TheSciri, orScirians, were aGermanic people. They are believed to have spoken anEast Germanic language. Their name probably means "the pure ones".
The Sciri were mentioned already in the late 3rd century BC as participants in a raid on the city ofOlbia near modern-dayOdesa. In the late 4th century they lived somewhere north of theBlack Sea andLower Danube in the vicinity of theGoths. By the early 5th century, the Sciri had been subdued by theHuns, whom they fought under at theBattle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451 AD.
After the death ofAttila, the Sciri broke free from Hunnic rule at theBattle of Nedao in 454 AD. They subsequently were recorded holding their own kingdom north of theMiddle Danube, under the leadership ofEdeko and his sonOnoulphus. After the destruction of this kingdom by theOstrogoths in the late 460s AD,Odoacer, another son of Edeko, attained high status within theRoman army inItaly, ruling Sciri, Rugii and other non-Roman peoples as a king. Odoacer eventually made himselfKing of Italy in 476 AD, effectivelyending theWestern Roman Empire.
Odoacer was in turn deposed and killed byTheodoric the Great in 493 AD. Along with theRugii,Heruli and other Middle Danubian peoples, the Sciri might also have contributed to the formation of theBavarii.
Since the 19th century, the etymology of the Sciri name has been connected to such Germanic words asGothicskeirs ("sheer", "pure").[1] Rudolf Much, in the first edition of theReallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde 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.[2] In more recent times scholars such asHerwig Wolfram have often accepted this latter idea, interpreting the nameSciri to mean "the pure ones", and contrasting their name with that of the neighboringBastarnae, who were ethnically mixed according to this interpretation, and thus, according to this account, named "thebastards".[3]
Not all scholars have accepted this.Robert L. Reynolds andRobert S. Lopez, for example, suggested anIranian etymology for Sciri, relating it to theMiddle Persianshīr ("milk, lion").[4] This theory was dismissed byOtto J. Maenchen-Helfen.[5]
The Sciri are believed to have beenGermanic-speaking.[6][7] 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, wereGermanic, making the case stronger.[8] However, it is commonly accepted by scholars since then that Odoacer's father was described in one classical source as aHun, and that there are different ways of explaining his name.[9][10][11] 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.[12][13]
More specifically, the Sciri are believed to have spoken anEast Germanic language like theGoths.[14]
The Sciri are classified as aGermanic people by modern scholars.[15][16] More specifically, they are frequently grouped together with the Goths, Vandals, Heruli, Rugii, Gepids and Burgundians as East Germanic peoples.[17][18][14][19]
In lateRoman times, many East Germanic peoples, in addition to the non-GermanicAlans, were often referred to as "Gothic" peoples.[20] On at least one occasion,Procopius included the Sciri in such a list, together with the Alans.[21] The Sciri were not classified as Germanic in ancient sources.[22]
Reynolds and Lopez doubted that the Sciri were Germanic-language-speaking, and rather suggested that they might have beenBalts orSarmatians.[23] These doubts were rejected by Maenchen-Helfen, who considered it certain that the Sciri were Germanic.[8]
The Bastarnae, Sciri and Vandals are believed to have been present near theVistula by the 3rd century BC.[24] The Sciri were first mentioned in the Protogenes inscription ofOlbia, which describes attacks upon the northernBlack Sea coast by the "Galatians" and "Sciri" (Γαλάτας και Σκίρους).[25] This inscription is dated to approximately 220–200 BC.[26] The "Galatians" in this inscription are frequently identified as the Bastarnae, who are believed to have been a Germanic people withCeltic influences. It is thus believed that both the Bastarnae and Sciri had arrived in this area in the early 3rd century BC.[27] The Bastarnae and Sciri are generally associated with thePoienești-Lukaševka culture [de]. Historian Roger Batty has also associated them with theZarubintsy culture.[28]
The Sciri are not mentioned in the works ofJulius Caesar orTacitus.[29] The 1st century Roman writerPliny the Elder described the peoples inhabiting the region east of the Vistula, as theSarmatians,Venedi, "Sciri" and Hirri.[30][31][29]
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.[32] Around 300 AD, theVerona List of "barbarians" living near theRoman Empire mentions the Sciri between theSarmatians to the west and theCarpi to the east.Walter Goffart suggests that they lived in theLower Danube valley.[33] Peter Heather suggests that the Sciri lived east of theCarpathians in the 4th century,[34] whileMalcolm Todd suggests that they lived north of the Black Sea.[35]
In the late 4th century AD, the Sciri were conquered by theHuns.[32] 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 emperorTheodosius.[34][36][37]
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 leaderUldin.[38] In 409 AD the Sciri and Huns under Uldin crossed the Danube and invaded the Roman Balkans. They capturedCastra Martis, but were eventually defeated and Uldin was killed.[38] While the Hunnic prisoners were drafted into theRoman army, captured Sciri were enslaved and sent ascoloni toAnatolia.[38] The Sciri were a numerous people at this time, and thecoloni were distributed over a widespread area in order to prevent them from revolting.[39] These events are described in theCodex Theodosianus.[40]
During the height of the Hunnic empire under their leaderAttila, 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,Heruli, Alans andSarmatians.[41][42] The Sciri participated in Attila's invasion of Gaul in 451 AD.[33]
As the Hunnic empire disintegrated, one group of Sciri were settled in the Roman empire inScythia Minor andLower Moesia south of the Lower Danube.[43][44] Jordanes mentions four tribes that remained loyal to the Huns underDengizich: Ultzinzures, Bittugures, Bardores and Angisciri. The last might be a Scirian remnant.[45] 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.[46]
After the death of Attila, the Sciri, Heruli, Rugii and others joinedArdaric of the Gepids in a revolt against the Huns, winning a major victory at theBattle of Nedao in 454 AD.[47] In the aftermath,Edeko established a Scirian kingdom in the MiddleAlföld between theMiddle Danube and theTisza rivers,[48] which he ruled together with his sonsOdoacer andOnoulphus.[49][50] 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.[51][52] Edeko had served at one point as Attila's envoy toConstantinople, and once prevented an assassination plot against him.[35] Edeko was probably not a Scirian himself, but was married to a Scirian noblewoman.[49] He is believed to have been either aThuringian or a Hun, or perhaps of mixed Thuringian-Hunnic ancestry.[53] A Thuringian origin of Edeko is attested byMalchus through theSuda, while a Hunnic origin of Edeko is attested byPriscus.[54] Goffart refers to Edeko as a Hun.[12] Heather considers a Thurungian origin more specific and thus more likely.[49] The Thurungi were also a Germanic people.[55]
In the subsequent years the Sciri competed with neighboring Goths, Gepids, Suebi and others for supremacy over the region.[36] Three graves at Bakodpuszta inHungary has been identified with the Sciri. In the nearbySarviz marshes a magnificent treasure has been discovered, and this treasure has been linked to Edeko.[35]
Jordanes reports that the Sciri were allies of theOstrogoths, but were encouraged byHunimund of theSuebi to break off this alliance.[56] In the 460s AD, both the Sciri and the Ostrogoths sought an alliance with theEastern Roman Empire. Against the advice of his generalAspar, EmperorLeo I decided to help the Sciri.[55] In 468/469 AD the Sciri made a surprise attack on the Ostrogoths.[36] Although the Ostrogothic kingValamir was killed in this conflict, the Sciri were defeated.[57][58] Valamir was succeeded as king byTheodemir, who subsequently went on the offensive against the Sciri,[59] who in turn received support from the Suebi, Heruli and Sarmatians.[58] In theBattle of Bolia, the Ostrogoths defeated a coalition of Roman-supported peoples, including Sciri, Heruli, Suebi, Sarmatians, Gepids and Rugii.[57][56] Jordanes reports that the Sciri were dealt a severe blow in their conflict with the Ostrogoths.[56]
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 byRicimer.[60][61]Turcilingi are also reported as having been part of this group.[4] Jordanes calls Odoacer king of the Turcilingi,[62] and they have been interpreted as another East Germanic tribe and/or perhaps the royal family of the Sciri.[63][64] Odoacer's brother Onoulphus went toConstantinople with other Sciri.[48] Odoacer's group might have numbered 10,000 warriors,[65] and came to play a prominent role in the Roman army and Roman politics.[60][61] They were utilized by Ricimer in his conflict withAnthemius.[45]
In 476 AD, Odoacer led an uprising among the barbarian troops againstRomulus Augustulus and the latter's fatherOrestes.[45] Odoacer then declared himself king of Italy, thus ending theWestern Roman Empire.[45] He subsequently gained control over all of Italy.[62] 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 EmperorZeno, and moved toRavenna with his Scirian followers to join Odoacer.[45] Soon afterwards, Zeno encouragedTheodoric the Great, 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 theOstrogothic Kingdom.[45][66] By this time the Sciri disappear from history.[67]
Remaining elements of the Sciri might have settled in modern-dayBavaria.[19] Along with the Heruli and Rugii, the Sciri may have been one of the tribes which contributed to the formation of theBavarii.[68] Since the 19th century, the name of the Sciri has been detected in Bavarian placenames.[69]Wolfgang Haubrichs gives examples such asScheyern (first attested asScira in 1080),Scheuer (Sciri, c. 975),Scheuern inNeubeuern (Skira, 11th century) and perhapsScheuring (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 theBavarian language, which otherwise shows no East Germanic influence.[70]
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 andJuthungi.[71]
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