Rugii

The Rugi, Rogi or Rugians, called the Rugii in the first century, were one of the smaller Germanic peoples of Late Antiquity who are best known for their short-lived 5th-century kingdom upon the Roman frontier on the Danube river in what is now Lower Austria, west of Vienna. This kingdom first appeared in records after the death of Attila in 453. There is evidence that these Rugi had moved from the southern Baltic Sea coast in the third or fourth century, and there may even have been a continuing presence of Rugian groups in that area, and also Scandinavia, into early medieval times. However, the best-known Danubian Rugi eventually lost their kingdom, and were forced to regroup. They continued to be identifiable within the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy until it was destroyed by the eastern Roman emperor Justinian in 554.

The Rugi are one of the so-called "disappearing and reappearing tribes" listed by historian Peter Heather, appearing in early Roman records in one place, only to reappear centuries later in records concerning another place. Despite their very different location, it is generally accepted that the Danubian Rugi were descended from the "Rugii" who were mentioned by Tacitus in the first century, in his Germania. He described these "Rugii" living near the south Baltic shore, as neighbours of the Lemovii and Gutones. Various other records mentioning places or peoples with similar names have been associated with the Baltic Rugi as possible relatives. These similar names all appear to be related to Indo-European words for the grain rye.