Rechiar or Flavius Rechiarius (after 415 – December 456) was the third
Suevi
file:1st century Germani.png, 300px, The approximate positions of some Germanic peoples reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 1st century. Suebian peoples in red, and other Irminones in purple.
The Suebi (also spelled Suavi, Suevi or Suebians ...
c king of
Gallaecia
Gallaecia, also known as Hispania Gallaecia, was the name of a Roman province in the north-west of Hispania, approximately present-day Galicia, northern Portugal, Asturias and Leon and the later Kingdom of Gallaecia. The Roman cities inclu ...
, from 448 until his death, and also the first one to be born in Gallaecia. He was one of the most innovative and belligerent of the Suevi monarchs.
Hydatius, the contemporary bishop and chronicler from Galicia who is the sole contemporary source for biographical details of Rechiar, established his reputation as that of a barbarian with little sense of Roman law, culture, or custom; accusations already discredited, but very common at that time. He was the first Germanic king who professed
Nicene Christianity
Nicene Christianity includes those Christian denominations that adhere to the teaching of the Nicene Creed, which was formulated at the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 and amended at the First Council of Constantinople in AD 381. It encompas ...
.
Religion
Rechiar was almost certainly not raised Christian, though some scholars have raised the contention that his father raised him that way in order to foster good relations with the Church and the Romanized population who were, for the most part, Catholics as well.
[Thompson, "The Conversion of the Spanish Suevi", 79.] What is certain is the Rechiar had been converted (''catholicus factus'' according to
Isidore's ''
Historia Suevorum
The ''Historia de regibus Gothorum, Vandalorum et Suevorum'' ("History of the Kings of the Goths, Vandals and Suevi") is a Latin history of the Goths from 265 to 624, written by Isidore of Seville. It is a condensed account and, due to its diver ...
'') before reaching the throne.
Rechiar's conversion to Trinitarianism predated that of the more famous
Clovis of the
Franks
file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty
The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...
by half a century. The argument was even raised in the late nineteenth century that the Spanish church had primacy over the French because Rechiar's conversion predated Clovis'.
Rechiar was the son of the
pagan
Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...
Flavius
Rechila, whom he succeeded on the throne, and a daughter of the
Visigothic
The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the comman ...
king
Wallia. The date and circumstances of Rechiar's conversion are unknown and it is possible that Roman missionaries took some part in it, since he was not converted to the
Arianism
Arianism (, ) is a Christology, Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is co ...
which was preached by the Visigothic missionaries.
Rechiar was one of the only Suevi to convert at that time; also he preserved his ancestral beliefs and his people remained pagan. Hydatius records opposition, possibly secret,
[Thompson, ''Romans and Barbarians'', 165.] to his succession, but the basis of this opposition he does not mention. It is not inconceivable that it was religiously motivated.
Rechiar married an Arian Visigothic princess from
Toulouse
Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
, the daughter of
Theodoric I.
[Collins, ''Visigothic Spain'', 31.] The marriage of Catholic to Arian was not advantageous for the church of the former and the influence of Rechiar's queen and another later Arian queen helped bring about the conversion of the Suevi not to Catholicism, but to Arianism.
If Rechiar did make any effort to convert his people to his faith, it was entirely ephemeral and "bore no detectable fruit".
Administration
Rechiar was a powerful enough ruler to mint his own coinage, on which he had stamped the legend ''ivssv rechiari reges''.
Indeed, he was the first Germanic king to mint coins (''
siliqua
The siliqua (. siliquas or siliquae) is the modern namegiven without any ancient evidence to confirm the designationto small, thin, Roman silver coins produced in the 4th century and later. When the coins were in circulation, the Latin word wa ...
e'') bearing his name and the first to claim the right (''iussu'') to mint them, in Latin legend: "''IVSSV RECHIARI REGES"'' ("By order of King Rechiar"). Rechiar's kingship was "primitive" enough, however, that it appears he took the royal ''thesaurus'' (treasure) with him on his campaigns.
[Thompson, ''Romans and Barbarians'', 169.] Despite Hydatius' misrepresentation of Rechiarius, he was the first Suevic king to be born in Gallaecia and with a Roman education, like many Gallico-Roman leaders of the time, thanks to which he also gained influence in the autochthonous social layers. He kept his capital at
Braga
Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...
.
Wars
Rechiar was a bellicose ruler, who made war on all of his neighbours. In 448, at the commencement of his reign, the Roman count
Censorius was executed at
Seville
Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
by a Suevic nobleman named
Agiulf. It has been surmised by some that this act was connected with Rechiar's warlike attitude towards Rome.
He even allied with the
Bagaudae
Bagaudae (also spelled bacaudae) were groups of peasant insurgents in the western parts of the late antiquity, later Roman Empire, who arose during the Crisis of the Third Century and persisted until the very Decline of the Roman Empire, end of th ...
in ravaging the
Ebro valley, a unique occurrence between Germanic rulers and local peasant rebels.
Rechiar also impelled the first contact between the Suevi and the
Basques
The Basques ( or ; ; ; ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a Basque culture, common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Basques are indigenous peoples, ...
: he made war on them in February 449.
The expedition may have been a mere raid
or an attempted conquest of
Vasconia as a prelude to the conquest of the Ebro valley. Later in 449 he visited his father-in-law in
Gaul
Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...
. On his return home to Galicia, Rechiar allied with
Basilius, leader of one of the Bagaudae, and raided the Ebro valley, attacking
Caesaraugusta and even entering
Ilerda (Lleida) "by a trick".
[Thompson, ''Romans and Barbarians'', 162.] He took many prisoners, but he failed to take the region and thus complete the Suevic conquest of
Hispania
Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...
. Rechiar did not approach
Tarragona
Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...
, the provincial capital.
Unlike his father-in-law, he did not take part in the
battle of the Catalaunian Plains
The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (or Fields), also called the Battle of the Campus Mauriacus, Battle of Châlons, Battle of Troyes or the Battle of Maurica, took place on June 20, 451 AD, between a victorious coalition, led by the Roman ...
in 451.
Following the assassination of the patrician
Flavius Aëtius and the emperors
Valentinian III
Valentinian III (; 2 July 41916 March 455) was Roman emperor in the Western Roman Empire, West from 425 to 455. Starting in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by civil wars among powerful general ...
and
Petronius Maximus
Petronius Maximus (31 May 455) was Roman emperor of the Western Roman Empire, West for two and a half months in 455. A wealthy Roman Senate, senator and a prominent aristocrat, he was instrumental in the murders of the Western Roman ''magister ...
in 455, Rechiar led an attack on
Carthaginiensis, probably with the intent of conquest. Later that year he attacked the province of
Hispania Tarraconensis
Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the northern, eastern and central territories of modern Spain along with modern North Region, Portugal, northern Portugal. Southern Spain, the region now ...
, the only province of Hispania still under Roman control, but did not conquer it.
[Thompson, "The Conversion of the Spanish Suevi", 80.][Thompson, ''Romans and Barbarians'', 163.] According to
Jordanes
Jordanes (; Greek language, Greek: Ιορδάνης), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat, claimed to be of Goths, Gothic descent, who became a historian later in life.
He wrote two works, one on R ...
, he had "presumed" on the basis of his relationship to the Visigothic king and Roman ''
foederatus''
Theodoric II
Theodoric II ( 426 – early 466) was the eighth King of the Visigoths, from 453 to 466.
Biography
Theoderic II, son of Theodoric I, obtained the throne by killing his elder brother Thorismund. The English historian Edward Gibbon writes that ...
(his brother-in-law), that he could rule all of Hispania.
Theodoric, acting on the orders of the emperor
Avitus
Eparchius Avitus (died 456/7) was Roman emperor of the Western Roman Empire, Western Empire from July 455 to October 456. He was a Roman Senate, senator of Roman Gaul, Gallic extraction and a high-ranking officer both in the civil and military ...
, invaded Hispania in 456 with an army of Goths,
Franks
file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty
The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...
,
Burgundians
The Burgundians were an early Germanic peoples, Germanic tribe or group of tribes. They appeared east in the middle Rhine region in the third century AD, and were later moved west into the Roman Empire, in Roman Gaul, Gaul. In the first and seco ...
(under their kings
Chilperic I
Chilperic I ( 539 – September 584) was the king of Neustria (or Soissons) from 561 to his death. He was one of the sons of the Franks, Frankish king Clotaire I and Queen Aregund.
Life
Immediately after the death of his father in 561, he ...
and
Gundioch), and perhaps even Romans to confront the Suevi, who in turn planned to meet the invaders on the borders of Tarraconensis.
On 5 October 456 Theodoric defeated Rechiar in a
battle at the ''Campus Paramus'' twelve miles from
Astorga on the ''Urbicus'' (
Órbigo
The Órbigo River is a river in the provinces of León and Zamora, Spain. It begins at the convergence of the Luna River and the Omaña River in the village of Secarejo, in the Cimanes del Tejar municipality. Decades ago, that confluence was ...
).
He was wounded during the battle, but according to Hydatius managed to flee as far as
Porto
Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
in the heart of his kingdom, while Jordanes says he took ship in the
Tyrrhenian Sea
The Tyrrhenian Sea (, ; or ) , , , , is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenians, Tyrrhenian people identified with the Etruscans of Italy.
Geography
The sea is bounded by the islands of C ...
(i.e., the western Mediterranean) before winds forced him back and he was captured.
[Thompson, ''Romans and Barbarians'', 297 n15.] Jordanes is almost certainly wrong; at Porto Rechiar was captured and executed in December.
[Thompson, ''Romans and Barbarians'', 164.] The Suevic monarchy collapsed, rapidly disintegrating into rival factions over the following years.
Braga
Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...
fell on 28 October and the Visigoths brutally sacked the city and the churches before moving on to conquer
Andalusia
Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...
.
During the century of Arianism that soon commenced, nothing about the Suevi was recorded.
Notes
References
*Collins, Roger. "The Basques in Aquitaine and Navarre: Problems of Frontier Government." ''War and Society in the Middle Ages: Essays in Honour of J. O. Prestwich''. edd. J. Gillingham and J. C. Holt. Cambridge: Boydell Press, 1984. Reprinted in ''Law, Culture and Regionalism in Early Medieval Spain''. Variorum, 1992. .
*Collins, Roger. ''Visigothic Spain, 409–711''. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2004. .
*Edmondson, J. C
"Mining in the Later Roman Empire and Beyond: Continuity or Disruption?"''The Journal of Roman Studies'', Vol. 79. (1989), pp 84–102.
*Thompson, E. A. "The Conversion of the Spanish Suevi to Catholicism." ''Visigothic Spain: New Approaches''. ed.
Edward James. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980. .
*Thompson, E. A. ''Romans and Barbarians: The Decline of the Western Empire''. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1982. .
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2020
Converts to Christianity from Germanic paganism
5th-century Suebian kings
Christian monarchs
456 deaths
5th-century Christians
Year of birth unknown
Executed monarchs
Year of birth uncertain
Monarchs taken prisoner in wartime