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Odoacer

Odoacer (c. 433 – 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's overthrow of Romulus Augustulus is traditionally understood as marking the end of the Western Roman Empire.

Although he held power over Italy, he also represented himself as the client of the Eastern Roman Emperor in Constantinople, Zeno. He was referred to not only as a king (rex), but also as duke (dux), or using the Roman honorific patrician, granted by Zeno. Odoacer himself used the title of king in the only surviving official document that emanated from his chancery, and it was also used by the consul Basilius. He had the support of the Roman Senate and was able to distribute land to his followers without much opposition. Unrest among his warriors led to violence in 477–478, but no such disturbances occurred during the later period of his reign. Although Odoacer was an Arian Christian, he rarely intervened in the affairs of the Trinitarian state church of the Roman Empire.

Odoacer was a military leader in Italy who led the revolt of Herulian, Rugian, and Scirian soldiers that deposed Romulus Augustulus on 4 September AD 476. Eleven-year-old Augustulus had been declared Western Roman Emperor by his father Orestes, the rebellious general of the army in Italy, less than a year before, but had been unable to gain allegiance or recognition beyond central Italy. With the backing of the Roman Senate, Odoacer thenceforth ruled Italy autonomously, paying lip service to the authority of Julius Nepos, the previous Western emperor, and Zeno. Upon Nepos's murder in 480, Odoacer invaded Dalmatia, to punish the murderers. He executed the conspirators, conquered the region and incorporated it into his domain within two years.

When Illus, master of soldiers of the Eastern Empire, asked for Odoacer's help in 484 in his struggle to depose Zeno, Odoacer invaded Zeno's westernmost provinces. The emperor responded first by inciting the Rugii of present-day Austria to attack Italy. During the winter of 487–488, Odoacer crossed the Danube and defeated the Rugii in their own territory. Zeno also appointed the Ostrogoth Theodoric the Great—who was menacing the borders of the Eastern Empire—king of Italy and turned a troublesome ally against an enemy. Theodoric invaded Italy in 489 and by August 490 had captured almost the entire peninsula, forcing Odoacer to take refuge in Ravenna. The city surrendered on 5 March 493. Theodoric invited Odoacer to a banquet of reconciliation, where instead of forging an alliance, Theodoric killed the unsuspecting king.

Ethnicity
Except for the fact that he was not considered Roman, Odoacer's precise ethnic origins are not known. Some scholars believe his origins lie in the multi-ethnic empire of Attila. Most scholars consider him to be at least partly of Germanic descent, while others argue he was entirely Germanic. Early medieval sources such as Theophanes called him a Goth. Likewise, the 6th century chronicler Marcellinus Comes called him "king of the Goths" (Odoacer rex Gothorum).

Jordanes associated him with several of the East Germanic tribes of the Middle Danube who had arrived there during the time of Attila's empire, including the Sciri, Heruli, and Rugii. In several passages, Jordanes associated Odoacer with the Turcilingi—which may have been a people or perhaps a dynasty—a connection mentioned by no other historical source. Turcilingi ethnic affiliations are unclear, but they may have been Gothic, Hunnic or even precursors of the Thuringii. While in one passage in his Getica, Jordanes describes Odoacer as king of the Turcilingi (Torcilingorum rex) with Scirian and Heruli followers; in another passage Jordanes mentions "the western country" being "shaken by the tyranny of the Torcilingi and Rugi" during Odoacer's reign. In his Romana, the same author defines Odoacer as a descendant of the Rugii (or of a person named Rogus, Odoacer genere Rogus) with Turcilingi, Scirian and Heruli followers. It has been pointed out that Attila had an uncle of the name Rogus and suggested that Odoacer may have been his descendant.

In a fragment from a history of Priscus, reproduced by John of Antioch, Odoacer is described as a man of the Sciri, the son of Edeco, and brother of Hunuulf who killed Armatus in the eastern Roman empire.

Much later, a memorial plate from 1521 found in the catacombe Chapel of St Maximus in Petersfriedhof—the burial site of St Peter's Abbey in Salzburg (Austria)—mentions Odoacer as King of "Rhutenes" or "Rhutenians" (Rex Rhvtenorvm), who invaded Noricum in 477. Due to its very late date of 1521 and several anachronistic elements, the content of that plate is considered nothing more than a legend. In spite of that, the plate has become a popular "source" for several theorists that try to connect Odoacer with ancient Celtic Ruthenes, and also with later Slavic Ruthenians. Historian Paul R. Magocsi argues such theories should be regarded as "inventive tales" of "creative" writers and nothing more.

Many historians, such as medieval scholar Michael Frassetto, accept that Odoacer was of Scirian heritage. Scholars are still to some extent divided about the evidence for Odoacer's father being a Hun, and also about the identity of the Turcilingi. There is some doubt about whether the name has been reported correctly by Jordanes, and whether the Sciri were even Germanic. Historian Bruce Macbain notes that the "ancient sources exhibit considerable confusion over Odovacer's tribal affiliation", but in point of fact none of them calls Odoacer a Hun. Historian Penny MacGeorge argues that Odoacer was likely half-Scirian and half-Thuringian. Historian Patrick Amory explains that "Odoacer is called a Scirian, a Rugian, a Goth or a Thuringian in sources; his father is called a Hun, his mother a Scirian. Odoacer's father Edeco was associated first with the Huns under Attila, and then with a group called Sciri, an ethnographic name that appears intermittently in fifth-century sources." This line of reasoning is also picked up on by historian Erik Jensen, who avows that Odoacer was born to a Gothic mother and that his father Edeco was a Hun.

Onomastic and other evidence
The origin of the name Odoacer, which may give indications as to his tribal affiliation, is debated. One suggestion is that Odoacer is derived from the Germanic *Audawakraz (Gothic *Audawakrs), from aud- "wealth" and wakr- "vigilant" or, combined, "watcher of the wealth." This form finds a cognate in another Germanic language, the titular Eadwacer of the Old English poem Wulf and Eadwacer (where Old English renders the earlier Germanic sound au- as ea-). On the other hand, historians Robert L. Reynolds and Robert S. Lopez explored the possibility that the name Odoacer was not Germanic, making several arguments that his ethnic background might lie elsewhere. One of these is that his name, "Odoacer", for which they claimed an etymology in Germanic languages had not been convincingly found, could be a form of the Turkic "Ot-toghar" ("grass-born" or "fire-born"), or the shorter form "Ot-ghar" ("herder"). Reynolds and Lopez's thesis was criticized by Otto J. Maenschen-Helfen, who pointed out the speciousness of their etymological analysis since names between Germans and Huns were being used reciprocally. Moreover, there is an often ignored fragment in the Suda that was almost certainly written by the well-informed contemporary, Malchus, who identified Odoacer as a Thuringian. Finally, a passage from Eugippius' Life of Saint Severinus indicated that Odoacer was so tall that he had to bend down to pass through the doorway, which Macbain consider another strong argument that he was unlikely to have been a Hun, since they were not known to be tall.

Before Italy
Possibly the earliest recorded incident involving Odoacer is from a fragment of a chronicle preserved in the History of the Franks of Gregory of Tours. Two different chapters of his work mention military leaders with Odoacer's name, using two different spellings and involving two different regions.
 * In the first mention, a confused or confusing report is given of a number of battles fought by King Childeric I of the Franks, Aegidius, Count Paul, and one "Adovacrius" (with an "a") who was leading a group of Saxons based at the mouth of the Loire. Though there is no consensus, some historians, such as Reynolds and Lopez, have suggested that this Adovacrius may be the same person as the future king of Italy.
 * In a second mention by Gregory of Tours, an Odovacrius (with an "o") made an alliance with the same Childeric, and together they fought the Alamanni, who had been causing problems in Italy. This Odoacer, with his connection to the region north of Italy, and his "o" spelling, is probably the future king of Italy, before he was king.

The earliest supposed recorded event which is more certainly about Odoacer the future king, was shortly before he arrived in Italy. Eugippius, in his Life of Saint Severinus, records how a group of barbarians on their way to Italy had stopped to pay their respects to the holy man. Odoacer, at the time "a young man, of tall figure, clad in poor clothes", learned from Severinus that he would one day become famous. Despite the fact that Odoacer was an Arian Christian and Severinus was Catholic, the latter left a deep impression on him. When Odoacer took his leave, Severinus made one final comment which proved prophetic: "Go to Italy, go, now covered with mean hides; soon you will make rich gifts to many."

Leader of the foederati
By 470, Odoacer had become an officer in what remained of the Roman Army. Although Jordanes writes of Odoacer as invading Italy "as leader of the Sciri, the Heruli and allies of various races", modern writers describe him as being part of the Roman military establishment, based on John of Antioch's statement that Odoacer was on the side of Ricimer at the beginning of his battle with the emperor Anthemius in 472. In his capacity as a soldier suddenly pitted against Anthemius, since he had switched sides to join with Ricimer, Odoacer had "hastened the emperor's downfall."

When Orestes was in 475 appointed Magister militum and patrician by the Western Roman Emperor Julius Nepos, Odoacer became head of the Germanic foederati of Italy (the Scirian – Herulic foederati). Under the command of Orestes were significant contingents of Germanic peoples made up mostly of Rugii and Heruli tribesmen. Before the end of that year Orestes had rebelled and driven Nepos from Italy. Orestes then proclaimed his young son Romulus the new emperor as Romulus Augustus, called "Augustulus" (31 October). At this time, Odoacer was a soldier rising through the ranks. However, Nepos reorganized his court in Salona, Dalmatia and received homage and affirmation from the remaining fragments of the Western Empire beyond Italy and, most importantly, from Constantinople, which refused to accept Augustulus, Zeno having branded him and his father as traitors and usurpers.

About this time the foederati, who had been quartered in Italy all of these years, had grown weary of this arrangement. In the words of J. B. Bury, "They desired to have roof-trees and lands of their own, and they petitioned Orestes to reward them for their services, by granting them lands and settling them permanently in Italy". Orestes refused their petition, and they turned to Odoacer to lead their revolt against Orestes. Orestes was killed at Placentia along with his brother Paulus outside Ravenna. The Germanic foederati, the Scirians and the Heruli, as well as a large segment of the Italic Roman army, then proclaimed Odoacer rex ("king") on 23 August 476. Odoacer then advanced to Ravenna and captured the city, compelling the young emperor Romulus to abdicate on 4 September. According to the Anonymus Valesianus, Odoacer was moved by Romulus's youth and his beauty to not only spare his life but give him a pension of 6,000 solidi and sent him to Campania to live with his relatives.

Following Romulus Augustus's deposition, according to the historian Malchus, upon hearing of the accession of Zeno to the throne, the Senate in Rome sent an embassy to the Eastern Emperor and bestowed upon him the Western imperial insignia. The message was clear: the West no longer required a separate Emperor, for "one monarch sufficed [to rule] the world". In response, Zeno accepted their gifts and this essentially brought to an end any puppet emperors in the West, with Nepos banished and Anthemius dead. The Eastern Emperor then conferred upon Odoacer the title of Patrician and granted him legal authority to govern Italy in the name of Rome, as dux Italiae. Zeno also suggested that Odoacer should receive Nepos back as Emperor in the West, "if he truly wished to act with justice." Although he accepted the title of Patrician and Dux from Zeno, Odoacer did not invite Julius Nepos to return to Rome, and the latter remained in Dalmatia until his death. Odoacer was careful to observe form, however, and made a pretence of acting on Nepos's authority, even issuing coins with both his image and that of Zeno. Following Nepos's murder in 480, who was killed while waiting in Dalmatia, Zeno became sole Emperor.

Bury, however, disagrees that Odoacer's assumption of power marked the fall of the Western Roman Empire:

King of Italy
In 476, Odoacer was proclaimed rex by his soldiers and dux Italiae by emperor Zeno, initiating a new administrative era over Roman lands. Odoacer introduced a few important changes to the administrative system of Italy. According to Jordanes, at the beginning of his reign he "slew Count Bracila at Ravenna that he might inspire a fear of himself among the Romans." He took many military actions to strengthen his control over Italy and its neighbouring areas. He achieved a solid diplomatic coup by inducing the Vandal king Gaiseric to cede Sicily to him. Noting that "Odovacar seized power in August of 476, Gaiseric died in January 477, and the sea usually became closed to navigation around the beginning of November", F. M. Clover dates this cession to September or October 476. When Julius Nepos was murdered by two of his retainers in his country house near Salona (9 May 480), Odoacer assumed the duty of pursuing and executing the assassins, and at the same time established his own rule in Dalmatia.

As Bury points out, "It is highly important to observe that Odovacar established his political power with the co-operation of the Roman Senate, and this body seems to have given him their loyal support throughout his reign, so far as our meagre sources permit us to draw inferences." He regularly nominated members of the Senate to the Consulate and other prestigious offices: "Basilius, Decius, Venantius, and Manlius Boethius held the consulship and were either Prefects of Rome or Praetorian Prefects; Symmachus and Sividius were consuls and Prefects of Rome; another senator of old family, Cassiodorus, was appointed a minister of finance." A. H. M. Jones also notes that under Odoacer the Senate acquired "enhanced prestige and influence" in order to counter any desires for restoration of Imperial rule. As the most tangible example of this renewed prestige, for the first time since the mid-3rd century copper coins were issued with the legend S(enatus) C(onsulto). Jones describes these coins as "fine big copper pieces", which were "a great improvement on the miserable little nummi hitherto current", and not only were they copied by the Vandals in Africa, but they formed the basis of the currency reform by Anastasius in the Eastern Empire.

Although Odoacer was an Arian Christian, his relations with the Chalcedonian church hierarchy were remarkably good. As G. M. Cook notes in her introduction to Magnus Felix Ennodius' Life of Saint Epiphanius, he showed great esteem for Bishop Epiphanius: in response to the bishop's petition, Odoacer granted the inhabitants of Liguria a five-year immunity from taxes, and again granted his requests for relief from abuses by the praetorian prefect. The biography of Pope Felix III in the Liber Pontificalis openly states that the pontiff's tenure occurred during Odoacer's reign without any complaints about the king being registered.

In 487/488, Odoacer led his army to victory against the Rugians in Noricum, taking their king Feletheus into captivity; when word that Feletheus' son, Fredericus, had returned to his people, Odoacer sent his brother Onoulphus with an army back to Noricum against him. Onoulphus found it necessary to evacuate the remaining Romans and resettled them in Italy. The remaining Rugians fled and took refuge with the Ostrogoths; the abandoned province was settled by the Lombards by 493.

Fall and death
As Odoacer's position improved, Zeno, the Eastern Emperor, increasingly saw him as a rival. Odoacer exchanged messages with Illus, who had been in open revolt against Zeno since 484. Switching allegiances, Zeno subsequently sought to destroy Odoacer and then promised Theodoric the Great and his Ostrogoths the Italian peninsula if they were to defeat and remove Odoacer. As both Herwig Wolfram and Peter Heather point out, Theodoric had his own reasons to agree to this offer: "Theodoric had enough experience to know (or at least suspect) that Zeno would not, in the long term, tolerate his independent power. When Theodoric rebelled in 485, we are told, he had in mind Zeno's treatment of Armatus. Armatus defected from Basilicus to Zeno in 476, and was made senior imperial general for life. Within a year, Zeno had him assassinated."

In 489, Theodoric led the Ostrogoths across the Julian Alps and into Italy. On 28 August, Odoacer met him at the Isonzo, only to be defeated. He withdrew to Verona, reaching its outskirts on 27 September, where he immediately set up a fortified camp. Theodoric followed him and three days later defeated him again. While Odoacer took refuge in Ravenna, Theodoric continued across Italy to Mediolanum, where the majority of Odoacer's army, including his chief general Tufa, surrendered to the Ostrogothic king. Theodoric had no reason to doubt Tufa's loyalty and dispatched his new general to Ravenna with a band of elite soldiers. Herwig Wolfram observes, "[b]ut Tufa changed sides, the Gothic elite force entrusted to his command was destroyed, and Theodoric suffered his first serious defeat on Italian soil." Theodoric recoiled by seeking safety in Ticinum. Odoacer emerged from Ravenna and started to besiege his rival. While both were fully engaged, the Burgundians seized the opportunity to plunder and devastated Liguria. Many Romans were taken into captivity and did not regain their freedom until Theodoric ransomed them three years later.

The following summer, the Visigothic king Alaric II demonstrated what Wolfram calls "one of the rare displays of Gothic solidarity" and sent military aid to help his kinsman, forcing Odoacer to raise his siege. Theodoric emerged from Ticinum, and on 11 August 490, the armies of the two kings clashed on the Adda River. Odoacer again was defeated and forced back into Ravenna, where Theodoric besieged him. Ravenna proved to be invulnerable, surrounded by marshes and estuaries and easily supplied by small boats from its hinterlands, as Procopius later pointed out in his History. Further, Tufa remained at large in the strategic valley of the Adige near Trent, and received unexpected reinforcements when dissent amongst Theodoric's ranks led to sizable desertions. That same year, the Vandals took their turn to strike while both sides were fully engaged and invaded Sicily. While Theodoric was engaged with them, his ally Fredericus, king of the Rugians, began to oppress the inhabitants of Pavia, whom the latter's forces had been garrisoned to protect. Once Theodoric intervened in person in late August, 491, his punitive acts drove Fredericus to desert with his followers to Tufa.

By this time, however, Odoacer appeared to have lost all hope of victory. A large-scale sortie he sent out of Ravenna on the night of 9/10 July 491 ended in failure, during which his commander-in-chief, Livilia, along with the best of his Herulian soldiers were killed. On 29 August 492, the Goths were about to assemble enough ships at Rimini to set up an effective blockade of Ravenna. Despite these decisive losses, the war dragged on until 25 February 493 when John, bishop of Ravenna, was able to negotiate a treaty between Theodoric and Odoacer to occupy Ravenna together and share joint rule. After a three-year siege, Theodoric entered the city on 5 March. Odoacer died ten days later, slain by Theodoric while they shared a meal. Theodoric had plotted to have a group of his followers kill him while the two kings were feasting together in the imperial palace of Honorius "Ad Laurentum" ("At the Laurel Grove"); when this plan went astray, Theodoric drew his sword and struck him on the collarbone. In response to Odoacer's dying question, "Where is God?" Theodoric cried, "This is what you did to my friends." Theodoric was said to have stood over the body of his dead rival and exclaimed, "The man has no bones in his body."

Not only did Theodoric slay Odoacer, he thereafter had the betrayed king's loyal followers hunted down and killed as well, an event which left him as the master of Italy. Odoacer's wife Sunigilda was stoned to death, and his brother Onoulphus was killed by archers while seeking refuge in a church. Theodoric exiled Odoacer's son Thela to Gaul, but when he attempted to return to Italy Theodoric had him killed. Despite the tragic ending of his domain, followers, and family, Odoacer left an important legacy, in that, he had laid the foundations for a great kingdom in Italy for Theodoric to exploit.

Later portrayals

 * The Old High German Hildebrandslied mentions Odoacer (as Otacher) as the person who drove Hildebrand from his home.
 * The Old English poem "Wulf and Eadwacer" has been thought to be a legendary retelling of part of Odoacer's story.

title: Odoacer


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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 by land, and notably also by sea. During this time they reportedly lived near the Sea of Azov.

From the late 4th century AD the Heruli were one of the peoples that were brought into the fold of the Hunnic Confederation of Attila. By 454, after the death of Attila, they established their own kingdom on the Middle Danube, and Heruli also participated in successive conquests of Italy by Odoacer, Theoderic the Great, Narses and probably also the Lombards. However, their independent kingdom was destroyed by the Lombards by the early 6th century AD. A part of this population subsequently became established inside the Roman empire near Belgrade, and continued contributing fighting men to the Eastern Roman Empire, and participating in Balkan and Italian conflicts.

With their last kingdom eventually dominated by Rome, and smaller groups integrated into larger political entities, the Heruli disappeared from history around the time of the conquest of Italy by the Lombards.

Name
In English, the name of the Heruli is sometimes spelled as Heruls, Herules, Herulians or Eruli. In the earliest mentions of them in 4th century records, they were called Eluri instead, with the "L" and "R" reversed, leading to some doubts about whether these were the same people.

The name Heruli was often written without "h" in Greek (Ἔρουλοι, 'Erouloi') and Latin (Eruli), and is sometimes thought to be Germanic and related to the English word earl (see erilaz) implying that it was an honorific military title. There is even speculation that the Heruli were not a normal tribal group but a brotherhood of mobile warriors, though there is no consensus for this old proposal, which is based only on the name etymology and the reputation of Heruli as soldiers.

Language
The Heruli are believed to have spoken a Germanic language. Personal names are one of the only direct sources of evidence for this. Some attested Heruli names are almost certainly Germanic, and similar to Gothic names, but a large number are not easily attributed to any specific language family.

Given their association with the Goths, the Heruli may have spoken an East Germanic language, related to the Gothic language. Alternatively however, given their proposed connections to Scandinavia, it has also been proposed that they spoke a North Germanic language.

Classification
When first mentioned by Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, the Heruli were referred to as "Scythians", along with the Goths and allied tribes. The use of this term for Heruli and Goths probably began as early as Dexippus, most of whose work is now lost. The use of this term does not give us any clear linguistic classification.

In late antiquity, the Gepids, Vandals, Rugii, Sciri, the non-Germanic Alans and the actual Goths, were all classified by Roman ethnographers as "Gothic" peoples, and modern historians generally consider the Heruli to be one of these. While historians such as Walter Goffart have pointed out that the Herules are never included in the lists of "Gothic peoples" of Procopius, Mihail Zahariade has pointed out that Zonaras (12.24.20) stated that the Heruli were of Gothic stock, and he suggests this might be why Latin authors did not distinguish the early Heruli from the Goths as carefully as Greek authors did.

None of these eastern peoples were considered Germanic by Roman ethnographers at the time. However, in modern scholarship the Heruli are usually classified as a Germanic people. On account of having likely spoken an East Germanic language, the Heruli are often more specifically classified as an East Germanic people.

Origins
Although contemporary records locate the Heruli first near the Sea of Azov, and later on the Middle Danube, their origins are traditionally sought in north-central Europe, possibly Scandinavia. Before the earliest contemporary records of them, the Heruli are thus commonly believed to have migrated towards the region north of the Black Sea in the 3rd century AD. Their better known neighbours there, the Goths, and possibly also their later Danubian neighbours Rugii, may have carried out a similar migration at this time. The Goths and their allies replaced the Sarmatians as the dominant power north of the Black Sea. The Sarmatians had in the 1st century AD partly been replaced the Bastarnae, who are believed to have spoken a Germanic language. The arrival of the Heruli has thus been seen as part of a bigger cultural shift in this region, involving the migration from the northwest of Germanic peoples, who replaced the Sarmatians as the dominant power in the region.

The main evidence for this concerning the Heruli is that in his 6th century work Getica, the historian Jordanes, based in Constantinople, wrote that the Heruli had been driven out of their own settlements in Scandinavia by the Danes (Herulos propriis sedibus expulerunt). This has been read as implying Heruli origins in the Danish isles or southernmost Sweden. The reliability and correct interpretation of this passage in the Getica is, however, disputed. On the other hand, his contemporary Procopius recounted a migration of a sixth-century group of Heruli noblemen to Thule (which for him was the same as Scandinavia), from their "homeland" on the Middle Danube. Later, Danubian Heruli found new royalty among these northern Heruli who had previously migrated northwards. This account has been seen as implying an old and continuous connection between the Heruli and Scandinavia, although some recent scholars are skeptical of this interpretation, and have noted that Procopius does not depict the Heruli as returning to a homeland, but as leaving their homeland.

Ellegård has proposed that the Danish expulsion of the Heruli might have happened in the 6th century, but been an expulsion of the immigrants from the Danube: "the only thing we can say with reasonable certainty is that a small group of Eruli lived there for some 38-40 years in the first half of the 6th century A.D.". He proposes that the evidence makes it most likely that the Heruli were "a loose group of Germanic warriors which came into being in the late 3rd century in the region north of the Danube limes that extends roughly from Passau to Vienna".

On the Pontic-Caspian steppe
The first relatively clear mention of the Heruli by Graeco-Roman writers concerns two major campaigns into the Balkans of 267/268 and 269/270. Goths, Heruli (referred to as "Eluri", Ἔλουροι, in the oldest sources), and other "Scythian" peoples from the region of the Sea of Azov, took control of Black Sea Greek cities, and gained a fleet that they used to launch raids along the northern Black Sea and as far as Greece and Asia Minor. These invasions began in the reign of Gallienus (260-268 AD), and continued until at least 269 during the reign of Marcus Aurelius Claudius, who subsequently took up the title "Gothicus" due to his victory.

In 267, a Heruli (Αἴρουλοι) fleet departed from the Sea of Azov, past the Danube delta, and into the straits of the Bosphorus. They took control of Byzantion and Chrysopolis before retreating to the Black Sea. Emerging to raid Cyzicus, they subsequently entered the Aegean Sea, where they troubled Lemnos, Skyros and Imbros, before landing in the Peloponnese. There they plundered not only Sparta, the closest city to their landing site, but also Corinth, Argos, and the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia. Still within 267 they reached Athens, where local militias had to defend the city. It seems to have been the Heruli specifically who sacked Athens despite the construction of a new wall, during Valerian’s reign only a generation earlier. This was the occasion for a famous defense made by Dexippus, whose writings were a source for later historians.

Further north, in 268, Gallienus defeated Heruli at the river Nestos using a new mobile cavalry, but as part of the surrender a Herulian chief named Naulobatus became the first barbarian known from written records to receive imperial insignia from the Romans, gaining the rank of a Roman consul. It is highly likely that these defeated Heruli were then made part of the Roman military.

Recent researchers such as Steinacher now have increased confidence that there was a distinct second campaign which began in 269, and ended in 270. Later Roman writers reported that thousands of ships left from the mouth of the Dnieper, manned by a large force of various different "Scythian" peoples, including Peuci, Greutungi, Austrogothi, Tervingi, Vesi, Gepids, Celts, and Heruli. These forces divided into two parts in the Hellespont. One force attacked Thessaloniki, and against this group the Romans, led by Claudius now, had a major victory at the Battle of Naissus (Niš, Serbia) in 269. This was apparently a distinct battle from that at the Nessos. A Herulian chieftain named Andonnoballus is said to have switched to the Roman side, and this was once again a case where Heruli appear to have joined the Roman military. The second group sailed south and raided Rhodes, Crete, and Cyprus and many Goths and Heruli managed to return safely to harbor in the Crimea. Lesser attacks continued until 276.

The Heruli are believed to have formed part of the Chernyakhov culture, which, although dominated by the Goths and other Germanic peoples, also included Bastarnae, Dacians and Carpi. The Heruli are thus archaeologically indistinguishable from the Goths.

Jordanes reports that the Heruli in the late 4th century AD were conquered by Ermanaric, king of the Greuthungian Goths. Ermanaric's realm may also have included Finns, Slavs, Alans and Sarmatians. Before being conquered by Ermanaric, Jordanes says that the Heruli were led by a king named Alaric. Herwig Wolfram has suggested that the future Visigothic king Alaric I may have been named after this Herulian king.

Doubts have been raised about this earliest, Black Sea period in the history of the Heruli. The first author known to have equated these "Eruli" with the later "Eruli" was Jordanes, in the 6th century.

The "western" Heruli, soldiers and pirates
The proposal that there may have been a Western kingdom of Heruli has posed a problem for scholars. This question arises because of the evidence of Heruli activity in the western Roman empire. The existence of this western kingdom is increasingly doubted.

Heruli were already seen in western Europe before the empire of Attila, at the time of their first ambitious campaigns in the east. In 286 Claudius Mamertinus reported the victory of Maximian over a group of Heruli and Chaibones (known only from this one report) attacking Gaul.

It is believed that it was from this time that the Romans instituted a Herulian auxiliary unit, the Heruli seniores, who were stationed in northern Italy. This numerus Erulorum was a lightly-equipped unit often associated with the Batavian Batavi seniores. In 366 the Batavians and Heruli fought against the Alamanni near the Rhine, under the leadership of Charietto, who died in the battle, and then against Picts and Scoti in Britain. They were subsequently sent to fight Parthians in the east.

In 405 or 406, a large number of barbarian groups crossed the Rhine, entering the Roman empire, and the Heruli appear in the list of peoples given by the historian Jerome. However, this list is sometimes thought to have drawn on historical lists for literary effect.

Later mentions of Heruli in western incidents where they were not clearly connected to the Roman military include two sea raids in northern Spain in the 450s, and the presence of Heruli at the Visigothic court of Euric in about 475. The raids were reported by Hydatius. Sidonius Apollinaris mentions Heruli at the Visigothic court in 476, although this is in a poetic letter. Recent scholars such as Steinacher and Halsall have pointed out that this type of evidence is consistent with the internal military conflicts that were happening in the Roman empire during this period. Halsall, for example, writes that it "must at least be a possibility that their raid constituted part of a Romano-Visigothic offensive against the Sueves", who had been part of an invasion of the same area. Steinacher demonstrates using examples from the period, including Charietto's life story, that barbarian soldiers could switch from being Roman soldier, to pirate, and back to soldier.

The Gallo-roman poet Sidonius Apollinaris specifically imagined the Heruli he saw at Euric's court as oceanic sea-farers, but Steinacher argues that this raiding by sea was simply a logical strategy for Visigothic campaigns against the Iberian Suevi, and difficult to use as a proof that the Heruli had a coastal kingdom somewhere in the north. "In reality, there is nothing special about attacks from the sea: various marauders employed such tactics at various points in history. It is just easier and not too dangerous." Given the writing style of Sidonius, this reference could also be "nothing more than a bookish reference to 3rd-century accounts of Herules attacking from the sea".

Kingdom on the Middle Danube

In the early 5th century AD, large groups of peoples left the Middle Danube region, including the groups who crossed the Rhine in 405, many of whom eventually reached Iberia. Others crossed the Danube, like the forces of Radagaisus, who invaded Italy. During this period, the Huns and their allies begin to be found in this same area instead, having crossed the Carpathians from the east. By 450 AD, the Heruli were firmly part of the Hunnic empire of Attila. The Gepids, Rugi, Sciri and many Goths, Alans and Sarmatians were also part of Attila's empire. They were among the peoples who are reported as having fought for Attila at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains.

After the death of Attila, his sons lost power over the various peoples of his empire at the Battle of Nedao in 454. The centre of this alliance was now settled upon the Roman border north of the Middle Danube. Heruli who were possibly on the winning side with the Gepids, were subsequently among the several peoples now able to form a kingdom in that area. The Herulian kingdom, was established north of modern Vienna and Bratislava, near the Morava river, and possibly extending as far east as the Little Carpathians. They ruled over a mixed population including Suevi, Huns and Alans. Compared to other Middle Danubian kingdoms in this period, Peter Heather has described this Heruli kingdom as "middle-sized", similar to the Rugian one, but "clearly not as militarily powerful, say, as the Gothic, Lombard, or Gepid confederations which generated much longer-lived political entities, and into which elements of the Rugi and Heruli were eventually absorbed".

From this region the life story of Severinus of Noricum reports that the Heruli attacked Ioviaco near Passau in 480. The Heruli do not appear in early lists of Odoacer's allies after Nedao, but benefited from the downfall of his people the Sciri. They established control on the Roman (south) side of the Danube, north of Lake Balaton in modern Hungary when they were apparently able to take over the kingdoms of the Suevi and Sciri, who had been under pressure from the Ostrogoths, who continued to press their old allies from the south.

Odoacer, the commander of the Imperial foederati troops who deposed the last Western Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus in 476 AD came to be seen as king over several of the Danubian peoples including the Heruli, and the Heruli were strongly associated with his Italian kingdom. The Heruli on the Danube also took control of the Rugian territories, who had become competitors to Odoacer and been defeated by him in 488. However Heruli suffered badly in Italy, as loyalists of Odoacer, when he was defeated by the Ostrogoth Theoderic.

By 500 the Herulian kingdom on the Danube, apparently by now under a king named Rodulph, had made peace with Theoderic and become his allies. Paul the Deacon also mentions Heruli living in Italy under Ostrogothic rule. Peter Heather estimates that the Herulian kingdom could muster an army of 5,000-10,000 men.

Theoderic's efforts to build a system of alliances in Western Europe were made difficult both by counter diplomacy, for example between Merovingian Franks and the Byzantine empire, and also the arrival of a new Germanic people into the Danubian region, the Lombards who were initially under Herule hegemony. The Herulian king Rodulph lost his kingdom to the Lombards at some point between 494 and 508.

Later history
After the Middle Danubian Herulian kingdom was destroyed by the Lombards in or before 508, Herulian fortunes waned. According to Procopius, in 512 a group including royalty went north and settled in Thule, which for Procopius meant Scandinavia. Procopius noted that these Heruli first traversed the lands of the Slavs, then empty lands, and then the lands of the Danes, until finally settling down nearby the Geats. Peter Heather considers this account to be "entirely plausible" although he notes that others have labelled it a "fairy story", and given that it only appears in one source it is possible to deny its validity.

Another Heruli group were assigned civil and military offices by Theoderic the Great in Pavia in north Italy.

What happened to the main part of the Danubian Heruli has been difficult to reconstruct from Procopius, but according to Steinacher they first moved downstream on the Danube to an area where the Rugii had sought refuge in 488. Here they suffered famine. They sought refuge among the Gepids, but wanting to avoid being mistreated by them crossed the Danube came under East Roman authority.

Anastasius Caesar allowed them to resettle depopulated "lands and cities" in the empire in 512. Modern scholars debate whether they were moved then to Singidunum (modern Belgrade), or first to Bassianae, and to Singidunum some decades later, by Justinian. This area had been re-acquired by the empire from the Goths, who now ruled Italy from Ravenna. Justinian integrated them into the empire as a buffer between the Romans and the more independent Lombards and Gepids to the north. Under his encouragement, the Herule king Grepes converted to Orthodox Christianity in 528 together with some nobles and twelve relatives. Procopius who felt that this made them somewhat gentler, also showed in his account of the wars against the African Vandals, that some of them were Arian Christians.

The Heruli were often mentioned during the times of Justinian, who used them in his extensive military campaigns in many countries including Italy, Syria, and North Africa. Pharas was a notable Herulian commander during this period. Several thousand Heruli served in the personal guard of Belisarius throughout the campaigns, and Narses also recruited from them. They were a participant in the Byzantine-Sasanian wars.

Grepes and most of his family had apparently died by the early 540s, possibly in the Plague of Justinian (541-542). Procopius related that in the 540s the Heruli who had been settled in the Roman Balkans killed their own king Ochus and, not wanting the one assigned by the emperor, Suartuas, they made contact with the Heruli who had gone to Thule decades earlier, seeking a new king. Their first choice fell sick and died when they had come to the country of the Dani, and a second choice was made. The new king Datius arrived with his brother Aordus and 200 young men. The Heruli who were sent against Suartuas defected with him and were supported by the empire. The supporters of Datius, two thirds of the Heruli, submitted to the Gepids. This period of rebellion against Rome lasted approximately 545–548, the period immediately before conflict between their larger neighbours the Gepids and Lombards broke out, but this rebellion was repressed by Justinian. In 549, when the Gepids fought the Romans, and Heruli fought on both sides. In any case after one generation in the Belgrade area, the Herulian federate polity in the Balkans disappears from the surviving historical records, apparently replaced by the incoming Avars.

Peter Heather has written that: "by c.540 being a Herule had ceased to be the main determinant of individual behaviour; the Heruli had ceased to operate together on the basis of that shared heritage, and different Heruli were adopting different strategies for survival in the new political conditions which even caused them to fight on opposing sides. After c.540, we still find small groups called Heruli fighting for the East Romans in Italy, and it is noticeable that the Roman commanders were careful to appoint for them leaders of their own race. Thus some sense of identity probably remained. That said, we are clearly dealing with a few fragments of the original group, and, in the prevailing circumstances, Herule identity had no future."

Sarantis however shows that the Belgrade-region Heruli continued to be recruited, and to play a role in local conflicts involving the Gepids and Lombards, into the 550s. Suartas, a Herule general for the Romans, led Herule forces against the Gepids in 552 for example. However it appears that by this period the semi-independent Heruli near Belgrade became Roman provincials.

In 566, Sinduald, a Herule military leader under Narses, was declared a king of Heruli in Trentino in northern Italy, but he was executed by Narses. Sinduald was said to be a descendant of the Herules who had already entered Italy under Odoacer.

Paul the Deacon writes that many Heruli joined the Lombard king Alboin in their eventual conquest of Italy from the empire in the late 6th century AD.

Along with the Rugii and Sciri, the Heruli may have contributed to the formation of the Bavarii.

Religion
The early religion of the Heruli is vividly described by Procopius in his History of the Wars. He describes them as a polytheistic society known to practice human sacrifice. The Heruli appear to have been worshippers of Odin, and might have been responsible for the spread of such worship to Northern Europe.

By the time of Justinian, Procopius reports that many Heruli had become Arian Christians. In any case, Justinian appears to have pursued a policy of attempting to convert them to Chalcedonian Christianity.

Society
Procopius writes that the Heruli practiced a form of senicide, having a non-relative kill the sick and elderly and burning the remains on a wooden pyre. Procopius also states that, following the death of their husbands, Herulian women were expected to commit suicide by hanging.

Furthermore, Procopius claims that the Heruli practiced homosexuality or bestiality, depending on the interpretation: "They are still, however, faithless toward them [the Romans], and since they are given to avarice, they are eager to do violence to their neighbours, feeling no shame at such conduct. And they mate in an unholy manner, especially men with asses, and they are the basest of all men and utterly abandoned rascals."

The translated "especially men with asses" is from the original Greek text (provided next to Dewing's translation) "ἂλλας τε καί ἀνδρῶν καί ὄνων" where ὄνων is genitive plural of ὄνος, meaning donkeys.

It appears that Procopius disliked the Heruli and wanted to present them in as negative light as possible. His description of bestiality among the Heruli is almost certainly untrue.

Warfare
The Heruli were famous for the quality of their infantry, who were recruited as mercenaries by all other peoples. They were known particularly for their speed, and were perhaps used for the stabbing cavalry. Procopius described the Heruli in the Battle of Anglon against Persians, carrying no protective armor save a shield and thick jacket. This form of warfare has been compared to that of the berserkers of the Viking Age.

Herulian slaves are known to have accompanied them into combat. Slaves were forbidden from donning a shield until having proven themselves brave on the battlefield. This practice might be a relic of ancient Indo-European tradition. Steinacher has pointed out that, while this remark has reasonably been seen as evidence of an "initiation rite", initiation rites are so common that caution is required: "It is of course far from clear exactly what Procopius had in mind when writing about Herul 'slaves'. But he surely provided plenty of evidence that any gens was open to newcomers. As in any other human community, both in the past and in the present, such newcomers had to prove themselves worthy before receiving full membership in that community. This must have been even truer for a community geared towards warfare."

Material culture
The tumuli of the Heruli on the Middle Danube in the early 6th century are very similar to contemporary tumuli built in southern Sweden. At this time, the Heruli appears to have had close trade relations with peoples living near the Baltic Sea.

Physical appearance
In Getica, Jordanes writes that the Heruli claimed to be the tallest people of Scandza. Jordanes further writes that all the peoples of Scandza "surpassed the Germans in size and spirit". Sidonius Apollinaris wrote that the Heruli had blue-grey eyes.

The negative excursus of Procopius
Scholars remark that the historian Procopius had a notable fascination with the Herules, which colors his descriptions of them. As Steinacher remarks "'Procopius's Herul excursus [...] is full of stereotypes and negative attitudes towards this primitive people and its archaic conventions'."This means that caution is required when using his descriptions as evidence. In the words of Walter Goffart: "Though appreciative of their military qualities, he goes out of his way to blacken their character - 'they are the basest of all men and utterly abandoned rascals,' 'no men in the world are less bound by convention or more unstable.' His low opinion may result from the 'special relationship' the Herules appear to have had with Justinian's eunuch general, Narses, who Procopius disliked." Although Procopius praised the Herule named Pharas who brought about the surrender of the north African Vandal king Gelimer, he noted that despite being born a Herule, he did not drink excessively and was not unreliable. "Procopius was not mollified. The Herules were part of the panorama of an entire 'West' that, owing to Justinian's neglect, had come into the possession of the barbarians by the late 540s. [...] The crowning irony, in the historian's view, was that, because some Herules served as Roman foederati, they both plundered Roman subjects and collected pay from the Roman emperor."

Places sacked by the Heruli

 * Argos
 * Athens
 * Byzantium
 * Corinth
 * Chrysopolis
 * Heraclea Pontica
 * Lemnos
 * Olympia
 * Skyros
 * Sparta

Ancient sources

 * . Also see Latin version: https://www.thelatinlibrary.com/iordanes1.html.

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title: Heruli


text:
Akasha

Akasha or Akash (Sanskrit  आकाश) means space, sky or aether in traditional Indian cosmology, depending on the religion. The term has also been adopted in Western occultism and spiritualism in the late 19th century. In many modern Indo-Aryan languages and Dravidian languages the corresponding word (often rendered Akash) retains a generic meaning of "sky".

Etymology and meaning
The word in Sanskrit is derived from a root kāś meaning "to be". It appears as a masculine noun in Vedic Sanskrit with a generic meaning of "open space, vacuity". In Classical Sanskrit, the noun acquires the neuter gender and may express the concept of "sky; atmosphere" (Manusmrti, Shatapatha Brahmana). In Vedantic philosophy, the word acquires its technical meaning of "an ethereal fluid imagined as pervading the cosmos".

Hinduism
The direct translation of akasha is the word meaning "upper sky" or 'space' in Hinduism. In Vedantic Hinduism, akasha means the basis and essence of all things in the material world; the first element created. A Vedic mantra "pṛthivyāpastejovāyurākāśāt" indicates the sequence of initial appearance of the five basic gross elements-- first space appeared, from which appeared air, from that fire or energy, from which the water, and therefrom the earth. It is one of the Panchamahabhuta, or "five gross elements"; its main characteristic is Shabda (sound).

The Nyaya and Vaisheshika schools of Hindu philosophy state that akasha or aether is the fifth physical substance, which is the substratum of the quality of sound. It is the one, eternal, and all-pervading physical substance, which is imperceptible.

According to the Samkhya school, akasha is one of the five Mahābhūtas (grand physical elements) having the specific property of sound.

In the Shiva Purana, akasha is identified as having "the only attribute of sound".

In the Linga Purana (Volume I, Chapter 65), akasha is translated as "firmament" and listed as one of the 1,008 names of Lord Shiva.

Jainism
Akasha is space in the Jain conception of the cosmos. Akasha is one of the six dravyas (substances). It accommodates the other five substances, namely, sentient beings or souls (jīva), non-sentient substance or matter (pudgala), principle of motion (dharma), the principle of rest (adharma), and the principle of time (kāla).

Akasha falls into the Ajiva category, divided into two parts: Loakasa (the part occupied by the material world) and Aloakasa (the space beyond it which is absolutely void and empty). In Loakasa the universe forms only a part. Akasha is that which gives space and makes room for the existence of all extended substances.

At the summit of the lokākāśa is the Siddhashila (abode of the liberated souls).

Buddhism
In Buddhist phenomenology, akasha is divided into limited space (ākāsa-dhātu) and endless space (ajatākasā). The Vaibhāṣika, an early school of Buddhist philosophy, hold the existence of akasha to be real. Ākāsa is identified as the first arūpa jhāna, but usually translates as "infinite space."

title: Akasha