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The Sciri, or Scirians, were a
Germanic people
The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...
. They are believed to have spoken an
East Germanic language
The East Germanic languages, also called the Oder–Vistula Germanic languages, are a group of extinct Germanic languages that were spoken by East Germanic peoples. East Germanic is one of the primary branches of Germanic languages, along with N ...
. 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 (, ; sc, Terranoa; sdn, Tarranoa) is a city and commune of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called ''Olbia'' in the Roman age, ...
near modern-day
Odesa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrative ...
. In the late 4th century they lived somewhere north of the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean 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 bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
and
Lower Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
in the vicinity of the
Goths
The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...
. 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 century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...
, 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 coalition – led by the Roman general ...
in 451 AD.
After the death of
Attila
Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European traditio ...
, the Sciri broke free from Hunnic rule at the
Battle of Nedao
The Battle of Nedao was a battle fought in Pannonia in 454 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 u ...
in 454 AD. They subsequently were recorded holding their own kingdom north of the
Middle Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
, under the leadership of
Edeko
By the name Edeko (with various spellings:Edicon, Ediko, Edica, Ethico) are considered three contemporaneous historical figures, whom many scholars identified as one:
*A prominent Hun, who served as both Attila's deputy and his ambassador to the ...
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 f ...
. After the destruction of this kingdom by the
Ostrogoths
The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) 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 Roman Empire, based upon the larg ...
in the late 460s AD,
Odoacer
Odoacer ( ; – 15 March 493 AD), also spelled Odovacer or Odovacar, was a soldier and statesman of barbarian background, who deposed the child emperor Romulus Augustulus and became Rex/Dux (476–493). Odoacer's overthrow of Romulus Augustul ...
, another son of Edeko, attained high status within the
Roman army
The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...
in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, ruling Sciri, Rugii and other non-Roman peoples as a king. Odoacer eventually made himself
King of Italy
King of Italy ( it, links=no, Re d'Italia; la, links=no, Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian military leader, ...
in 476 AD, effectively
ending the
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...
.
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 ( got, , *Þiudareiks; Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ), was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy b ...
in 493 AD. Along with the
Rugii
The Rugii, Rogi or Rugians ( grc, Ρογοί, Rogoi), were a Roman-era Germanic people. They were first clearly recorded by Tacitus, in his ''Germania'' who called them the ''Rugii'', and located them near the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Som ...
,
Heruli
The Heruli (or Herules) were an early Germanic people. Possibly originating in Scandinavia, the Heruli are first mentioned by Roman authors as one of several "Scythian" groups raiding Roman provinces in the Balkans and the Aegean Sea, attacking b ...
and other Middle Danubian peoples, the Sciri might also have contributed to the formation of the
Bavarii.
Name
Since the 19th century, the etymology of the Sciri name has been connected to such Germanic words as
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
''
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 Sc ...
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 ( Latin variants: ''Bastarni'', or ''Basternae''; grc, Βαστάρναι or Βαστέρναι) and Peucini ( grc, Πευκῖνοι) were two ancient peoples who between 200 BC and 300 AD inhabited areas north of the Roman front ...
, 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
Roberto Sabatino Lopez (October 8, 1910 – July 6, 1986) was an Italian-born American historian of medieval European economic history. He taught for many years at Yale University as a Sterling Professor of History.
Early life and education
Ro ...
, for example, suggested an
Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
etymology for Sciri, relating it to the
Middle Persian
Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle Per ...
''shīr'' ("milk, lion"). This theory was dismissed by
Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen
Otto John Maenchen-Helfen (German: Otto Mänchen-Helfen; July 26, 1894 – January 29, 1969) was an Austrian academic, sinologist, historian, author, and traveler.
From 1927 to 1930, he worked at the Marx-Engels Institute in Moscow, and from 193 ...
.
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 or Orient 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 ...
language like the
Goths
The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...
.
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 ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
times, many East Germanic peoples, in addition to the non-Germanic
Alans
The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the Al ...
, were often referred to as "Gothic" peoples. On at least one occasion,
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gener ...
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 ( lt, baltai, lv, balti) are an ethno-linguistic group of peoples who speak the Baltic languages of the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages.
One of the features of Baltic languages is the number ...
or
Sarmatians
The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples of classical ant ...
. 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 (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland.
The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...
by the 3rd century BC. The Sciri were first mentioned in the Protogenes inscription of
Olbia
Olbia (, ; sc, Terranoa; sdn, Tarranoa) is a city and commune of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called ''Olbia'' in the Roman age, ...
, which describes attacks upon the northern
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean 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 bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
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 Fo ...
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
Poienesti-Lukasevka culture. Historian Roger Batty has also associated them with the
Zarubintsy culture
The Zarubintsy 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 the Southern ...
.
The Sciri are not mentioned in the works of
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 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 a civil war, and ...
or
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars.
The surviving portions of his t ...
. The 1st century Roman writer
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...
described the peoples inhabiting the region east of the Vistula, as the
Sarmatians
The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples of classical ant ...
,
Venedi
The Vistula Veneti (also called Baltic Veneti) were an Indo-European people that inhabited the region of central Europe east of the Vistula River and the areas around the Bay of Gdańsk. The name first appeared in the 1st century AD in the writin ...
, "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 preser ...
of "barbarians
A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...
" living near the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
mentions the Sciri between the Sarmatians
The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples of classical ant ...
to the west and the Carpi
Carpi may refer to:
Places
* Carpi, Emilia-Romagna, a large town in the province of Modena, central Italy
* Carpi (Africa), a city and former diocese of Roman Africa, now a Latin Catholic titular bishopric
People
* Carpi (people), an ancie ...
to the east. Walter Goffart
Walter Goffart (born February 22, 1934) is a German-born American historian who specializes in Late Antiquity and the European Middle Ages. He taught for many years in the History Department and Centre for Medieval Studies of the University of Tor ...
suggests that they lived in the Lower Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
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. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The ...
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 Huns
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...
. 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 Theodosius ( Latinized from the Greek "Θεοδόσιος", Theodosios, "given by god") is a given name. It may take the form Teodósio, Teodosie, Teodosije etc. Theodosia is a feminine version of the name.
Emperors of ancient Rome and Byzantium
...
.
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 ruler of the Huns whose historicity is undisputed.
Etymology
The name is recorded as ''Ουλδης'' (Ouldes) by Sozomen, ''Uldin'' by Orosius, and ''Huldin'' by Marcellinus Comes. On th ...
. In 409 AD the Sciri and Huns under Uldin crossed the Danube and invaded the Roman Balkans. They captured Castra Martis Castra Martis ( bg, Кастра Мартис) was a Roman fortified garrison (castra) in Dacia which became a town and bishopric and remains a Latin Catholic titular see.
History
Castra Martis, named after the Roman god of war Mars, on the mode ...
, but were eventually defeated and Uldin was killed. While the Hunnic prisoners were drafted into the Roman army
The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...
, captured Sciri were enslaved and sent as '' coloni'' to Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
. 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'' (Eng. Theodosian Code) was 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 a ...
''.
During the height of the Hunnic empire under their leader Attila
Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European traditio ...
, 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
The Suebi (or Suebians, also spelled Suevi, Suavi) 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 ...
, Heruli
The Heruli (or Herules) were an early Germanic people. Possibly originating in Scandinavia, the Heruli are first mentioned by Roman authors as one of several "Scythian" groups raiding Roman provinces in the Balkans and the Aegean Sea, attacking b ...
, Alans and Sarmatians
The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples of classical ant ...
. 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
Scythia Minor or Lesser Scythia (Greek: , ) was a Roman province in late antiquity, corresponding to the lands between the Danube and the Black Sea, today's Dobruja divided between Romania and Bulgaria. It was detached from Moesia Inferior by th ...
and Lower Moesia
Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alb ...
south of the Lower Danube. Jordanes mentions four tribes that remained loyal to the Huns under Dengizich
Dengizich (died in 469), was a 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. He succeeded his older brother Ellac in 454 AD, and prob ...
: 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 ( la, Ardaricus; c. 450 AD) was the king of the Gepids, a 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 above all the other chi ...
of the Gepids in a revolt against the Huns, winning a major victory at the Battle of Nedao
The Battle of Nedao was a battle fought in Pannonia in 454 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 u ...
in 454 AD. In the aftermath, Edeko
By the name Edeko (with various spellings:Edicon, Ediko, Edica, Ethico) are considered three contemporaneous historical figures, whom many scholars identified as one:
*A prominent Hun, who served as both Attila's deputy and his ambassador to the ...
established a Scirian kingdom in the Middle Alföld
The Great Hungarian Plain (also known as Alföld or Great Alföld, hu, Alföld or ) is a plain occupying the majority of the modern territory of Hungary. It is the largest part of the wider Pannonian Plain. (However, the Great Hungarian plain ...
between the Middle Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
and the Tisza
The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders.
The Tisza be ...
rivers, which he ruled together with his sons Odoacer
Odoacer ( ; – 15 March 493 AD), also spelled Odovacer or Odovacar, was a soldier and statesman of barbarian background, who deposed the child emperor Romulus Augustulus and became Rex/Dux (476–493). Odoacer's overthrow of Romulus Augustul ...
and 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 f ...
. 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
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
, 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
Malchus (; grc-x-koine, Μάλχος, translit=Málkhos, ) was the servant of the Jewish High Priest Caiaphas who participated in the arrest of Jesus as written in the four gospels. According to the Bible, one of the disciples, Simon Peter, b ...
through the Suda
The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; grc-x-medieval, Σοῦδα, Soûda; la, Suidae Lexicon) is a large 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas (Σούδας) or Souidas ...
, while a Hunnic origin of Edeko is attested by Priscus
Priscus of Panium (; el, Πρίσκος; 410s AD/420s AD-after 472 AD) was a 5th-century Eastern Roman diplomat and Greek historian and rhetorician (or sophist)...: "For information about Attila, his court and the organization of life generall ...
. 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 ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the 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 a ...
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 Ostrogoths
The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) 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 Roman Empire, based upon the larg ...
, but were encouraged by Hunimund Hunimund (395 - after 469) was a leader - variously described by Jordanes as dux and as rex - of the Suebi.
Hunimund fought with Ardaric against the Huns at the Battle of Nedao in 454. Afterwards Hunimund founded a small and short-lived kingdom i ...
of the Suebi
The Suebi (or Suebians, also spelled Suevi, Suavi) 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 ...
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 referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
. Against the advice of his general Aspar
Flavius Ardabur Aspar (Greek: Άσπαρ, 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 influence o ...
, Emperor Leo I
The LEO I (Lyons Electronic Office I) was the first computer used for commercial business applications.
The prototype LEO I was modelled closely on the Cambridge EDSAC. Its construction was overseen by Oliver Standingford, Raymond Thompson and ...
decided to help the Sciri. In 468/469 AD the Sciri made a surprise attack on the Ostrogoths. Although the Ostrogothic king Valamir
Valamir or Valamer (c. 420 – 469) was an Ostrogothic king in the former Roman province of Pannonia from AD 447 until his death. During his reign, he fought alongside the Huns against the Roman Empire and then, after Attila the Hun's death, ...
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 Gothi ...
, 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 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
Flavius Ricimer ( , ; – 18/19 August 472) was a Romanized Germanic general who effectively ruled the remaining territory of the Western Roman Empire from 461 until his death in 472, with a brief interlude in which he contested power with An ...
. 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 Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
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 western Roman emperor from 467 to 472.
Perhaps the last capable Western Roman Emperor, Anthemius attempted to solve the two primary military challenges facing the remains of the Western Roman Empire: ...
.
In 476 AD, Odoacer led an uprising among the barbarian troops against Romulus Augustulus
Romulus Augustus ( 465 – after 511), nicknamed Augustulus, was Roman emperor of the West from 31 October 475 until 4 September 476. Romulus was placed on the imperial throne by his father, the ''magister militum'' Orestes, and, at that time, ...
and the latter's father Orestes
In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; grc-gre, Ὀρέστης ) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, and the brother of Electra. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness and ...
. Odoacer then declared himself king of Italy, thus ending the Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...
. 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 ( grc, Ζήνων) may refer to:
People
* Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the name
Philosophers
* Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes
* Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 BC), ...
, and moved to Ravenna
Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) 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 from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...
with his Scirian followers to join Odoacer. Soon afterwards, Zeno encouraged Theodoric the Great
Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal ( got, , *Þiudareiks; Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ), was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy b ...
, 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 (), existed under the control of the Germanic peoples, Germanic Ostrogoths in Italian peninsula, Italy and neighbouring areas from 493 to 553.
In Italy, the Ostrogoths led by Theodoric the ...
. 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 (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
. Along with the Heruli and Rugii, the Sciri may have been one of the tribes which contributed to the formation of the Bavarii. 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
Scheyern is a municipality in the district of Pfaffenhofen in Bavaria in Germany. The Scheyern Abbey
Scheyern Abbey, formerly also Scheyern Priory (german: Kloster Scheyern), is a house of the Benedictine Order in Scheyern in Bavaria.
First ...
(first attested as ''Scira'' in 1080), Scheuer (''Sciri'', c. 975), Scheuern in Neubeuern
Neubeuern is a municipality in the district of Rosenheim in Bavaria in Germany. It lies on the river Inn.
History
Neubeuern was first mentioned in a document in 788.
Since the 12th century, there has been a castle in Neubeuern, which is now C ...
(''Skira'', 11th century) and perhaps Scheuring (''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 (german: Bairisch , Bavarian: ''Boarisch'') or alternately Austro-Bavarian, is a West Germanic language, part of the Upper German family, together with Alemannic and East Franconian.
Bavarian is spoken by approximately 12 million peop ...
, 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
The Juthungi (Greek: ''Iouthungoi'', Latin: ''Iuthungi'') were a Germanic tribe in the region north of the rivers Danube and Altmühl in what is now the modern German state of Bavaria.
The tribe was mentioned by the Roman historians Publius Her ...
.
See also
* List of Germanic tribes
This list of ancient Germanic peoples is an inventory of ancient Germanic cultures, tribal groupings and other alliances of Germanic tribes and civilisations in ancient times. The information comes from various ancient historical documents, beginn ...
Notes and references
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Further reading
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{{Germanic peoples
Early Germanic peoples
Barbarian kingdoms