SUEBI

also spelled Suevi, group of Germanic peoples, including the Marcomanni and Quadi, Hermunduri, Semnones, and Langobardi (Lombards). The Alemanni were also part of the Suebi tribal group, which gave its name to the German principality of Swabia. In the late 1st century AD most of the Suebi lived around the Elbe River. Dislodged by the Huns, some Suebi crossed the Rhine River and in 409 entered Spain, settling mainly in the northwest (Gallaecia). By 447, under their king Rechila, the Suebi had spread over the Roman provinces of Lusitania and Baetica. Although the Suebi entered Spain as pagans, their king Rechiar came to the throne as a Christian in 448. He was later defeated by the Visigoths under Theodoric II in 456. Remnants of the Suebi survived under Maldras (reigned 456460) and rival kings until about 585, when the kingdom was annexed to the Visigothic state.