Semba (Balts)
The Semba (Latin Sembi , Sambitae , Sami , Danish Sember ) were a Baltic tribe in Samland in what is now Kaliningrad Oblast .
history
The Sembi were first mentioned in 1073 by Adam von Bremen . From 1242 they took part in various battles of the Prussian tribes against the Teutonic Order .
In 1255 Koenigsberg was founded, in 1257 the diocese of Samland . From 1260 to 1274 they took part in military actions against the order. In 1276, Vogt Theoderic renounced further resistance.
In the following centuries they adopted the German language and became part of the East Prussian population.
archeology
Archaeological finds in the area of the Semba (Samland) are the richest in the entire Prussian area. From the 9th to the 13th century there were finds of Danish origin. A large Viking settlement was located near Wiskiauten on the Curonian Lagoon near the mouth of the Pregel.
The Semba differed in their burial culture from the neighboring Baltic (Prussian) tribes. They buried their dead in burial mounds that were built over the graves and surrounded them with a circle of stones.
literature
- Pietro U. Dini, Wojciech Nowakowski: Samland. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 26, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2004, ISBN 3-11-017734 X , pp. 392-403.
- Semba , in: Simas Sužiedėlis (Ed.): Encyclopedia Lituanica , Vol. V, Boston, Massachusetts, 1970–1978, pp. 107–108