Sciri had been subdued by the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

, whom they fought under at the

Battle of the Catalaunian Plains The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (or Fields), also called the Battle of the Campus Mauriacus, Battle of Châlons, Battle of Troyes or the Battle of Maurica, took place on June 20, 451 AD, between a victorious coalition, led by the Roman ...

in 451 AD. After the death of

Attila Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...

, the Sciri broke free from Hunnic rule at the

Battle of Nedao The Battle of Nedao was fought in Pannonia in 454 CE between the Huns and their former Germanic vassals. Nedao is believed to be a tributary of the Sava River. Battle After the death of Attila the Hun, allied forces of the subject peoples under ...

in 454 AD. They subsequently were recorded holding their own kingdom north of the

Middle Danube The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important riv ...

, under the leadership of

Edeko By the name Edeko (with various spellings: Edeco, ''Edeko'', ''Edekon'', ''Edicon'', ''Ediko'', ''Edica'', ''Ethico'') are considered three contemporaneous historical figures, whom many scholars identify as one: *A prominent Hun, who served as both ...

and his son

Onoulphus Onoulphus, also Onoulf, Unulf and Hunulf (died 493) was a general of the late fifth century of Scirian origin. He served as '' magister militum per Illyricum'' from 477 to 479 as a general of the Eastern Roman Empire, then afterwards was a general ...

. After the destruction of this kingdom by the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths () were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Western Roman Empire, drawing upon the large Gothic populatio ...

in the late 460s AD,

Odoacer Odoacer ( – 15 March 493 AD), also spelled Odovacer or Odovacar, was a barbarian soldier and statesman from the Middle Danube who deposed the Western Roman child emperor Romulus Augustulus and became the ruler of Italy (476–493). Odoacer' ...

, another son of Edeko, attained high status within the

Roman army The Roman army () served ancient Rome and the Roman people, enduring through the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (509–27 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC–AD 1453), including the Western Roman Empire (collapsed Fall of the W ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, ruling Sciri, Rugii and other non-Roman peoples as a king. Odoacer eventually made himself

King of Italy King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by ...

in 476 AD, effectively ending the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

. Odoacer was in turn deposed and killed by

Theodoric the Great Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal, was king of the Ostrogoths (475–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy between 493 and 526, regent of the Visigoths (511–526 ...

in 493 AD. Along with the

Rugii The Rugii, Rogi or Rugians (), were one of the smaller Germanic peoples of Late Antiquity who are best known for their short-lived 5th-century kingdom upon the Roman frontier, near present-day Krems an der Donau in Austria. This kingdom, like t ...

Heruli The Heruli (also Eluri, Eruli, Herules, Herulians) were one of the smaller Germanic peoples of Late Antiquity, known from records in the third to sixth centuries AD. The best recorded group of Heruli established a kingdom north of the Middle Danu ...

and other Middle Danubian peoples, the Sciri might also have contributed to the formation of the

Bavarii The Baiuvarii or Bavarii, sometimes simply called Bavarians (; ) were a Germanic people who lived in and near present-day southern Bavaria, which is named after them. They began to appear in records by the 6th century AD, and their culture, lang ...

Name

Since the 19th century, the etymology of the Sciri name has been connected to such Germanic words as Gothic '' skeirs'' ("sheer", "pure"). Rudolf Much, in the first edition of the ''

Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde ''Germanische Altertumskunde Online'', formerly called ''Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde'', is a German encyclopedia of the study of Germanic history and cultures, as well as the cultures that were in close contact with them. The first ...

'' pointed out that this could be interpreted three ways: "bright" (''clari, splendidi''), "honest" (''candidi, sinceri'') or "pure" and "unmixed", and he mentioned that the latter racial implication might make sense for a people living near a borderland. In more recent times scholars such as

Herwig Wolfram Herwig Wolfram (born 14 February 1934) is an Austrian historian who is Professor Emeritus of Medieval History and Auxiliary Sciences of History at the University of Vienna and the former Director of the . He is a leading member of the Vienna Schoo ...

have often accepted this latter idea, interpreting the name ''Sciri'' to mean "the pure ones", and contrasting their name with that of the neighboring

Bastarnae The Bastarnae, Bastarni or Basternae, also known as the Peuci or Peucini, were an ancient people who are known from Greek and Roman records to have inhabited areas north and east of the Carpathian Mountains between about 300 BC and about 300 AD, ...

, who were ethnically mixed according to this interpretation, and thus, according to this account, named "the bastards". Not all scholars have accepted this. Robert L. Reynolds and Robert S. Lopez, for example, suggested an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

etymology for Sciri, relating it to the

Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...

''shīr'' ("milk, lion"). This theory was dismissed by Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen.

Language

The Sciri are believed to have been Germanic-speaking. In 1947, for example, Maenchen-Helfen argued that while Huns also often used Germanic names, all three known personal names of the leaders of the Sciri, the family of Odoacer, were Germanic, making the case stronger. However, it is commonly accepted by scholars since then that Odoacer's father was described in one classical source as a Hun, and that there are different ways of explaining his name. Some scholars thus propose that Odoacer's mother was his connection to the Sciri, while others feel that being called a Hun in one context did not make it impossible to be called something else in another, and that in any case it is likely that Odoacer had a "polyethnic" background. More specifically, the Sciri are believed to have spoken an

East Germanic East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

language like the

Classification

The Sciri are classified as a Germanic people by modern scholars. More specifically, they are frequently grouped together with the Goths, Vandals, Heruli, Rugii, Gepids and Burgundians as East Germanic peoples.. "The Skirians lived on the middle Danube; they were an East Germanic people who were associated with the Bastarnae for a long time and the last remnants of them seem to have ended up in Bavaria." In late

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

times, many East Germanic peoples, in addition to the non-Germanic

Alans The Alans () were an ancient and medieval Iranian peoples, Iranic Eurasian nomads, nomadic pastoral people who migrated to what is today North Caucasus – while some continued on to Europe and later North Africa. They are generally regarded ...

, were often referred to as "Gothic" peoples. On at least one occasion,

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea (; ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; ; – 565) was a prominent Late antiquity, late antique Byzantine Greeks, Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Justinian I, Empe ...

included the Sciri in such a list, together with the Alans., Book V, I (=''Gothic War'', I, 1). The Sciri were not classified as Germanic in ancient sources. Reynolds and Lopez doubted that the Sciri were Germanic-language-speaking, and rather suggested that they might have been

Balts The Balts or Baltic peoples (, ) are a group of peoples inhabiting the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea who speak Baltic languages. Among the Baltic peoples are modern-day Lithuanians (including Samogitians) and Latvians (including Latgalians ...

Sarmatians The Sarmatians (; ; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples who dominated the Pontic–Caspian steppe, Pontic steppe from about the 5th century BCE to the 4t ...

. These doubts were rejected by Maenchen-Helfen, who considered it certain that the Sciri were Germanic.. "Like the Heruli the Rugi were not "probably" (loc. cit., p. 43) but most certainly a Germanic tribe". "The Heruli and Rugians were Germans. So were the Scirians as proved by the names of their leaders."

History

Origins and early history

The Bastarnae, Sciri and Vandals are believed to have been present near the

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

by the 3rd century BC. The Sciri were first mentioned in the Protogenes inscription of

, which describes attacks upon the northern

coast by the "Galatians" and "Sciri" (Γαλάτας και Σκίρους). This inscription is dated to approximately 220–200 BC. The "Galatians" in this inscription are frequently identified as the Bastarnae, who are believed to have been a Germanic people with

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

influences. It is thus believed that both the Bastarnae and Sciri had arrived in this area in the early 3rd century BC. The Bastarnae and Sciri are generally associated with the . Historian Roger Batty has also associated them with the

Zarubintsy culture The Zarubintsy, Zarubyntsi or Zarubinets culture was a culture that, from the 3rd century BC until the 1st century AD, flourished in the area north of the Black Sea along the upper and middle Dnieper and Pripyat Rivers, stretching west towards t ...

. The Sciri are not mentioned in the works of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

. The 1st century Roman writer

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

described the peoples inhabiting the region east of the Vistula, as the

, Venedi, "Sciri" and Hirri.
Book IV, Chap. 27
/ref> The Sciri are believed to have been one of several Germanic speaking peoples, including the Goths and Rugii, who had moved from the Polish region towards the Black Sea by the 3rd century AD. Around 300 AD, the

Verona List The ''Laterculus Veronensis'' or Verona List is a list of Roman provinces and barbarian peoples from the time of the emperors Diocletian and Constantine I, most likely from AD 314. The list is transmitted only in a 7th-century manuscript preserve ...

of "

barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

" living near the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

mentions the Sciri between the

to the west and the Carpi to the east.

Walter Goffart Walter André Goffart (February 22, 1934 – February 14, 2025) was a German-born American historian who specialized in Late Antiquity and the European Middle Ages. He taught for many years in the history department and Centre for Medieval Studie ...

suggests that they lived in the

valley. Peter Heather suggests that the Sciri lived east of the

Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains ...

in the 4th century, while

Malcolm Todd Malcolm Todd (27 November 19396 June 2013) was an English archaeologist. Born in Durham, England, the son of a miner, Todd was educated in classics and classical archaeology at St David's College, Lampeter and Brasenose College, Oxford. He s ...

suggests that they lived north of the Black Sea.

The Sciri under Hunnic rule

In the late 4th century AD, the Sciri were conquered by the

. In 381 AD a force of Sciri, Carpi and some Huns crossed the lower Danube into the Roman Empire. They were forced back by the emperor Theodosius. Sometime in the late 4th or early 5th century, the Sciri are believed to have moved westwards into the Middle Danube region. Here they formed part of a polity established by the Hunnic leader

Uldin Uldin, also spelled Huldin (died before 412), is the first Hunnic ruler whose historicity is undisputed. Etymology The name is recorded as ''Ουλδης'' (Ouldes) by Sozomen, ''Uldin'' by Orosius, and ''Huldin'' by Marcellinus Comes. On the ...

. In 409 AD the Sciri and Huns under Uldin crossed the Danube and invaded the Roman Balkans. They captured Castra Martis, but were eventually defeated and Uldin was killed. While the Hunnic prisoners were drafted into the

, captured Sciri were enslaved and sent as '' coloni'' to

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. The Sciri were a numerous people at this time, and the ''coloni'' were distributed over a widespread area in order to prevent them from revolting. These events are described in the ''

Codex Theodosianus The ''Codex Theodosianus'' ("Theodosian Code") is a compilation of the laws of the Roman Empire under the Christian emperors since 312. A commission was established by Emperor Theodosius II and his co-emperor Valentinian III on 26 March 429 an ...

''. During the height of the Hunnic empire under their leader

, the Sciri were subjects of Attila and provided potent infantry for him. Attila's empire included not only Huns and Sciri, but also Goths, Gepids, Thuringi, Rugii,

Suebi file:1st century Germani.png, 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 ...

, Alans and

. The Sciri participated in Attila's invasion of Gaul in 451 AD. As the Hunnic empire disintegrated, one group of Sciri were settled in the Roman empire in Scythia Minor and Lower Moesia south of the Lower Danube. Jordanes mentions four tribes that remained loyal to the Huns under

Dengizich Dengizich (died in 469), was a Huns, Hunnic ruler and son of Attila. After Attila's death in 453 AD, his empire crumbled and its remains were ruled by his three sons, Ellac, Dengizich and Ernak. Dengizich succeeded his older brother Ellac in AD 45 ...

: Ultzinzures, Bittugures, Bardores and Angisciri. The last might be a Scirian remnant. The name Angisciri has been analyzed as Germanic for "grassland Sciri", but it may be an unrelated Turkic name since the other three names in the list are Turkic.

Independent kingdom

After the death of Attila, the Sciri, Heruli, Rugii and others joined

Ardaric Ardaric (; c. 450 AD) was the Germanic kingship, king of the Gepids, a Germanic peoples, Germanic tribe closely related to the Goths. He was "famed for his loyalty and wisdom," one of the most trusted adherents of Attila the Hun, who "prized him a ...

of the Gepids in a revolt against the Huns, winning a major victory at the

in 454 AD. In the aftermath,

established a Scirian kingdom in the Middle Alföld between the

and the

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa (see below) is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. It was once called "the most Hungarian river" because it used to flow entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national bo ...

rivers, which he ruled together with his sons

and

. A man by the name of Edeko had previously been a trusted advisor of Attila, and this Edeko is generally believed to have been the same person as the one who established the Scirian kingdom.. "Maenchen-Helfen (1973)... denies the identity of the two Edecos, but it is generally accepted...". " tseems likely, the two Edecos are the same man..." Edeko had served at one point as Attila's envoy to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, and once prevented an assassination plot against him. Edeko was probably not a Scirian himself, but was married to a Scirian noblewoman. He is believed to have been either a Thuringian or a Hun, or perhaps of mixed Thuringian-Hunnic ancestry. A Thuringian origin of Edeko is attested by Malchus through the

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; ; ) is a large 10th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine encyclopedia of the History of the Mediterranean region, ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas () or Souidas (). It is an ...

, while a Hunnic origin of Edeko is attested by

Priscus Priscus of Panium (; ; 410s/420s AD – after 472 AD) was an Eastern Roman diplomat and Greek historian and rhetorician (or sophist)...: "For information about Attila, his court and the organization of life generally in his realm we have the ...

. Goffart refers to Edeko as a Hun. Heather considers a Thurungian origin more specific and thus more likely. The Thurungi were also a Germanic people. In the subsequent years the Sciri competed with neighboring Goths, Gepids, Suebi and others for supremacy over the region. Three graves at Bakodpuszta in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

has been identified with the Sciri. In the nearby Sarviz marshes a magnificent treasure has been discovered, and this treasure has been linked to Edeko. Jordanes reports that the Sciri were allies of the

, but were encouraged by Hunimund of the

to break off this alliance. In the 460s AD, both the Sciri and the Ostrogoths sought an alliance with the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

. Against the advice of his general

Aspar Flavius Ardabur Aspar (Greek: Ἄσπαρ, fl. 400471) was an Eastern Roman patrician and ''magister militum'' ("master of soldiers") of Alanic- Gothic descent. As the general of a Germanic army in Roman service, Aspar exerted great influe ...

, Emperor Leo I decided to help the Sciri. In 468/469 AD the Sciri made a surprise attack on the Ostrogoths. Although the Ostrogothic king Valamir was killed in this conflict, the Sciri were defeated. Valamir was succeeded as king by

Theodemir Theodemir, Theodemar, Theudemer or Theudimer was a Germanic name common among the various Germanic peoples of early medieval Europe. According to Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel (9th century), the form ''Theudemar'' is Frankish and ''Theudemir'' is ...

, who subsequently went on the offensive against the Sciri, who in turn received support from the Suebi, Heruli and Sarmatians. In the

Battle of Bolia The Battle of Bolia took place in 468 between the Ostrogoths (Amal dynasty) and a coalition of Germanic tribes in the Roman province of Pannonia. It was fought on the south side of the Danube near its confluence with the river Bolia, in present- ...

, the Ostrogoths defeated a coalition of Roman-supported peoples, including Sciri, Heruli, Suebi, Sarmatians, Gepids and Rugii. Jordanes reports that the Sciri were dealt a severe blow in their conflict with the Ostrogoths.

Later history

After the destruction of the Scirian kingdom, Odoacer led most of the surviving Sciri, in addition to many Heruli and Rugii, into Italy to join the Roman army, which was controlled by

Ricimer Ricimer ( , ; – 19 August 472) was a Romanized Germanic general, who ruled the remaining territory of the Western Roman Empire from 456 after defeating Avitus, until his death in 472, with a brief interlude in which he contested power wit ...

. Turcilingi are also reported as having been part of this group. Jordanes calls Odoacer king of the Turcilingi, and they have been interpreted as another East Germanic tribe and/or perhaps the royal family of the Sciri. Odoacer's brother Onoulphus went to

with other Sciri. Odoacer's group might have numbered 10,000 warriors, and came to play a prominent role in the Roman army and Roman politics. They were utilized by Ricimer in his conflict with

Anthemius Procopius Anthemius (; died 11 July 472) was the Western Roman Empire, Western Roman emperor from 467 to 472. Born in the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, Anthemius quickly worked his way up the ranks. He married into the Theodosian dyna ...

. In 476 AD, Odoacer led an uprising among the barbarian troops against

Romulus Augustulus Romulus Augustus (after 511), nicknamed Augustulus, was Roman emperor of the Western Roman Empire, West from 31 October 475 until 4 September 476. Romulus was placed on the imperial throne while still a minor by his father Orestes (father of Ro ...

and the latter's father

Orestes In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; ) was the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and the brother of Electra and Iphigenia. He was also known by the patronymic Agamemnonides (), meaning "son of Agamemnon." He is the subject of several ...

. Odoacer then declared himself king of Italy, thus ending the

. He subsequently gained control over all of Italy. It is possible that Odoacer's uprising was organized in coordination with his brother Onoulphus in Constantinople. In 486 Onoulphus fell out of favor with Eastern Roman Emperor

Zeno Zeno may refer to: People * Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Zeno (surname) Philosophers * Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes * Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 B ...

, and moved to

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

with his Scirian followers to join Odoacer. Soon afterwards, Zeno encouraged

, king of the Ostrogoths, to invade Italy. After a bloody conflict, Theodoric emerged victorious. On March 15, 493, Theodoric murdered Odoacer with his own hands and established the

Ostrogothic Kingdom The Ostrogothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of Italy (), was a barbarian kingdom established by the Germanic Ostrogoths that controlled Italian peninsula, Italy and neighbouring areas between 493 and 553. Led by Theodoric the Great, the Ost ...

. By this time the Sciri disappear from history. Remaining elements of the Sciri might have settled in modern-day

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. Along with the Heruli and Rugii, the Sciri may have been one of the tribes which contributed to the formation of the

. Since the 19th century, the name of the Sciri has been detected in Bavarian placenames.Schütte cites Johann Andreas Schmeller, ''Bayerisches Wörterbuch'', Vol.3 (1836) Wolfgang Haubrichs gives examples such as Scheyern (first attested as ''Scira'' in 1080), Scheuer (''Sciri'', c. 975), Scheuern in Neubeuern (''Skira'', 11th century) and perhaps

Scheuring Scheuring is a municipality in the district of Landsberg in Bavaria in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alp ...

(''Sciringen'', 1150). These names are believed to designate these villages as Scirian, and it is proposed that the Sciri probably mediated the transfer of a few East Germanic lexical items to the

Bavarian language Bavarian (; ), alternately Austro-Bavarian, is a group of Upper German variety (linguistics), varieties spoken in the south-east of the German language area, including the German state of Bavaria, most of Austria, and South Tyrol in Italy. P ...

, which otherwise shows no East Germanic influence.

Culture

Historians Reinhard Wenskus and Herwig Wolfram believe that Sciri prided themselves on their unmixed ancestry, and did not allow intermarriage, and that similar practices were followed by other Germanic peoples such as the Rugii and Juthungi.

Name

Language

Classification

History

Origins and early history

The Sciri under Hunnic rule

Independent kingdom

Later history

Culture

See also

Notes and references

Notes

Ancient sources

Modern sources

Further reading