The Nahanarvali, also known as the Nahavali, Naha-Narvali, and Nahanavali, were a
Germanic tribe mentioned by the Roman scholar
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars.
Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...
in his ''
Germania
Germania ( ; ), also more specifically called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman provinces of Germania Inferior and Germania Superio ...
''.
According to Tacitus, the Nahanarvali were one of the five most powerful tribes of the
Lugii
The Lugii (or ''Lugi'', ''Lygii'', ''Ligii'', ''Lugiones'', ''Lygians'', ''Ligians'', ''Lugians'', or ''Lougoi'') were a group of tribes mentioned by Roman authors living in ca. 100 BC–300 AD in Central Europe, north of the Sudetes moun ...
, living between the
Oder
The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through wes ...
and the
Vistula
The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland.
The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...
. Tacitus mentions the Naharvali as the keepers of the sanctuary of the Lugii, a grove dedicated to the
twin gods Alcis.
The text of Tacitus (''Germania'', 43)
While Tacitus did not mention the
Silingi
The Silings or Silingi (; – ) were a Germanic tribe, part of the larger Vandal group. The Silingi at one point lived in Silesia, and the names ''Silesia'' and ''Silingi'' may be related.Jerzy Strzelczyk, "Wandalowie i ich afrykańskie państw ...
, nor the locations of the Nahanarvali, it has been speculated that the Silingi, known from
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...
, were in approximately the same area.
[J.H.W.G. Liebeschuetz, "Gens Into Regnum: The Vandals". IN: Hans-Werner Goetz, Jörg Jarnut, Walter Pohl (ed.), "Regna and Gentes: The Relationship Between Late Antique and Early Medieval Peoples and Kingdoms in the Transformation of the Roman World", Brill, 2003, ISSN 1386-4165, p.62.]
See also
*
List of Germanic peoples
The list of early Germanic peoples is a catalog of ancient Germanic cultures, tribal groups, and other alliances of Germanic tribes and civilizations from antiquity. This information is derived from various ancient historical sources, beginning in ...
References
Sources
*Tacitus, ''
Germania.XLIII''
{{Germanic peoples
Early Germanic peoples
Lugii