Suions

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The Suionen (also Suonen , Sueonen , Sweonen , Swionen or Svionen ; Latin Suiones ) were a North Germanic or North Eurasian people mentioned by the Roman historian and ethnographer Cornelius Tacitus in the 1st century . Tacitus named them in his Germania in connection with the Suebi and Sithons . However, Tacitus' geographical information is difficult to reconcile with later traditions from the Svear or the Swedes .

Rock carvings of a Bronze Age sea people found in Skåne fit Tacitus' descriptions of the suions

“Then the Suion States, for themselves in the ocean, together with crew and weapons by powerful fleets. The shape of their ships is peculiar in that a front section at both ends offers the forehead always ready for landing. They are not served by sails and have not added their oars to the north in a row: a loose oar mechanism, as on many rivers, and can be changed from both sides as required. With them the property also has honor, and that is why only one is master, with absolutely no exceptions, with an irrevocable right to obedience, also the weapons are not, as with the other Teutons, in every hand, but locked under a guard, namely one Slaves, because the ocean defends against the sudden intrusion of the enemy, and moreover, resting hands of the armed men are easily left out. And, in fact, to put neither nobles, nor freeborns, nor freedmen over arms, is a king's favorable account. Beyond the suions there is another sea, sluggish and almost motionless, which surrounds and encloses the globe, as is credible from the fact that there the last shine of the just setting sun lasts until rising, so bright that it bleaches the stars. Firm belief adds that, moreover, a sound is heard from those rising up, figures of gods and a head of rays are seen. Only up there (and the legend is true) does nature reach ... The Suionen continuation are the tribes of the Sitonen; Otherwise similar, they differ only in one thing, that a woman is master; so far they have not only deviated from freedom but also from bondage. Here is Suevenlandes end. "

- Tacitus : Germania

A more modern translation reads as follows

“Then come, already in the sea, the tribes of the Suions; besides men and arms, they also have strong fleets. The shape of their ships is characterized by the fact that both ends have a bow and one end is always ready for landing. Nor do they use sails, nor do they tie up oars in rows on the ship's walls: loosely, as sometimes on rivers, and the oars can be used here and there as needed. The Suionen is also rich in honor, and therefore there is a , even without any restriction, with irrevocable right to obedience. Also, the weapons are not, as with the other Teutons, in free use, but locked, under the supervision of a slave. For the sea prevents sudden attacks by enemies; moreover, armed groups are easily prone to rioting in peacetime. And it is true that no noble or freeborn should have arms under him is a requirement of royal security. To the north of the suions there is another sea, sluggish and almost motionless. That it delimits and encloses the world around it is credible because the last glow of the sun, which is already sinking, lasts until it rises again, and so brightly that it outshines the stars. The imagination adds that one hears the sound of the rising sun and sees the outlines of the horses and the radiant head. There lies - and the story is true - the end of the world ... The tribes of the Sitonen join the suions. Generally similar to the suions, they differ in that a woman ruled; so deep have they sunk not only under freedom, but even under bondage. Here Suebien comes to an end. "

- Tacitus : Germania

In Skåne , the region of southern Sweden possibly named after the suions, rock carvings from the Bronze Age were found showing shipbuilding and seafaring. This fits in with Tacitus' description of the suions as sea people. However, further north, into the area of ​​the Svear, Roman travelers never penetrated. Tacitus' geographical localizations and ethnological descriptions of the suions could not be verified, and their trace has been lost since the Great Migration at the latest . Jordanes ' Getica instead mentioned the Suehans in connection with the Goths in the 6th century . Nevertheless, from the Middle Ages onwards (by Adam von Bremen, among others ) - more than 1,000 years after Tacitus - the Suebi were initially equated with the Suebi, then with the Svear, which was only handed down after the Great Migration. This classification, which can still be found today, has been as controversial since modern times as the equation of Goths and Gauts .

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