Aduatuci
Encyclopedia
The Aduatuci or Atuatuci were, according to Caesar, a Germanic tribe
formed in east Belgium
descended from the Cimbri
and Teutones, who are tribes thought to have originated in the area of Denmark
. They were allowed to settle in the region by local tribes. The Aduatuci sent troops to assist the Nervii
or Nervians in the Battle of the Sabis
, but were too late, and were later defeated by the Romans after withdrawing to a fortified Aduatuci city. After their defeat by Caesar they disappear from the written record, but their survivors possibly contributed to the later tribal grouping known as the Tungri
in Roman imperial
times.
, the Teutones, and Ambrones
were engaged by, and then defeated several Roman armies at the battle of Noreia
(113 BCE) and the huge Roman defeat at Arausio
(105 BCE), where the Romans are said to have lost more than 80,000 men. After the Marian reforms
of the legions, the Teutones and Ambrones were finally defeated by the Romans at Aquae Sextiae in 102 BC. The Cimbri were defeated by the Romans in northeast Italy in 101 BC. The Aduatuci were said to be the remnants of a group of the Cimbri who stayed in northern Gaul after defeating a previous Roman army under Marcus Junius Silanus in Gaul in 109 BC, before the Germanic tribes moved south towards Italy.
From the account of Caesar, the exact position of the Aduatuci is not clear, but they were apparently neighbours of both the Nervii
and the Eburones
. Edith Wightman states that they "are generally supposed to have occupied the middle Meuse
valley, perhaps rightly, although the reasoning is suspect". Concerning their fort, Wightman writes
(Mont Falise is today in Huy
, on the north side of the Meuse, and to the east of the main town.)
. Although the Roman forces under Julius Caesar
eventually defeated the Nervians
, the Romans were almost overtaken by the surprisingly strong tribe. The Aduatuci sent troops to assist the Nervians
, but when they learned of the Nervians’ defeat, the Aduatuci retreated towards a single fort, being a place "eminently fortified by nature" and described by Caesar as being the original settlement they had chosen after settling in the area.
The Romans followed the Aduatuci and besieged their city. The Aduatuci successfully resisted the Romans' initial attacks but surrendered after the Romans erected siege weapons and approached the city with them. Caesar
promised mercy if the Aduatuci surrendered, so the Aduatuci opened their gates and made show of laying down some weapons. This may have been an attempt to trick the Romans and catch them off guard in a later attack. Caesar
kept his word that evening by sending Roman troops out of the Aduatuci city to avoid looting and violence against the Aduatuci. Using improvised shields and weapons which they had concealed within the city, the Aduatuci then engaged the Romans in a surprise attack that night. While the Aduatuci fought well, the Romans were prepared and they defeated the Aduatuci. Many Aduatuci were killed in the battle and those that survived were sold into slavery. Caesar
wrote that 53,000 people were sold into slavery.
" was known as "Aduatuca Tungrorum" (modern Tongeren). The reasons for this are unclear, but the name of the capital of the Eburones
, the distinct neighbours of the Aduatuci, had also been referred to as Aduatuca by Caesar, and so it is likely the word was a general term for a fortified settlement. (So the name "Aduatuci" might mean "fortress people".)
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
formed in east Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
descended from the Cimbri
Cimbri
The Cimbri were a tribe from Northern Europe, who, together with the Teutones and the Ambrones threatened the Roman Republic in the late 2nd century BC. The Cimbri were probably Germanic, though some believe them to be of Celtic origin...
and Teutones, who are tribes thought to have originated in the area of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. They were allowed to settle in the region by local tribes. The Aduatuci sent troops to assist the Nervii
Nervii
The Nervii were an ancient Germanic tribe, and one of the most powerful Belgic tribes; living in the northeastern hinterlands of Gaul, they were known to trek long distances to engage in various wars and functions...
or Nervians in the Battle of the Sabis
Battle of the Sabis
The Battle of the Sabis, also known as the Battle of the Sambre or the Battle against the Nervians , was fought in 57 BC in the area known today as Wallonia, between the legions of the Roman Republic and an association of Belgic tribes, principally the Nervii...
, but were too late, and were later defeated by the Romans after withdrawing to a fortified Aduatuci city. After their defeat by Caesar they disappear from the written record, but their survivors possibly contributed to the later tribal grouping known as the Tungri
Tungri
The Tungri were a tribe, or group of tribes, who lived in the Belgic part Gaul, during the times of the Roman empire. They were described by Tacitus as being the same people who were first called "Germani" , meaning that all other tribes who were later referred to this way, including those in...
in Roman imperial
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
times.
Background
The CimbriCimbri
The Cimbri were a tribe from Northern Europe, who, together with the Teutones and the Ambrones threatened the Roman Republic in the late 2nd century BC. The Cimbri were probably Germanic, though some believe them to be of Celtic origin...
, the Teutones, and Ambrones
Ambrones
The Ambrones were a tribe that appeared briefly in the Roman sources relating to the 2nd century BC. They formed part of a coalition of peoples with the Cimbri of Jutland and the Teutones who were forced south by the flooding of their homeland.-History:...
were engaged by, and then defeated several Roman armies at the battle of Noreia
Battle of Noreia
The Battle of Noreia in 112 BC, was the opening action of the Cimbrian War fought between the Roman Republic and the migrating Proto-Germanic tribes, the Cimbri and the Teutons . It ended in defeat, and near disaster, for the Romans.- Prelude :...
(113 BCE) and the huge Roman defeat at Arausio
Battle of Arausio
The Battle of Arausio took place on October 6, 105 BC, at a site between the town of Arausio and the Rhône River. Ranged against the migratory tribes of the Cimbri under Boiorix and the Teutoni were two Roman armies, commanded by the proconsul Quintus Servilius Caepio and consul Gnaeus Mallius...
(105 BCE), where the Romans are said to have lost more than 80,000 men. After the Marian reforms
Marian reforms
The Marian reforms of 107 BC were a group of military reforms initiated by Gaius Marius, a statesman and general of the Roman republic.- Roman army before the Marian reforms :...
of the legions, the Teutones and Ambrones were finally defeated by the Romans at Aquae Sextiae in 102 BC. The Cimbri were defeated by the Romans in northeast Italy in 101 BC. The Aduatuci were said to be the remnants of a group of the Cimbri who stayed in northern Gaul after defeating a previous Roman army under Marcus Junius Silanus in Gaul in 109 BC, before the Germanic tribes moved south towards Italy.
From the account of Caesar, the exact position of the Aduatuci is not clear, but they were apparently neighbours of both the Nervii
Nervii
The Nervii were an ancient Germanic tribe, and one of the most powerful Belgic tribes; living in the northeastern hinterlands of Gaul, they were known to trek long distances to engage in various wars and functions...
and the Eburones
Eburones
The Eburones , were a Belgic people who lived in the northeast of Gaul, near the river Meuse and the modern provinces of Belgian and Dutch Limburg, in the period immediately before it was conquered by Rome. They played a major role in Julius Caesar's account of his "Gallic Wars", as the most...
. Edith Wightman states that they "are generally supposed to have occupied the middle Meuse
Meuse
Meuse is a department in northeast France, named after the River Meuse.-History:Meuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
valley, perhaps rightly, although the reasoning is suspect". Concerning their fort, Wightman writes
From the description, it was a promontory fort or epéron barré, but the lack of any reference to a major river argues against the citadel at Namur, and the Mont Falhize near HuyHuyHuy is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liege. Huy lies along the river Meuse, at the mouth of the small river Hoyoux. It is in the sillon industriel, the former industrial backbone of Wallonia, home to about two-thirds of the Walloon population...
, both of them washed by the MeuseMeuseMeuse is a department in northeast France, named after the River Meuse.-History:Meuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
. Reoccupation of the earlier fort of Hastedon (St. Servais, just north of Namur) is a possibility. Other candidates are not lacking, but they lie mostly in the Entre-SambreSambreThe Sambre is a river in northern France and Wallonia, southern Belgium, left tributary of the Meuse River. The ancient Romans called the river Sabis.-Course:...
-et-MeuseMeuseMeuse is a department in northeast France, named after the River Meuse.-History:Meuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
area, which probably belonged to the NerviiNerviiThe Nervii were an ancient Germanic tribe, and one of the most powerful Belgic tribes; living in the northeastern hinterlands of Gaul, they were known to trek long distances to engage in various wars and functions...
.
(Mont Falise is today in Huy
Huy
Huy is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liege. Huy lies along the river Meuse, at the mouth of the small river Hoyoux. It is in the sillon industriel, the former industrial backbone of Wallonia, home to about two-thirds of the Walloon population...
, on the north side of the Meuse, and to the east of the main town.)
Assisting the Nervians
The Battle of Sabis took place in 57 BC between the Romans and the NerviansNervii
The Nervii were an ancient Germanic tribe, and one of the most powerful Belgic tribes; living in the northeastern hinterlands of Gaul, they were known to trek long distances to engage in various wars and functions...
. Although the Roman forces under Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
eventually defeated the Nervians
Nervii
The Nervii were an ancient Germanic tribe, and one of the most powerful Belgic tribes; living in the northeastern hinterlands of Gaul, they were known to trek long distances to engage in various wars and functions...
, the Romans were almost overtaken by the surprisingly strong tribe. The Aduatuci sent troops to assist the Nervians
Nervii
The Nervii were an ancient Germanic tribe, and one of the most powerful Belgic tribes; living in the northeastern hinterlands of Gaul, they were known to trek long distances to engage in various wars and functions...
, but when they learned of the Nervians’ defeat, the Aduatuci retreated towards a single fort, being a place "eminently fortified by nature" and described by Caesar as being the original settlement they had chosen after settling in the area.
Defeat
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
promised mercy if the Aduatuci surrendered, so the Aduatuci opened their gates and made show of laying down some weapons. This may have been an attempt to trick the Romans and catch them off guard in a later attack. Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
kept his word that evening by sending Roman troops out of the Aduatuci city to avoid looting and violence against the Aduatuci. Using improvised shields and weapons which they had concealed within the city, the Aduatuci then engaged the Romans in a surprise attack that night. While the Aduatuci fought well, the Romans were prepared and they defeated the Aduatuci. Many Aduatuci were killed in the battle and those that survived were sold into slavery. Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
wrote that 53,000 people were sold into slavery.
Possible survival
Under Roman rule the name of the Aduatuci never appears any more, but the tribal groupings of the area are likely to have reformed, also including more recent immigrants from Germany. The survivors of the people who fought Caesar are therefore likely to have joined into the tribal grouping known in imperial times as the Tungri. The place name "Aduatuca" does continue in the region, because the capital of the Tungri's region, the "Civitas TungrorumCivitas Tungrorum
The Civitas Tungrorum was a large Roman administrative district. In the early days of the Roman empire it was in the province of Gallia Belgica, but it later joined the neighbouring lower Rhine river border districts, within the province of Germania Inferior...
" was known as "Aduatuca Tungrorum" (modern Tongeren). The reasons for this are unclear, but the name of the capital of the Eburones
Eburones
The Eburones , were a Belgic people who lived in the northeast of Gaul, near the river Meuse and the modern provinces of Belgian and Dutch Limburg, in the period immediately before it was conquered by Rome. They played a major role in Julius Caesar's account of his "Gallic Wars", as the most...
, the distinct neighbours of the Aduatuci, had also been referred to as Aduatuca by Caesar, and so it is likely the word was a general term for a fortified settlement. (So the name "Aduatuci" might mean "fortress people".)
See also
- Barbarian invasions
- List of Germanic tribes
Sources
- C. Julius Caesar. Caesar's Gallic War. Translator. W. A. McDevitte. Translator. W. S. Bohn. 1st Edition. New York. Harper & Brothers. 1869. Harper's New Classical Library.
- Cassius Dio. Roman History III, Books 36-40. Translator. Earnest Cary. Translator. Herbert B. Foster. Harvard University Press. 1914. Loeb Classical Library.
- The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth. Third edition. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.