an east Germanic people originally from Scandinavia. They raided towns in the Roman Empire, scoring their greatest success in AD 267, when they captured Byzantium and sacked Greek cities. Two years later, the eastern Heruli were crushingly defeated by the Roman emperor Claudius II Gothicus in a battle near Naissus (modern Niš, Yugos.). From then until the mid-6th century, when they vanished from history, their fortunes varied. They were subjugated first by the Goths, then by the Huns. Their kingdom on the middle Danube, founded in the late 5th century, fell to the Lombards early in the 6th century. Some survivors are reported to have returned to Scandinavia, while others entered Roman service.