When were the Quadi Sarmaticized?

[Michael Kerr]

 It seems that around 179 the Iazyges wanted the Romans to carry the war to the Quadi as they did not want to be surrounded by enemies so they must have feared or lost confidence in their relationship with the Quadi or their leadership. A temporary tiff between neighbours perhaps. We never hear what happened to Furtius after he was reinstated as king of the Quadi after his rival, Ariogaesus was captured and exiled by the Romans to Egypt. Things were going so bad for the coalition of Quadi and Marcomanni that the Quadi tried to pack up lock, stock and barrel and migrate north to join their kinsmen the Semnones on the Elbe but the Romans blocked them. Maybe you are correct that with the death of Commodus and the instability of Rome for the next couple of years that the Quadi took the opportunity to refine their military skills and outlook. But I still think it developed over time. A lot of their combined raids would have co-incided with changes of emperors and were probably used to squeeze out a better deal for both parties from the Romans.

 But back to the Sarmatacizing of the Quadi, Ammianus wrote about 4th century Quadi and while disparaging of them compared to the Quadi of the Marcomannic wars he does give us some insights. (Book XVII:12)

The Sarmatians and the Quadi, who were in agreement because they were neighbours and had like customs and armour, had united and were raiding the Pannonias and Second Moesia in detached bands. These people, better fitted for brigandage than for open warfare, have very long spears and cuirasses made from smooth and polished pieces of horn, fastened like scales to linen shirts.

He then talks about their horses and how they ride geldings and he is talking about both Sarmatians and Quadi.

 He also wrote that when the Sarmatians had to face Constantius the Quadi came to aid their allies.

Furthermore the Quadi, who had often been their inseparable companions in raids, came at once to share the perils of the Sarmatians.

Another Ammianus comment mentions how the Quadi nobles when swearing allegiance to Constantius

Gave their children as hostages by way of pledge that they would fulfil the conditions imposed upon them. Then drawing their swords, which they venerate as gods, they swore that they would remain loyal.

This seemed to be a steppe custom followed by the Scythians as mentioned by Herodotus and all steppe people including Alans and Huns who all seemed to have some form of sword worship in their religious rites. They would not be the first people who originated as sedentary people to adopt steppe customs. The Bastarnae adopted a lot of Roxolani customs on contact  as did the Greutungi Goths with the Alans. Even later on the Finno-Ugrian Magyars who originally  lived in the forest zones north-east of the Urals for some reason, whether through war or climate, moved south onto the grasslands and adopted a nomadic way of life all the way to Hungary, not that the Quadi turned to a nomadic life but they would have seen the advantages of cavalry warfare and armour. In turn maybe some Iazyges, living on the fringe of the wetlands & grasslands turned to a more sedentary lifestyle closer to that of their Quadi neighbours. The Pazyryk people of the Altai adapted over a few generations from nomads to a form of sedentary/pastoralism while still remaining, going by the amount of horse gear & leatherwork in their barrows, avid horse breeders & slightly less seasonal herders & traders. Horses were considered so important in their lives that they took them with them to the afterlife. 

Regards

Michael Kerr