Swabia (Alamannia) , home of the Suevi and Alamanni 
from whom the Raff's are believed to be descended. 

Swabia, in German is Schwaben; in Latin it is Suevia. Swabia was a medieval duchy in southwestern Germany, covering the area now occupied by Baden-Wurttembeg and parts of Bavaria and Switzerland.

The region was known in Roman times as Alamannia, for the Germanic tribe of Alamans who settled there; it received its present name from the Suevi, who became amalgamated with the Alamanni by the 5th century. The Suevi were actually a number of Germanic tribes, including the Marcomanni and Lombards, first mentioned by Julius Caesar in the first century B.C. After the 5th century, Swabia came under the control of the Frankish Empire, but its ruling house, the Merovingians, were not strong and by 689 Swabia was virtually independent. It was brought under the control of the Franks again in the 740's by Charles Martel, founder of the Carolingian Dynasty. This lasted until the 9th century and the dissolution of the Empire under the grandsons of Charlemagne. Swabia was a duchy from the 10th century until 1268, when it broke up into lesser principalities. In 1488, these principalities formed the Swabian League for the purpose of maintaining internal stability. When the Holy Roman Empire was organized in circles in the 16th century, the Swabian circle was created.

Swabia's capital was Augsburg.

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Copyright 1991-2001 Carl T. Raff, All Rights Reserved.