30 Facts About Heruli

Possibly originating in Scandinavia, the Heruli are first mentioned by Roman authors as one of several "Scythian" groups raiding Roman provinces in the Balkans and the Aegean Sea, attacking by land, and notably by sea.

Name Heruli was often written without "h" in Greek and Latin, and is sometimes thought to be Germanic and related to the English word earl implying that it was an honorific military title.

Heruli are specifically believed to have spoken an East Germanic language.

When first mentioned by Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, the Heruli were referred to as "Scythians", along with the Goths and allied tribes.

Origins of the Heruli are traditionally sought in north-central Europe, possibly Scandinavia.

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Heruli proposes that the evidence makes it most likely that "a loose group of Germanic warriors which came into being in the late 3rd century in the region north of the Danube limes that extends roughly from Passau to Vienna".

Heruli are believed to have migrated towards the region north of the Black Sea in the 3rd century AD.

The arrival of the Heruli has been seen as part of a bigger cultural shift in this region, involving the migration from the northwest of Germanic peoples, who replaced the Sarmatians as the dominant power in the region.

In 267, Heruli commanded a naval attack from the Sea of Azov, past the Danube delta, and into the straits of the Bosphorus.

Heruli are believed to have formed part of the Chernyakhov culture, which, although dominated by the Goths and other Germanic peoples, included Bastarnae, Dacians and Carpi.

Heruli were already seen in western Europe before the empire of Attila, at the time of their first ambitious campaigns in the east.

In 366 the Batavians and Heruli fought against the Alamanni near the Rhine, under the leadership of Charietto, who died in the battle, and then against Picts and Scoti in Britain.

In 405 or 406, a large number of barbarian groups crossed the Rhine, entering the Roman empire, and the Heruli appear in the list of peoples given by the historian Jerome.

Greek poet Sidonius Apollinaris specifically imagined the Heruli he saw at Euric's court as oceanic sea-farers, but Steinacher argues that this raiding by sea was simply a logical strategy for Visigothic campaigns against the Iberian Suevi, and difficult to use as a proof that the Heruli had a coastal kingdom somewhere in the north.

Heruli who were possibly on the winning side with the Gepids, were subsequently among the several peoples now able to form a kingdom in that area.

The Heruli do not appear in early lists of Odoacer's allies after Nedao, but benefited from the downfall of his people the Sciri.

However Heruli suffered badly in Italy, as loyalists of Odoacer, when he was defeated by the Ostrogoth Theoderic.

Procopius noted that these Heruli first traversed the lands of the Slavs, then empty lands, and then the lands of the Danes, until finally settling down nearby the Geats.

Heruli were often mentioned during the times of Justinian, who used them in his extensive military campaigns in many countries including Italy, Syria, and North Africa.

Several thousand Heruli served in the personal guard of Belisarius throughout the campaigns, and Narses recruited from them.

Procopius related that in the 540s the Heruli who had been settled in the Roman Balkans killed their own king Ochus and, not wanting the one assigned by the emperor, Suartuas, they made contact with the Heruli who had gone to Thule decades earlier, seeking a new king.

The Heruli who were sent against Suartuas defected with him and were supported by the empire.

Sarantis however shows that the Belgrade-region Heruli continued to be recruited, and to play a role in local conflicts involving the Gepids and Lombards, into the 550s.

Paul the Deacon writes that many Heruli joined the Lombard king Alboin in their eventual conquest of Italy from the empire in the late 6th century AD.

Early religion of the Heruli is vividly described by Procopius in his History of the Wars.

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Heruli describes them as a polytheistic society known to practice human sacrifice.

The Heruli appear to have been worshippers of Odin, and might have been responsible for the spread of such worship to Northern Europe.

Procopius writes that the Heruli practiced a form of senicide, having a non-relative kill the sick and elderly and burning the remains on a wooden pyre.

Furthermore, Procopius claims that the Heruli practiced homosexuality or bestiality, depending on the interpretation:.

Heruli were famous for the quality of their infantry, who were recruited as mercenaries by all other peoples.