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2000 years ago the Baltic Sea was known to the Romans as the Mare Suebicum. Partially because of his unfamiliarity with the various Germanic peoples interacting with Rome at the time, the historian Tacitus referred to all eastern Germanic people as Suebi. More recent scholarship has shown that view to be an oversimplification. The Suebi eventually migrated south and west to reside for a while in the area of modern Germany, where their name survives in the historic region known as Swabia.
Closely related to the Alamanni and often working in concert with them, the Suebi for the most part stayed on the "German" side of the Rhine until December 31, 406, when much of the tribe joined the Vandals and Alans in breaching the Roman frontier at Mainz, thus launching an invasion of the province of Gaul.
While the Vandals and Alans clashed with the Roman-allied Franks for supremacy in Gaul, the Suebi worked their way to the south, eventually crossing the PyreneesFor other meanings see: Pyrenees, Victoria and Montes Pyrenaeus. The Pyrenees ( Spanish Pirineos French Pyrenees Catalan Pirineus Basque Aunamendi are a range of mountains in southwest Europe that form a natural border between France and Spain. They separ Mountains and entering Iberian PeninsulaThe Iberian Peninsula or Iberia is located in the extreme southwest of Europe. It is bordered on the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea, and on the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean. The Pyrenees form the northeast edge of the peninsula, connectin.
The kingdom lasted for 175 years after that, and seems to have enjoyed relatively stable government for most of that time.
History In 409Events The Vandals and Suebi break through Constantine III's garrsions into Spain. The Suebi settle themselves in the northwestern corner. Constantine III's general Gernontius revolts in Spain, and elevates his own candidate for Roman Emperor. Alaric lays AD, their king Hermerico established his people in territories making up the NW part of the Iberian peninsula, the Roman GallaeciaGallaecia or Callaecia was the name of an Ancient Roman province spread over a territory in the north-west of Spain (approximately the current Galicia) and the north of Portugal). The Romans gave the name Gallaecia to the northwest part of the Iberian pen. The number of the Suebic invaders is estimated in less than 30,000 people. These had been settled mainly in the zones of Braga (Bracara Augusta), Port, Lugo (Lucus Augusta) and Astorga (Asturica Augusta).
The Suebic Kingdom eventually received official recognition (foedus) from the Romans for their settlement there in Gallaecia.It was the first kingdom separated from Roman Empire that minted coins. In 438 Suebi king Hermerico ratified the peace with the Galaicos people and, tired of fighting, abdicated in favor of his son Requila .
In 448 Requila died leaving a state in expansion to his son Requiario who imposed his Catholic faith on the Suebi population. In 456 Requiario died and some candidates for the throne appeared, grouped in two factions. A division marked for the river Minius ( Minho/ Miño) is noticed, probably a consequence of the two tribes, Quados and Marcomanos, who constituted the Suebi nation in the Iberian Peninsula.
There were occasional clashes with the Visigoths, who arrived in Iberian Peninsula in 416 and came to dominate most of the peninsula, but the Suebi maintained their independence until 584, when the Visigothic King Leovigild invaded the Suebic kingdom and finally defeated it. Andeca , the final king of the Suebi, held out for a year before surrendering in 585. With his surrender, this branch of the Suebi vanished into the Visigothic kingdom.
Suebi Kings of Gallaecia