Ambiorix's revolt was an episode during the

Gallic Wars The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, and Switzerland). Gauls, Gallic, Germanic peoples, Germanic, and Celtic Britons, Brittonic trib ...

between 54 and 53 BC in which the

Eburones The Eburones ( Greek: ) were a Gaulish- Germanic tribe dwelling in the northeast of Gaul, who lived north of the Ardennes in the region near what is now the southern Netherlands, eastern Belgium and the German Rhineland, in the period immediately ...

tribe, under its leader,

Ambiorix Ambiorix (Gaulish "king of the surroundings", or "king-protector") ( 54–53 BC) was, together with Cativolcus, prince of the Eburones, leader of a Belgic tribe of north-eastern Gaul (Gallia Belgica), where modern Belgium is located. In the ...

, rebelled against the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

. Discontent among the subjugated

Gauls The Gauls (; , ''Galátai'') were a group of Celts, Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age Europe, Iron Age and the Roman Gaul, Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). Th ...

prompted a major uprising amongst the

Belgae The Belgae ( , ) were a large confederation of tribes living in northern Gaul, between the English Channel, the west bank of the Rhine, and the northern bank of the river Seine, from at least the third century BC. They were discussed in depth b ...

against

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

in the winter of 54–53 BC, when the

of north-eastern Gaul rose in rebellion under their leader

. Fifteen Roman cohorts were wiped out at Atuatuca Tungrorum (modern

Tongeren Tongeren (; ; ; ) is a city and former municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the only Roman administrative capital wit ...

in Belgium) and a garrison commanded by

Quintus Tullius Cicero Quintus Tullius Cicero ( , ; 102 BC – 43 BC) was a Roman statesman and military leader, as well as the younger brother of Marcus Tullius Cicero. He was born into a family of the equestrian order, as the son of a wealthy landowner in Arpinum, so ...

narrowly survived after being relieved by Caesar in the nick of time. The rest of 53 BC was occupied with a punitive campaign against the Eburones and their allies, who were said to have been all but exterminated by the Romans.

Prelude

In 57 BC

conquered

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

and also

Belgica Gallia Belgica ("Belgic Gaul") was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire located in the north-eastern part of Roman Gaul, in what is today primarily northern France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, along with parts of the Netherlands and German ...

(modernday Northern France, Belgium and a southern section of

The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

to the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

River; and the north-western portion of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

, Germany) In the battle of the Sabis Caesar defeated the

Nervii The Nervii or Nervians were one of the most powerful Belgae, Belgic tribes of northern Gaul at the time of its conquest by Rome. Their territory corresponds to the central part of modern Belgium, including Brussels, and stretched southwards to C ...

, Viromandui and

Atrebates The Atrebates (Gaulish: *''Atrebatis'', 'dwellers, land-owners, possessors of the soil') were a Belgic tribe of the Iron Age and the Roman period, originally dwelling in the Artois region. After the tribes of Gallia Belgica were defeated by Ca ...

. After this he turned against the Atuatuci, captured their stronghold, and sold the tribe into slavery.
” De Bello Gallico 2.34. Retrieved 22 March, 2022. The

, who until Caesar's destruction of the Atuatuci had been vassals of that Belgic tribe, were ruled by

and Catuvolcus. In 54 BC there was a poor harvest, and Caesar, whose practice was to commandeer a part of the food supply from the local tribes, was forced to split his legions up among a larger number of tribes. To the Eburones he sent

Quintus Titurius Sabinus Quintus Titurius Sabinus (, ; died 54 BC) was one of Caesar's legates during the Gallic Wars. He is first mentioned in Caesar's campaign against the Remi, in 57 BC. In 56 BC, he was sent by Caesar with three legions against the Venelli, Curios ...

and

Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta (, ; died 54 BC) was an officer in the Gallic army of Gaius Julius Caesar. The little we know of Cotta is found in Book V of Caesar's '' De Bello Gallico''. In 54 BC, when Caesar returned to Gaul from his second exped ...

with the command of a recently levied 14th Legion from north of the Po and a detachment of five cohorts, a total strength of 9,000 men.

The Revolt of the Romans

First Attack and deception

According to Caesar, Ambiorix and his tribesmen were equal in number of combatants to Sabinus' and Cotta's men. They attacked and killed several Roman soldiers who were foraging for wood in the nearby vicinity. The survivors fled back to their camp, followed by Ambiorix and his men. When the Romans counterattacked, Ambiorix set up a parley with the Romans in which he admitted his debt to Caesar who had taken his side in certain disputes with other Gallic tribes but said that, despite the limited strength of the Eburones, he was compelled to take action by pressure from the other tribes who were determined to win their freedom from the yoke of Rome. He claimed that a huge force of Germans, greatly angered by Caesar’s successes against them and his defeat of

Ariovistus Ariovistus was a leader of the Suebi and other allied Germanic peoples in the second quarter of the 1st century BC, who name appears prominently in Julius Caesar's '' Commentarii de Bello Gallico''. Before their conflict with the Romans, Ariovis ...

, were about to cross the Rhine and offered to give the Romans safe passage to the fort of either of two nearby legions to better resist this Gallo-German force.

Debate

The Roman representatives, Quintus Junius and Gaius Arpineius, took the news back to the beleaguered fort. A council of war, attended by the leading officers and centurions, was formed. During this council, two opposing opinions took form. Speaking first, Cotta argued that they should not move without an order from Caesar. He pointed out that experience had shown them that Germans could be resisted from behind their fortifications, that they had plenty of supplies, were within easy reach of assistance from nearby legions and that they should take at face value neither the news nor the advice of an enemy. Denying that he was motivated by fear, Quintus Titurius Sabinus said that he believed that Caesar was on his way to Italy, that the Germans were about to add to the number of the besieging Eburones and that it seemed that they were about to face the combined wrath of grudge-ridden Germans and Gauls—for surely the militarily weak Eburones would not dare to face a Roman legion otherwise. Moreover, he said it would be better to make for a nearby legion and face the trouble with their comrades than to risk famine through a prolonged siege. The officers told their commanders that whichever view prevailed was not as important as coming to a unanimous decision. Cotta was finally forced to give way and Sabinus prevailed.

Roman defeat

The Romans spent the night in disarray, putting together their belongings and preparing to march out of the fort once morning came. The enemy heard the hubbub in the Fort and prepared an ambush. When dawn broke, the Romans, in marching order (long columns of soldiers with each unit following the other), more heavily burdened than usual left the Fort. When the greater part of the column had entered a ravine, the Gauls assaulted them from either side and sought to harry the rearguard and prevent the vanguard from leaving the ravine. Caesar notes that Sabinus lost his mind, running from cohort to cohort and issuing ineffectual orders. Cotta, by contrast, kept his cool and ''did his duty as a commander, in action his duty as a soldier''. Due to the length of the column, the commanders could not issue orders efficiently so they passed word along the line to the units to form into a square. The troops fought bravely though with fear and in clashes were successful. Thus, Ambiorix ordered his men to discharge their spears into the troops, to fall back if attacked by a group of Romans and chase back the Romans when they tried to fall into rank. During the engagement, Cotta was hit full in the face by a sling-shot. Then Sabinus sent word to Ambiorix to treat for surrender, a proposal which was acceded to. Cotta refused to come to terms and remained steadfast in his refusal to surrender, while Sabinus followed through with his plan to surrender. However, Ambiorix, after promising Sabinus his life and the safety of his troops, distracted him with a long speech, all the while slowly surrounding him and his men and slaughtering them. The Gauls then charged down en masse onto the waiting Romans where they killed Cotta, still fighting, and the great majority of the troops. The remainder fell back to the fort where, despairing of help, they killed each other. Only a few men slipped away to inform

Titus Labienus Titus Labienus (17 March 45 BC) was a high-ranking military officer in the late Roman Republic. He served as tribune of the Plebs in 63 BC. Although mostly remembered as one of Julius Caesar's best lieutenants in Gaul and mentioned frequently ...

of the disaster. Overall, one legion and 5 cohorts, around 7500 Romans, were killed in the battle. Gallic casualties are unknown.

Aftermath

After defeating Cotta and Sabinus,

tried to raise a general revolt in Belgica. A Belgic attack on

(younger brother of the orator

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

), then stationed with a legion in the territory of the

, led to a siege of the Roman camp during which Ambiorix unsuccessfully tried to repeat his earlier bluff. The attack ultimately failed due to the timely appearance of Caesar. Titus Labienus, the commander of the Fourth legion, which was stationed in the southern Ardennes, discovered that

Indutiomarus Indutiomarus (died 53 BC) was a leading aristocrat of the Treveri (the people of the area around present-day Trier) at the time of Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul. He was the head of the anti-Roman party and the political rival of his pro-Roman ...

and the

Treveri The Treveri (Gaulish language, Gaulish: *''Treweroi'') were a Germanic peoples, Germanic or Celts, Celtic tribe of the Belgae group who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle (river), Moselle in modern day Germany from around 150 BCE, if not ea ...

were rebelling as well. The Treverian leader called for aid from the

Senones The Senones or Senonii (Gaulish: "the ancient ones") were an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling in the Seine basin, around present-day Sens, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Part of the Senones settled in the Italian peninsula, where the ...

and Germanic tribes east of the

. The Fourth legion withstood the siege and Indutiomarus was killed after an unsuccessful attack. His relatives made their escape across the Rhine. Before targeting the Eburones themselves, Caesar first attacked Ambiorix's allies, forcing them to promise that they would not help the tribe who had destroyed Cotta and Sabinus. The Nervii were the first victims of the Roman retaliation. During that winter a force of four legions laid waste the fields, took a great many cattle and prisoners. The

Menapii The Menapii were a Belgic tribe dwelling near the North Sea, around present-day Cassel, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. History The Menapii were persistent opponents of Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul, resisting until 54 BC. They ...

were then attacked by five legions to deprive Ambiorix of potential help. Five legions were sent because, according to Caesar, they, alone of all the tribes of Gaul, had never sent ambassadors to him to discuss terms of peace, and had ties of hospitality with Ambiorix. A renewed campaign of devastation finally forced them to submit, and Caesar placed his ally

Commius Commius (Commios, Comius, Comnios) was a king of the Belgic nation of the Atrebates, initially in Gaul, then in Britain, in the 1st century BC. Ally of Caesar When Julius Caesar conquered the Atrebates in Gaul in 57 BC, as recounted in his ''C ...

of the

in control of them.Julius Caesar, ''Commentaries on the Gallic War'' 6.2-6 After this Caesar built a bridge across the Rhine and campaigned in Germania to punish the German tribes who had aided the Treveri. When the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate () was the highest and constituting assembly of ancient Rome and its aristocracy. With different powers throughout its existence it lasted from the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in 753 BC) as the Sena ...

heard what happened, Caesar swore to put down all the Belgic tribes. The Roman campaigns against the

took a few years, but eventually the Belgae were no match against 50,000 trained Roman soldiers. The tribes were slaughtered or driven out and their fields burned. The Eburones ceased to exist following the campaign. The fate of the leaders of the revolt is different but neither was taken to walk in Caesar's triumphal parade.

Cativolcus Cativolcus or Catuvolcus (died 53 BC) was king of half of the country of the Eburones, a people between the Meuse and Rhine rivers, united with Ambiorix, the other king, in the insurrection against the Romans in 54 BC; but when Julius Caesar in ...

was now old, weak and unable to endure the hardships of flight. He solemnly cursed Ambiorix for instigating the conspiracy, and then committed suicide by poisoning himself with yew. Ambiorix and his men, however, managed to cross the

and disappeared without a trace.

References

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history of ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

xl. 7-11; *Gaius Julius Caesar, The Gallic War
Loeb Edition
2004. *Delbrück, Hans. History of the Art of War Vol I. * Adrien Hock, ''Etudes sur quelques campagnes de Jules César dans la Gaule-Belgique. Vue d'après nature, carte et plans.'' Namur, publisher: Ad. Wesmael-Charlier, 1897. Pages 75–97
available on line

External links

* ttp://digilander.libero.it/jackdanielspl/Cesare/gallico/liber_5.htm The Last Battle and Death of Lucius Arunculeius Cotta (chapters 24-37) - Latin
The Last Battle and Death of Lucius Arunculeius Cotta (chapters 24-37) - English
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ambiorix's Revolt Gallic Wars 54 BC 53 BC Ambushes in Europe Tongeren Military history of Belgium History of Belgian Limburg