The Heruli (spelled variously in Latin and Greek) were a nomadic Germanic people originally from Scandinavia, who were subjugated by the Ostrogoths, Huns, and Byzantines in the 3rd to 5th centuries.

History

The 6th century chronicler Jordanes reports a tradition that they had been driven out of their homeland long before by the Dani, which would have located their origins in the Danish isles or southernmost Sweden. According to Procopius, they maintained close links with their kinsmen in Thule (Scandinavia). He relates that the Heruls killed their own king during their stay in the Balkans (cf. Domalde), and that they sent an emissary to Thule requesting a new king. Their request was granted, and a new king arrived with 200 young men.

The Heruls are first mentioned by Roman writers in the reign of Gallienus (260-268), when they accompanied the Goths ravaging the coasts of the Black Sea and the Aegean. They raided towns in the Roman Empire, scoring their greatest success in AD 267, when they captured Byzantium and sacked Greek cities. Two years later, the eastern Heruli were crushingly defeated by the Roman emperor Claudius II Gothicus in a battle near Naissus (modern Niš, Yugos.). From then until the mid-6th century, when they vanished from history, their fortunes varied.

By the end of the 4th century the Heruls were subjugated by the Ostrogoths. When the Ostrogothic kingdom of Ermanaric was destroyed by the Huns in about 375, the Heruls became subject to the Hunnic empire. Only after the fall of the Hunnic realm in 454, were the Heruls able to create their own kingdom in southern Slovakia at the March and Theiss rivers.

After this kingdom was destroyed by the Langobards, however, Herulian fortunes waned. Remaining Heruls joined the Langobards and moved to Italy, and some of them sought refuge with the Gepids. Marcellinus comes recorded that the Romans (meaning the Byzantines) who allowed them to resettle depopulated "lands and cities" in Moravia, near Singidunum (Belgrade); this was done "by order of Anastasius Caesar" sometime between June 29 and August 31, 512. After one generation, this minor federate kingdom disappeared from the historical records.

Records indicate, however, that the Heruli served in the armies of the Byzantine emperors for a number of years, in particular in the campaigns of Belisarius, when much of the old Roman territory, including Italy, Syria, and North Africa was recaptured. Pharus was a notable Herulian commander during this period. Several thousand Heruli served in the personal guard of Belisarius throughout the campaigns. They disappear from historical record by the mid-6th century.

According to Procopius, many Heruli returned to Scandinavia and settled beside the Geats (Gautoi). The places where they are assumed to have resettled have been identified with Vermland or the provinces of Blekinge and Värend, two districts where the women had equal rights of inheritance with their brothers. Some noble Swedish families in the area also claim to be descendants of the returning Heruli. It should be noted that such identifications are not widely accepted. It has also been suggested that it was returning Heruli who first colonized Iceland.

In Italy the noble family of Eroli (Narni, Rome) derive from one of the king of Heruls, after the italian conquest by Odoaker (Odoacre).

Rulers

Odoacer - deposed Romulus Augustulus, last Roman emperor of the West

TOP