Chariomerus

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Chariomerus ( Greek  Χαϱιόμηϱος Chariomeros ) was the last known king of the Cherusci in the 1st century AD . It is only mentioned in Cassius Dio , Römische Geschichte 67, 5, 1.

origin

Chariomerus was probably the son and successor of the Italicus . Whether Chariomerus was a descendant of Flavus - brother of Arminius - remains unproven. The families of the Cheruscan elite appearing in the ancient sources make it possible for research to analyze the naming within the kinship. They contain variations of the same name elements : the brother of Inguio - merus, for example, was called Sigi - merus . The later Chariomerus could therefore be the great-grandson of Sigimerus .

position

Like Italicus, Chariomerus seems to have been supported by Rome and thereby remained in enmity with the neighboring Chatti . Chased out of his country by the Chatti for his Rome-friendly attitude, he turned to Emperor Domitian (81-96 AD) for an alliance, that is, military support , as he could not maintain his newly won position as King of the Cherusci . After Rome's usual practice, he was denied this. Domitian did not send Roman troops, but subsidies for the fight against the Chatti.

With Chariomerus the kingship of the Cherusci expired at the end of the first century AD.

Dating

Brian W. Jones makes a possible dating of the events around Chariomerus. Around the years 81 and 82 AD - according to Zsolt Visy - there seems to have been riots in the unoccupied Germania, which prompted the legates to get their troops ready. According to Jones, it is conceivable that this happened on the occasion of the otherwise undated disputes between the Chatti and the Cheruscans of the Chariomerus.

Nomenclature

The linguistic form of the two-part personal name can be interpreted well. Germanic initial h could be reproduced as a fricative in Roman and Roman times . The first link Chario- can be equated with Hario - / Haria - which resembled a Gothic harjis "army". In the form of Harigēr , this name has often been attested in Old High German times for around the 8th century and is also documented in Anglo-Saxon.

The second part of the name - merus also has Germanic equivalents in the vocabulary: for example the Gothic * mērs or the Old High German māri for “famous”.

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ Cf. Dieter Timpe : Arminius studies. Heidelberg 1970, pp. 35-36, pp. 41 ff. And p. 133 ff.
  2. ↑ Rudolf Much : The family of Arminius. In the magazine for German antiquity. Vol. 35, 1891, pp. 361-371, here p. 362.
  3. ↑ a b c Wolfgang Jungandreas , Bernhard H. Stolte:  Chariomerus. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 4, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1981, ISBN 3-11-006513-4 , p. 372. (accessed via the paid GAO at De Gruyter Online)
  4. ^ Cassius Dio 67, 5, 1
  5. ↑ a b Peter Moeller:  Domitian. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 5, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1984, ISBN 3-11-009635-8 , pp. 591-602. (accessed via the paid GAO at De Gruyter Online)
  6. ↑ Cf. Zsolt Visy : The beginning of the Danube Wars of Domitian. In: Acta Archaeologica Hungarica. Vol. 30, 1978, pp. 37-60, here pp. 40 ff.
  7. ^ So Brian W. Jones: The dating of Domitians war against the Chatti . In: Historia . Vol. 22, 1973, pp. 79-90, here p. 86.
  8. ↑ Heinrich Beck , Reinhard Wenskus :  Ariogaisos. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 1, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1973, ISBN 3-11-004489-7 , pp. 406-407. (Retrieved for a fee via GAO at De Gruyter Online).
personal data
SURNAME Chariomerus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Chariomeros (Greek)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of the Cherusci
DATE OF BIRTH 1st century
DATE OF DEATH 1st century