When did Rugiland exist?

Rugiland existed 467–487/488. On this map it is drawn AD 455–489.

How large was Rugiland?

At its greatest extent drawn on this map, Rugiland covered about 15,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.

Europe · The migration period

Rugiland

467–487/488

Rugiland was the kingdom of the Rugii (Rugians), an East Germanic people, established on the north bank of the Danube in Lower Austria (roughly the Waldviertel and Weinviertel, in ancient Noricum) in the disintegration of Roman order after Nedao. Its centre is given as Vindobona (Vienna), and its people were Arian Christians.

See it on the map → Wikipedia ↗

Existed: 467–487/488
Shown on the map: AD 455–489
Peak area: 15k km²
Region: Europe

Overview

History

Its king Flaccitheus (r. c. 467–475), though an Arian, was a close confidant of Saint Severinus, the holy man who mediated between the collapsing Roman provincials and the surrounding barbarians. His son Feletheus (also called Feva; r. 475–487), with his ambitious Gothic wife Giso (Gisa) — probably a kinswoman of Theodoric the Great — likewise dealt with Severinus and supported Odoacer's coup of 476.

Decline and legacy

The kingdom was destroyed by Odoacer, king of Italy, who — incited by the Eastern emperor Zeno — invaded in 487, defeated the Rugii near Vienna, and captured Feletheus and Giso, taking them to Ravenna where they were executed. A follow-up campaign by Odoacer's brother in 488 completed the devastation of Rugiland. Feletheus's son Fredericus (Frideric) gathered the surviving Rugii and, after further reverses, led them to join Theodoric the Great's Ostrogoths, within whose kingdom the Rugii remained an identifiable group until its fall in the 550s. Rugiland itself was later settled by the Lombards.

Common questions

What was Rugiland?: Rugiland was the kingdom of the Rugii (Rugians), an East Germanic people, established on the north bank of the Danube in Lower Austria (roughly the Waldviertel and Weinviertel, in ancient Noricum) in the disintegration of Roman order after Nedao. Its centre is given as Vindobona (Vienna), and its people were Arian Christians.
When did Rugiland exist?: Rugiland existed 467–487/488. On this map it is drawn AD 455–489.
How large was Rugiland?: At its greatest extent drawn on this map, Rugiland covered about 15,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
Who ruled Rugiland?: Its king Flaccitheus (r. c. 467–475), though an Arian, was a close confidant of Saint Severinus, the holy man who mediated between the collapsing Roman provincials and the surrounding barbarians. His son Feletheus (also called Feva; r. 475–487), with his ambitious Gothic wife Giso (Gisa) — probably a kinswoman of Theodoric the Great — likewise dealt with Severinus and supported Odoacer's coup of 476.
How did Rugiland end?: The kingdom was destroyed by Odoacer, king of Italy, who — incited by the Eastern emperor Zeno — invaded in 487, defeated the Rugii near Vienna, and captured Feletheus and Giso, taking them to Ravenna where they were executed. A follow-up campaign by Odoacer's brother in 488 completed the devastation of Rugiland.

Sources

This compendium cites its sources once for the whole document rather than per territory. Its bibliography names the English Wikipedia articles for each territory and its key figures as the primary basis, with Encyclopædia Britannica, the World History Encyclopedia, and academic and primary sources — Jordanes, Procopius, Gregory of Tours, Bede, Ammianus and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, read through the secondary literature. The article this entry is anchored on:

Wikipedia — Rugiland en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugiland

This entry was last updated 27 September 2026.

This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made

Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.

Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).

See Rugiland in its world

Open the atlas at AD 472 and every neighbour, rival and successor is on screen with it — then drag the slider and watch what happens next.

Open the map at AD 472 →