Kingdom of the Suebi: Map & History
The Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Galicia or Suebi Kingdom of Galicia, was a Germanic post-Roman kingdom that was one of the first to separate from the Roman Empire.
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The Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Galicia or Suebi Kingdom of Galicia, was a Germanic post-Roman kingdom that was one of the first to separate from the Roman Empire. Based in the former Roman provinces of Gallaecia and northern Lusitania, the de facto kingdom was established by the Suebi about 409, and during the 6th century it became a formally declared kingdom identifying with Gallaecia. It maintained its independence until 585, when it was annexed by the Visigoths, and was turned into the sixth province of the Visigothic Kingdom in Hispania.
Modern Countries Once Part of Kingdom of the Suebi
At its mapped extent, Kingdom of the Suebi covered territory in 2 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Kingdom of the Suebi's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Kingdom of the Suebi in Depth
History
Little is known about the Suebi who crossed the Rhine on the night of 31 December 405 AD and entered the Roman Empire. It is speculated that these Suevi are the same group as the Quadi, who are mentioned in early writings as living north of the middle Danube, in what is now lower Austria and western Slovakia, and who played an important part in the Germanic Wars of the 2nd century, when, allied with the Marcomanni, they fought fiercely against the Romans under Marcus Aurelius. The main reason behind the identification of the Suevi and Quadi as the same group comes from a letter written by St. Jerome to Ageruchia, listing the invaders who were in Gaul in 409, in which the Quadi are listed and the Suevi are not.
Linguistic and toponymic legacy
As the Suebi quickly adopted the local Vulgar Latin language, few traces were left of their Germanic tongue in the Galician and Portuguese languages. Distinguishing between loanwords from Gothic or Suevic is difficult, but there is a series of words, characteristic of Galicia and northern half of Portugal, which are attributed either to the Suebi or to the Goths, although no major Visigothic immigration into Gallaecia is known before the 8th century.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Kingdom of the Suebi (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Kingdom of the Suebi: Key Facts
| Capital | Braga |
|---|---|
| Religions | Germanic paganism, Catholicism |
| Founded | 409 CE |
| Dissolved | 585 CE |
Preceded by
- Gallaecia
- Western Roman Empire
- Hispania
Succeeded by
- Galicia in the Visigothic Kingdom
- Kingdom of Toledo
Facts from Wikidata Q1048918 (CC0).
Kingdom of the Suebi Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Kingdom of the Suebi appears, with the other states of the time.
Kingdom of the Suebi Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 248,613 km² in 449 CE.
Kingdom of the Suebi: Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Kingdom of the Suebi exist?
The Kingdom of the Suebi is dated to 414 CE – 586 CE, in the Classical Antiquity era.
What was the capital of the Kingdom of the Suebi?
The capital of the Kingdom of the Suebi was Braga.
How large was the Kingdom of the Suebi at its peak?
At its peak in 449 AD the Kingdom of the Suebi covered about 248,613 km².