Ambiorix

Ambiorix was together with Catuvolcus prince of the Eburones, a Belgic tribe of north-eastern Gaul (Gallia Belgica), where nowadays Belgium is located. He became a Belgian national hero in the 19th century because of his resistance against Julius Caesar, as written in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico.

Early history

In 57 BC Julius Caesar conquered Gaul and also Belgica (this area is nowadays Northern France, Belgium and a southern piece of The Netherlands until the river Rhine.) There were several tribes in the country who fought against each other regularly. The Eburones were ruled by Ambiorix en Catuvolcus. In 54 BC Caesar urgently needed to give more food to his troops and thereby he forced the local people to give a part of their harvest which had not been very good that year. Because of this, the starving Eburones weren't very keen to do so and therefore Caesar made sure camps were built near the Eburones' villages. Each centurio was ordered to make sure the food supplies were delivered to the Roman soldiers. This of course, created an urge for revenge in the Eburonic camps....

Although Julius Caesar had freed him from paying tribute to the Atuatuci, Ambiorix joined Catuvolcus (winter, 54 BC) in an uprising against the Roman forces under Q. Titurius Sabinus and I. Aurunculeius Cotta.

The Revolt

One day, Ambiorix and his troops attacked a few Roman soldiers who were searching for wood and slaughtered the lot of them. The ones who survived fled back to their camp, followed by Ambiorix and his men. There he realised there were too many Romans for his troops to fight and he decided to go and talk to them. Ambiorix explained to the Roman camp leaders, Sabinus and Cotta that he had no problems with them and in fact, was very happy with them, because now he had no troubles with the other tribes. He warned the Romans that these other tribes were planning to attack them and would get the support of German tribes who would cross the Rhine. Ambiorix advised them to relocate to another Roman camp so that they would be stronger to battle these troops. He also promised them he would leave them alone when they made this crossing.

Sabinus and Cotta debated the whole night on what they should do. Sabinus trusted Ambiorix and considered it would be wise to do what he had advised them. Cotta thought it would be wiser to stay and try to fight back when the attacks would happen. Ultimately, Cotta decided they would stay, but it wouldn't be his fault if they all got killed by doing so. This made everybody very unsure and therefore they decided to leave anyway. The two most nearby Roman camps were behind hills and in the other option behind a plain near a valley. Sabinus and Cotta chose for the easy solution and followed option 2. While they crossed the valley Ambiorix and his men attacked them from up the hills and slaughtered them until there were no Roman soldiers left.

Caesar's revenge

When the Roman Senate heard what happened, Caesar swore to put down all the Belgic tribes. It was very important that the other Roman provinces knew that the allmighty Roman empire couldn't be beaten so easily. After all, Ambiorix had killed a whole Roman legion and five cohorts. A Belgic attack on Quintus Cicero (brother of the orator), then stationed with a legion in the Nervii's territory, failed due to the timely appearance of Caesar. The Roman campaigns against the Belgae took a few years, but eventually the Belgae were no match against 50.000 trained Roman soldiers. The tribes were slaughtered or hunted away and their fields burned down. The Eburones were history from that point on. Ambiorix and his men, however, managed to cross the Rhine and disappeared without a trace.

Legacy

Caesar wrote about Ambiorix in his comment about his battles against the Gauls: "De Bello Gallico". In this text he also wrote the famous line: "Of all the Gauls, the Belgae are the bravest." ("...Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae..."). This sentence has often been misquoted as "Of all the Gauls, the Belgians are the bravest.", while Caesar meant the tribes collected under the name, "Belgae" and not "the Belgians", because Belgium didn't exist until 1830.

Ambiorix remained forgotten until the 19th century. When Belgium became independent in 1830 the national government started searching through their historical archives for persons who could serve as national heroes. In Caesar's "De Bello Gallico" they discovered Ambiorix and his deeds. In 1841 the Belgian poet Joannes Nolet de Brauwere van Steeland wrote a lyrical epic about Ambiorix and on September 5, 1866 a statue of Ambiorix was raised on The Big Market of Tongeren in Belgium. There is no proof he ever lived there, but because Tongeren is Belgium's oldest village and because Julius Caesar referenced Atuatuca and Tongeren's original name is Atuatuca Tongorum it was placed there.

Nowadays Ambiorix is one of the most famous characters in Belgian history. Many companies, bars, french fries stands have named themselves after him and in many Belgian comics as Suske en Wiske and Jommeke he once played a guest spot.

In the French comic Asterix in the album Asterix in Belgium Asterix, Obelix, Dogmatix and Vitalstatistix go to Belgium because they are angry with Caesar about his remark that the Belgians are the bravest of all the Gauls. The Belgian chief, Beefix, in the album does resemble Ambiorix a bit.

In 2005 Ambiorix was nominated for the competition De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian). In the Flemish edition he ended in fourth place. In the Walloon edition he ended in 50th place.

Fact or fiction?

It is not sure if Ambiorix really existed because there are, apart from Caesar's notes, no other sources about him. His statue in Tongeren is therefore a fanciful interpretation of what he might have looked like. There are suggestions Caesar made him up as an excuse why his troops were slaughtered in Belgica. On the other hand one could ask how else these 7,200 soldiers disappeared?

Ambiorix' name means "rich king"

References

Caesar, De Bello Gallico v. 26-51, vi. 29-43, viii. 24; Dio Cassius xl. 7-11; Florus iii. 10.

External links

Ambiorix from www.livius.org
All about Ambiorix and his battle against the Roman from www.atuatuca.de

Ancient Roman enemies and allies | Ancient Gauls