Scudilo

Scudilo ( Latin Scudilo ; Greek  Σκοδιλών ; Alemannic * Skudilo "little shooter") was an Alemannic warrior who served in the Roman army under Emperor Constantius II .

If Scudilo is identical to the one in the "Skolidoas" mentioned by Zosimos , he already served as a tribune in the Roman army in 351. In any case, in 354 Ammianus Marcellinus recorded him as the rector scutariorum ( tribune of the Scutarii , an imperial bodyguard troop) of Emperor Constantius II. This year he moved with an army from Milan to the Rhine with the intention of crossing the river at Augusta Raurica and invading the territory of the brothers Vadomar and Gundomad . However, the Alemanni prevented the building of bridges. Local guides then showed the Romans a ford where the area on the right bank of the Rhine was easier to reach. But even here the Roman army failed to cross the river. Despite his high reputation, he was suspected of having informed the Alemannic King Vadomar about the planned route of the Roman army together with Agilo and Latinus . So although the Alemanni were able to prevent the Romans from translating, they negotiated a peace treaty with them, possibly because of bad omens .

After the army returned to Italy, Scudilo was sent to Antioch on the Orontes to persuade Caesar Constantius Gallus to come to the court of Constantius II. The two rulers were in deep conflict and Constantius II wanted to eliminate his cousin Gallus in this way. In fact, Scudilo succeeded in persuading him to leave for the west, where Constantius II had him murdered in Pula . Shortly afterwards, Scudilo also died of a hemorrhage which , according to Ammianus Marcellinus, was caused by a "liver catarrh " ("distillatione iecoris"). It is possible that this name is actually referring to pneumonia ; It was also suspected that there was a copy error in the surviving manuscripts and that Ammianus originally wrote about a “lung catarrh” (“distillatio pectoris”).

literature

• Otto Seeck : Scudilo. In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume II A, 1, Stuttgart 1921, column 909.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Zosimos 2,50,2. For the possible equation see Pieter de Jonge: Linguistic and historical commentary on Ammianus Marcellinus XIV, 2nd half (c. 7-11). JB Wolters, Groningen 1939, p. 105.
2. ↑ Ammianus Marcellinus, Res gestae 14,10 (on Scudilo especially section 8).
3. ↑ Ammianus Marcellinus, Res gestae 14,11,1-22 (on Scudilo especially section 11).
4. ↑ Ammianus Marcellinus, Res gestae 14,11,24.
5. ↑ Ammianus Marcellinus: Roman History. Latin and German and with a commentary by Wolfgang Seyfarth . Volume 1: Book 14-17 (= writings and sources of the Old World. Volume 21.1). 3rd edition, Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1975, p. 272, note 273.