The list of the ermanaric peoples: Following the route of Alexander the great
Аннотация
This article raises the issue of locating the peoples mentioned in Jordanes’s work De origine actibusque Getarum (Getica). It examines the narrative of this ancient author, which mentions the arctoi gentes, and presents a list of the various tribes: Golthescytha, Thiudos, Inaunxis, Vasinabroncas, Merens, Mordens, Imnis,Caris, Rogas, Tadzans, Athaul, Navego, Bubegenas, and Coldas. The study reveals that there are different semantic issues in Jordanes’s list. The Arctoi gentes are not “northern peoples,” as scholars believe, but actually point to the neighboring tribes, adjacent to the Goths whom in the 4th century conquered the king of the
Ostrogoths, Ermanaric. The next list represents demonyms listed according to a specific geographic principle.This article defines and locates these demonyms. Modern scholarly opinion suggests that Jordanes is referring to the peoples of the Volga region – Chud, Ves, Mordvins, Merya and others, but the author rejects this view.Rather, he analyzes the location of the Goths and examines the military-political situation of their context.Through comparative analysis, it becomes obvious that the series of tribes cited by Jordanes is an itinerarium
that partially repeats the route of Alexander the Great’s campaigns through Central Asia. Also, the list of identified demonyms coincides with the section of the Silk Road up to the border with Serica (ancient northern China). It is concluded that Ermanaric, according to Jordanes’ information, «passed through» the Crimea, the Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Iran, and Central Asia. The itinerarium comes from the stories of Gothic merchants and travelers which were recorded and delineated by a specific ancient historian or geographer. Cartographic evidence clearly verifies the article’s conclusions.