Scorilo
Scorilo | |
---|---|
Dacian king | |
Reign | c. 30s-70 AD. |
Predecessor | Comosicus |
Successor | Duras |
Scorilo (died c. 70) was a Dacian king who may have been the father of Decebalus. Evidence for his life and reign is fragmentary.
Sources
The Roman historian Jordanes lists a series of Dacian kings before Decebalus, placing a ruler called "Coryllus" between Comosicus and the independently attested Duras, who preceded Decebalus as king. Coryllus is supposed to have presided over a long peaceful 40-year rule[citation needed].
The name Coryllus is not mentioned by any other historian, and it has been argued that it "is a misspelling of Scorilo, a relatively common Dacian name".[1] On this basis, Coryllus has been equated with the Scorilo named on an ancient Dacian pot bearing the words “Decebalus per Scorilo”. Though far from certain, this has also been translated as "Decebalus son of Scorilo"[citation needed]. If so, this might mean that Decebalus was the son of Scorilo, with Duras possibly being either an older son or a brother of Scorilo.[2] A Dacian king (dux Dacorum) called Scorilo is also mentioned by Frontinus, who says he was in power during a period of turmoil in Rome.[3]
From this evidence and references to Dacian kings elsewhere, it is suggested that Scorilo probably ruled from the 30s or 40s AD through to 69-70.[3]
Reign
The Dacians regularly raided into Roman territory in Moesia. The emperors Tiberius and Caligula solved this problem by paying protection money to the Dacians in the form of annual subsidies. This policy appears to have coincided with the reign of Scorilo. Scorilo's brother was apparently held captive for a period in Rome, but was released in exchange for a promise that the Dacians would not intervene in Rome's volatile power-politics.[4]
During the reign of Nero, troops were withdrawn from the Dacian border, leaving the empire vulnerable. When Nero was overthrown in 69, the empire was plunged into turmoil in the
Scorilo appears to have died around this time, perhaps during the campaign.
References
- ^ Köpeczi, Béla, History of Transylvania: From the beginnings to 1606, Social Science Monographs, 2001, p.52.
- ^ Ion Grumeza, Dacia: Land of Transylvania, Cornerstone of Ancient Eastern Europe, University Press of America, 2009, p.72.
- ^ a b Bǎrbulescu, Mihai, et al, The History of Transylvania: (Until 1541), Romanian Cultural Institute, 2005, pp.87-9.
- ^ a b Ion Grumeza, Dacia: Land of Transylvania, Cornerstone of Ancient Eastern Europe, University Press of America, 2009, p.154-5.