The Elbe Germans (German: Elbgermanen) or Elbe Germanic peoples were Germanic tribes whose settlement area, based on archaeological finds, lay either side of the Elbe estuary on both sides of the river and which extended as far as Bohemia and Moravia, clearly the result of a migration up the Elbe river from the northwest in advance of the main Migration Period until the individual groups ran into the Roman Danube Limes around 200 AD.
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👉 Elbe Germanic peoples in the context of Chatti
The Chatti were a Roman era Germanic people that lived in a region approximately corresponding to the modern German federal state of Hesse. The Chatti were among the most important opponents of the Roman empire during the Roman campaigns in Germania which were pursued under the emperor Augustus and his heirs. In this context they were among the defeated opponents of Drusus the Elder, during his Germanic campaigns from 12 BC until his death in 9 BC. Subsequently, they also appear to have been involved in the revolt against Rome which was led by Arminius of the Cherusci, although there is no record of them being present at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD which initiated these wars. The Chatti and Cherusci nobility were connected by marriage during this period.
Like many of the peoples of their region, archaeological evidence shows that before the Roman invasions the Chatti region shared in the La Tène material culture, similar to the Celtic-speaking Gauls in what is now France. A new regional "Rhine-Weser" material culture developed during the first century AD, which was influenced by both the Romans, and the Elbe Germanic peoples including the Suebi who lived to their east, near the Elbe river. This period of change is believed to have also involved a switch from Celtic to Germanic languages, which also originated near the Elbe. The first surviving Roman reports of the region were made during the Gallic Wars of Julius Caesar in 58-52 BC, do not mention the Chatti, but they do mention the entry of Suebi into the area. He reported them to be mobile and militarized, and creating major disruptions as far away as present day France and Switzerland, even forcing populations to move from their homelands.
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Elbe Germanic peoples in the context of Suebi
The Suebi (also spelled Suevi or Suavi) were a large group of Germanic peoples first reported by Julius Caesar in the 1st century BC. In different contexts over several centuries, peoples within this umbrella category were sometimes simply called the Suebi, although all or most Suebian peoples had their own names as well. They originated near the Elbe River in what is now Eastern Germany. From there, Suebian groups spread across Central Europe, and in the 5th and 6th centuries some took over parts of Spain, Portugal and Italy. Archaeologically, the forerunners of the Suebi before contact with Rome are associated with the Jastorf culture. During the Roman imperial period the Suebi are associated with the so-called "Elbe Germanic peoples" who brought Elbe material culture into new areas to the south and southwest. Linguistically, although contemporary evidence for Roman-era Suebian language is scarce, they spoke a Germanic language, which is believed to be the main predecessor of medieval Old High German, and the modern German language, with all its related dialects.
With the advent of Roman dominance in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, some Suebi moved into Roman controlled regions near the Neckar river, while a powerful Suebian alliance outside their control maintained a tense relationship with the Roman empire. This was led by the Marcomanni, who settled with other Suebi in remote forests and mountains north of the Roman border along the Danube river, and maintained connections with Suebian and non-Suebian peoples to their north. After their crushing defeat to the Romans in the Marcomannic Wars of the late 2nd century, many Suebi moved into the Roman Empire, or regrouped in areas near the Roman frontier. Notably, the diverse group who came to be known as the Alemanni, took control of Roman territory in what later became medieval Swabia - a cultural region in southern Germany that still bears a version of the Suebian name. During the 3rd and 4th centuries, the Romans were often raided by the Alemanni, Juthungi, Quadi and other Suebi, and attempts to subjugate them had limited success.
Elbe Germanic peoples in the context of Early Germanic culture
Early Germanic culture is the name given to describe the lifestyle of the early Germanic peoples. Researchers trace a distinctive Germanic identity as far back as the 6th-century BCE Jastorf culture located along the central part of the Elbe River in present-day central Germany. From there Germanic influence spread north to the ocean, east to the Vistula River, west to the Rhine River, and south to the Danube River. It came under significant external influence during the Migration Period, particularly from ancient Rome.
Germanic society was patriarchal. Roman sources described how the Lombard men owned their women, and how all women not beholden to a man were owned by a king. The Germanic peoples spoke mutually intelligible dialects, some of which developed in to modern times.