TheSilings orSilingi (Latin:Silingae;Ancient Greek:Σιλίγγαι –Silingai) were aGermanic tribe, part of the largerVandal group. The Silingi at one point lived inSilesia, and the namesSilesia andSilingi may be related.[1][2][3][4][5]
The Silingi are first mentioned byClaudius Ptolemaeus in the 2nd century, who wrote that they had lived south of theSuevicSemnone tribe and north of theCarpathian Mountains, around what now isSilesia:
Back below the Semnones the Silingae have their seat, [...]; and below the Silingae theCalucones and theCamavi up to Mt.Melibocus, from whom to the east near theAlbis river and above them, below Mt.Asciburgius, theCorconti and theLugi Buri up to the head of theVistula river.[6]
The tribe ofNahanarvali is speculated by modern scholars to be the same people as the Silingi. TacitusGermania, 43 mentions the Naharvali as the keepers of sanctuary of theLugian federation (the grove totwin gods Alcis). Tacitus does not mention the Silingi; however, he places the Naharvali in about the same geographical area in which Ptolemaeus placed the Silingi.[7]
According to some historians, during the reign of theRoman EmperorMarcus Aurelius (A.D. 161–180), the Silingi must have been among the Vandals who were reported to have lived in the "Vandal mountains", possibly theSudetes, which are now part of theCzech Republic.[8]
Pushed westwards by theHuns around 400, the Vandalscrossed theRhine intoGaul in 406 and thePyrenees intoIberia in 409.[9][10] While the other main Vandal group, theHasdingi, settled inGallaecia, the Silingi settled inBaetica. In 419, following Roman-sponsored attacks by theVisigoths against the Silingi in 417–18, the remnants of Silingi and the Alans voluntarily subjected to the rule Hasdingian leaderGunderic, who had fled from Gallaecia to Baetica after having beendefeated by a Roman-Suebi coalition. After Gunderic's succession byGenseric in 428, the Vandals relocated toNorth Africa, where they established akingdom centered atCarthage. The kingdom collapsed in theVandalic War of 533–4, in whichJustinian I managed to reconquer the Africa province for theEastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.
After the migratory movement of the 5th century, any Silingi remaining in Silesia were most likely slowly replaced in the sixth century by an influx of people holding thePrague-Korchak cultures, who are supposed to be newSlavic tribes migrating from the east.[11]
According to some historians, the names of Silesia and the Silingi are related.[12] Another hypothesis derives the name of the mountain and river, and hence the region, from theold Polish word "Ślągwa", meaning "humid" or "damp", reflecting the climate of the region.[13]
The name of the territory ofSilesia is often assumed to either derive from the river or the mountain now called theŚlęza River orMount Ślęża. The hill was a religious center of the Silingi, situated south-south-east of modern-dayWrocław (Breslau),[14][15] although the religious importance of the location dates back to the sun-worshipping people of theLusatian culture, as early as 1300 B.C.[13]
Corps Silingia Breslau (de) is a student organization (Studentenverbindung) that has been operating since 1877, currently (2010) inCologne, Germany, as Corps Silingia Breslau zu Köln (Silingia CorpsWrocław in Cologne).[16]
