The Ambrones ( Ancient Greek : Ἄμβρωνες ) were an ancient tribe mentioned by Roman authors. They are believed by some to have been a Germanic tribe from Jutland ; the Romans were not clear about their exact origin.
91-631: In the late 2nd century BC, along with the fellow Cimbri and Teutons , the Ambrones migrated from their original homes and invaded the Roman Republic , winning a spectacular victory at the Battle of Arausio in 105 BC. The Ambrones and the Teutons, led by Teutobod , were eventually defeated at the Battle of Aquae Sextiae in 102 BC. The origin of the name Ambrones poses a great difficulty in explanation, since
182-798: A Cimbrian chieftain who is enslaved by the Romans after the Battle of Vercellae. Cimbri is referenced in Italo Calvino 's novel If on a Winter's Night a Traveller as a fictional country that warred with a similarly fictionalised version of Cimmeria , thus imposing its own written language onto the Cimmerians. Jeff Hein's historical fiction series The Cimbrian War tells the story of the Cimbri and their migration across Iron-Age Europe. Ligures The Ligures or Ligurians were an ancient people after whom Liguria ,
273-607: A central town square in Aalborg , the capital of the region of North Jutland . A German ethnic minority speaking the Cimbrian language , having settled in the mountains between Vicenza, Verona, and Trento in Italy (also known as Seven Communities ), is also called the Cimbri . For hundreds of years this isolated population and its present 4,400 inhabitants have claimed to be the direct descendants of
364-587: A certain linguistic classification; it may be Pre-Indo-European or an Indo-European language . Because of the strong Celtic influences on their language and culture, they were also known in antiquity as Celto-Ligurians . The Ligures are referred to as Ligyes (Λιγυες) by the Greeks and Ligures (earlier Liguses ) by the Romans . According to Plutarch , the Ligurians called themselves Ambrones , which could indicate
455-700: A certain mastery in metallurgy. Apart from that, the Polada culture does not correspond to the Beaker culture nor to the previous Remedello culture . The Bronze tools and weapons show similarities with those of the Unetice Culture and other groups in north of Alps . According to Bernard Sergent , the origin of the Ligurian linguistic family (in his opinion distantly related to the Celtic and Italic ones) would have to be found in
546-461: A common ancestry, recalled from two hundred years previous, but that is not certain. Henri Hubert states "All these names are Celtic, and they cannot be anything else". Some authors take a different perspective. Countering the argument of a Celtic origin is the literary evidence that the Cimbri originally came from northern Jutland , an area with no Celtic placenames, instead only Germanic ones. This does not rule out Cimbric Gallicization during
637-557: A custom observed amongst Celts in the shouting the name of their tribe going into battle. It was the Battle of Arausio in 105 in which the Romans were defeated under Servilius Caepio and Gnaeus Mallius. The Teutons and Ambrones assaulted the camp of Marius and were repulsed. They decided to go on and streamed around the camp, giving the Roman soldiers messages for the wives they should encounter as domestics when enslaved. Marius followed swiftly and again encamped next to them at Aquae Sextiae at
728-570: A derivation from tḱei- "live" (> Greek κτίζω , Latin sinō ); then, the Germanic * himbra- finds an exact cognate in Slavic sębrъ "farmer" (> Croatian, Serbian sebar , Belorussian сябёр syabyor ). The name has also been related to the word kimme meaning "rim", i.e., "the people of the coast". Finally, since Antiquity, the name has been related to that of the Cimmerians . The name of
819-500: A legend, Brescia and Barra ( Bergamo ) were founded by Cydno, forefather of the Ligurians. This myth seems to have a grain of truth, because recent archaeological excavations have unearthed remains of a settlement dating back to 1200 BC that scholars presume to have been built and inhabited by Ligures. Others scholars attribute the founding of Bergamo and Brescia to the Etruscans . The Canegrate culture (13th century BC) may represent
910-588: A new phase called the Golasecca culture , which is nowadays identified with the Lepontii and other Celto-Ligurian tribes. Within the Golasecca culture territory roughly corresponds with the territories occupied by those tribal groups whose names are reported by Latin and Greek historians and geographers: The Genoa area has been inhabited since the fifth or fourth millennium BC. According to excavations carried out in
1001-582: A panic and in short time the army collapsed into rout. Plutarch reported that Marius took 100,000 prisoners, though this is likely exaggerated. Some of the surviving captives are reported to have been among the rebelling gladiators in the Third Servile War . Although Caesar mentions that the remnants of the Cimbri and Teutons formed a new tribe in Belgic Gaul, the Atuatuci , he does not mention any remnants of
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#17328480619941092-451: A passage there, while the Teutons and Ambrones were to march through Liguria along the sea-coast against the consul Gaius Marius , who had set up camp on the Rhône . Plutarch tells us that Ambrones alone numbered more than 30,000 and were the most warlike division of the enemy, who had earlier defeated the Romans under Gnaeus Mallius Maximus and Quintus Servilius Caepio . The Ambrones followed
1183-455: A proconsular army were sent against the Ligurians. The wars continued into the 150s BC, when victorious generals celebrated two triumphs over the Ligurians. Here too, the Romans drove many natives off their land and settled colonies in their stead ( e.g. , Luna and Luca in the 170s BC). During the same period, the Romans were at war with the Ligurian tribes of the northern Apennines. By the end of
1274-417: A prophecy, while still others would split open the body and from an inspection of the entrails would utter a prophecy of victory for their own people; and during the battles they would beat on the hides that were stretched over the wicker-bodies of the wagons and in this way produce an unearthly noise. If the Cimbri did in fact come from Jutland, evidence that they practiced ritualistic sacrifice may be found in
1365-436: A reason for their having become a wandering and piratical folk as this that while they were dwelling on a Peninsula they were driven out of their habitations by a great flood-tide; for in fact they still hold the country which they held in earlier times; and they sent as a present to Augustus the most sacred kettle in their country, with a plea for his friendship and for an amnesty of their earlier offences, and when their petition
1456-484: A region of present-day north-western Italy , is named. In pre-Roman times, the Ligurians occupied the present-day Italian region of Liguria , Piedmont , northern Tuscany , western Lombardy , western Emilia-Romagna and northern Sardinia , reaching also Elba and Sicily . They inhabited also the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Corsica . However, it is generally believed that around 2000 BC ,
1547-551: A relationship with the Ambrones of northern Europe. The geography of Strabo , from book 2, chapter 5, section 28 : The Alps are inhabited by numerous nations, but all Keltic with the exception of the Ligurians, and these, though of a different race, closely resemble them in their manner of life. They inhabit that portion of the Alps which is next the Apennines , and also a part of
1638-607: A row (104–100 BC). In 104–103 BC, the Cimbri had turned to the Iberian Peninsula where they pillaged far and wide, until they were confronted by a coalition of Celtiberians . Defeated, the Cimbri returned to Gaul, where they joined their allies, the Teutons . During this time, C. Marius had the time to prepare and, in 102 BC, he was ready to meet the Teutons and the Ambrones at the Rhône. These two tribes intended to pass into Italy through
1729-521: A visit and was greeted as their king. The population, which kept its independence during the time of the Venice Republic, was later severely devastated by World War I . As a result, many Cimbri have left this mountainous region of Italy, effectively forming a worldwide diaspora. The Cimbri are depicted as ferocious warriors who did not fear death. The host was followed by women and children on carts. Aged women, priestesses , dressed in white sacrificed
1820-547: Is also known from Germanic, but with an a (* mari- ), whereas a cognate of marbh is unknown in all dialects of Germanic. Yet, given that Pliny had not heard the word directly from a Cimbric speaker, it cannot be ruled out that the word he heard had been translated into Gaulish. The known Cimbri chiefs have Celtic names, including Boiorix (which may mean "King of the Boii" or, more literally, "King of Strikers"), Gaesorix (which means "Spear King"), and Lugius (which may be named after
1911-761: Is divided from Italy by the river Varus , and by the range of the Alps (...) Forum Julii Octavanorum, a colony, which is also called Pacensis and Classica, the river Argenteus , which flows through it, the district of the Oxubii and that of the Ligauni above whom are the Suetri, the Quariates and the Adunicates. On the coast we have Antipolis, a town with Latian rights, the district of the Deciates, and
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#17328480619942002-545: Is linguistically unrelated to Cimbri. Scholars generally see the Cimbri as originating in Jutland , but archaeologists have found no clear indications of any mass migration from Jutland in the early Iron Age . The Gundestrup Cauldron , which was deposited in a bog in Himmerland in the 2nd or 1st century BC, shows that there was some sort of contact with southeastern Europe, but it is uncertain if this contact can be associated with
2093-503: Is mentioned as a name of the Ligures by Plutarch. A possible corruption of Germanic Amr - to Ambr - by Roman sources makes the attribution even less secure. The Proto-Celtic word * ambi - means "around" (see Ambigatus , Ambiorix , Ambiani , and Ambisagrus ). The Ambrones are generally classified as a Germanic tribe . Celtic influences have also been suggested, but this is controversial. According to Hans Kuhn and Reinhard Wenskus ,
2184-868: The Apuani , allied with the Carthaginians, providing soldiers to Hannibal's troops when he arrived in Northern Italy, hoping that the Carthaginian general would free them from the neighbouring Romans. Others, like the Taurini, took sides in support of the Romans. The pro-Carthaginian Ligurians took part in the Battle of the Trebia , which the Carthaginians won. Other Ligurians enlisted in the army of Hasdrubal Barca , when he arrived in Cisalpine Gaul (207 BC), in an attempt to rejoin
2275-707: The Haraldskær Woman discovered in Jutland in the year 1835. Noosemarks and skin piercing were evident and she had been thrown into a bog rather than buried or cremated. Furthermore, the Gundestrup cauldron , found in Himmerland, may be a sacrificial vessel like the one described in Strabo's text. In style, the work looks like Thracian silver work, while many of the engravings are Celtic objects. A major problem in determining whether
2366-571: The Insubres . The Taurini chief town of Taurasia (modern-day Turin ) was captured by Hannibal's forces after a three-day siege. In 205 BC, Genua (modern-day Genoa ) was attacked and razed to the ground by Mago. Near the end of the Second Punic War, Mago was among the Ingauni , trying to block the Roman advance. At the Battle of Insubria , he suffered a defeat, and later, died of wounds sustained in
2457-469: The Italian peninsula , the Cimbri were decisively defeated at the Battle of Vercellae by Gaius Marius , and their king, Boiorix , was killed. Some of the surviving captives are reported to have been among the rebellious gladiators in the Third Servile War . The origin of the name Cimbri is unknown. One etymology is PIE *tḱim-ro- "inhabitant", from tḱoi-m- "home" (> English home ), itself
2548-489: The Romans , who usually came out the losers. In 109 BC, they defeated a Roman army under the consul Marcus Junius Silanus , who was the commander of Gallia Narbonensis . In 107 BC they defeated another Roman army under the consul Gaius Cassius Longinus , who was killed at the Battle of Burdigala (modern day Bordeaux ) against the Tigurini , who were allies of the Cimbri. It was not until 105 BC that they planned an attack on
2639-546: The Second Punic War and destroyed Rome , but Carthage proved unable to rule Italy – which fell into utter chaos. Thus, there was no one to stop the Cimbri two hundred years later. They filled the vacuum, conquered Italy, assimilated the local population to their own culture and by the equivalent of the 20th century had made of Italy a flourishing, technologically advanced kingdom speaking a Germanic language. He also wrote an unrelated historical novel "The Golden Slave", about
2730-460: The battle of Clastidium was fought and allowed Rome to take the capital of the Insubres, Mediolanum (modern-day Milan ). To consolidate its dominion, Rome created the colonies of Placentia in the territory of the Boii and Cremona in that of the Insubres. With the outbreak of the second Punic war (218 BC) the Ligurian tribes had different attitudes. Some, like the tribes of the west Riviera and
2821-660: The Alps are the Salluvii , the Deciates , and the Oxubii (...) The coast of Liguria extends 211 miles, between the rivers Varus and Macra . Just like Strabo, Pliny the Elder situates Liguria between the rivers Varus and Magra . He also quotes the Ligurian peoples living on the other side of the banks of the Var and the Alps. He writes in his book "The Natural History" book III chapter 6 : Gaul
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2912-528: The Ambrones Saxons , may also suggest that a number of them remained near their homeland in the north. The three neighbors began their career in Roman history as an alliance determined to emigrate to the lands of the south. A Roman source reports that "The Cimbri, Teutones and Tigurini, fugitives from the extreme parts of Gaul, since the Ocean had inundated their territories, began to seek new settlement throughout
3003-494: The Ambrones may have originated in Jutland , around the island of Amrum or Fehmarn , from which they accompanied the Teutons in their southward march in the late 2nd century BC. Parts of a detachment may have remained around the upper Vistula , where they are perhaps later attested as Ὄμβρωνες (Ómbrōnes) by Ptolemy (2nd century AD). Mentions of the *Ymbre in the Old English Widsith , along with British sources calling
3094-418: The Ambrones trying to recross the river. The Ambrones lost the main part of their force. Two days later Marius repulsed an attack on the camp and caught the enemy force between his own main force in the front and an ambush of 3,000 men under the command of Marcus Claudius Marcellus who Marius had sent under the cover of darkness the night before the battle in order to strike the enemy rear. This new threat caused
3185-504: The Ambrones. Cimbri The Cimbri ( Greek : Κίμβροι , Kímbroi ; Latin : Cimbri ) were an ancient tribe in Europe. Ancient authors described them variously as a Celtic , Gaulish , Germanic , or even Cimmerian people. Several ancient sources indicate that they lived in Jutland , which in some classical texts was called the Cimbrian peninsula. There is no direct evidence for
3276-558: The Apennines themselves. This zone corresponds to the current region of Liguria in Italy as well as to the former county of Nice which could be compared today to the Alpes Maritimes . The writer, naturalist and Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder writes in his book "The Natural History" book III chapter 7 on the Ligurians and Liguria: The more celebrated of the Ligurian tribes beyond
3367-456: The Celtic god Lugus ). Other evidence to the language of the Cimbri is circumstantial: thus, we are told that the Romans enlisted Gaulish Celts to act as spies in the Cimbri camp before the final showdown with the Roman army in 101 BC. Jean Markale wrote that the Cimbri were associated with the Helvetii , and more especially with the indisputably Celtic Tigurini . These associations may link to
3458-483: The Cimbri retreating to this area after the Roman victory over their tribe. However, it is more likely that Bavarians settled here in the Middle Ages. Most linguists remain committed to the hypothesis of a medieval (11th to 12th century AD) immigration to explain the presence of small German-speaking communities in the north of Italy. Some genetic studies seem to prove a Celtic, not Germanic, descent for most inhabitants in
3549-578: The Cimbri were again in Italy at this time, i.e. over ten years later. According to Julius Caesar , the Belgian tribe of the Atuatuci "was descended from the Cimbri and Teutoni , who, upon their march into our province and Italy, set down such of their stock and stuff as they could not drive or carry with them on the near (i.e. west) side of the Rhine , and left six thousand men of their company there as guard and garrison" ( Gall. 2.29, trans. Edwards). They founded
3640-459: The Cimbri were speaking a Celtic language or a Germanic language is that, at that time, the Greeks and Romans tended to refer to all groups to the north of their sphere of influence as Gauls, Celts, or Germani rather indiscriminately, and not based upon languages. Caesar seems to be one of the first authors to distinguish the Celtae and Germani , and he had a political motive for doing so, because it
3731-503: The Cimbri with the Jutland peninsula. According to the Res gestae (ch. 26) of Augustus , the Cimbri were still found in the area around the turn of the 1st century AD: My fleet sailed from the mouth of the Rhine eastward as far as the lands of the Cimbri, to which, up to that time, no Roman had ever penetrated either by land or by sea, and the Cimbri and Charydes and Semnones and other peoples of
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3822-490: The Cimbrian militia expeditions against Rome of the 1st Century BC. It is known that the peoples of Northern Europe and the British Isles participated in annual partial population seasonal Winter migrations southward to what is now central Iberia and southern France where goods and resources were traded and cross-culture marriages were arranged. Advocates for a northern homeland point to Greek and Roman sources that associate
3913-459: The Danish region Himmerland (Old Danish Himbersysel ) has been proposed to be a derivative of their name. According to such proposals, the word Cimbri with a c would be an older form before Grimm's law ( PIE k > Germanic h ). Alternatively, Latin c- represents an attempt to render the unfamiliar Proto-Germanic h = [x] (Latin h was [h] but was becoming silent in common speech at
4004-583: The Germans of that same region through their envoys sought my friendship and that of the Roman people. The contemporary Greek geographer Strabo testified that the Cimbri still existed as a Germanic tribe, presumably in the "Cimbric peninsula" (since they are said to live by the North Sea and to have paid tribute to Augustus): As for the Cimbri, some things that are told about them are incorrect and others are extremely improbable. For instance, one could not accept such
4095-461: The Iberian Peninsula (then under Carthaginian control ), and the territory of the Ligurians was on the road (they controlled the Ligurian coasts and the south-western Alps). Despite Roman efforts, only a few Ligurian tribes made alliance agreements with the Romans, notably the Genuates. The rest soon proved hostile. The hostilities were opened in 238 BC by a coalition of Ligurians and Boii Gauls, but
4186-611: The Ligures having expelled the Sicanians , an Iberian tribe, from the banks of the river Sicanus , in Iberia. Ligurian sepulchres of the Italian Riviera and of Provence, holding cremations, exhibit Etruscan and Celtic influences. In the third century BC, the Romans were in direct contact with the Ligurians. However, Roman expansionism was directed towards the rich territories of Gaul and
4277-433: The Ligurians occupied a much larger area, extending as far as what is today Catalonia (in the north-eastern corner of the Iberian Peninsula ). The origins of the ancient Ligurians are unclear, and an autochthonous origin is increasingly probable. What little is known today about the ancient Ligurian language is based on placenames and inscriptions on steles representing warriors. The lack of evidence does not allow
4368-431: The Massilians. But though the early writers of the Greeks call the Sallyes "Ligures", and the country which the Massiliotes hold, "Ligustica," later writers name them "Celtoligures," and attach to their territory all the level country as far as Luerio and the Rhodanus , Copper begins to be mined from the middle of the 4th millennium BC in Liguria with the Libiola and Monte Loreto mines dated to 3700 BC. These are
4459-434: The Placentia area by subduing the Celelates, Cerdicates, Ilvati and the Boii Gauls and occupying the oppidum of Clastidium. Genua was rebuilt by the proconsul Spurius Lucretius in the same year. Having defeated Carthage, Rome sought to expand northwards, and used Genua as a support base for raids, between 191 and 154 BC, against the Ligurian tribes of the hinterland, allied for decades with Carthage. A second phase of
4550-451: The Po Valley of the facies of the pile dwellings and of the dammed settlements , a society that followed the Polada culture , and is well suited in middle and late Bronze Age . The ancient name of the Po river (Padus in Latin) derived from the Ligurian name of the river: Bod-encus or Bod-incus. This word appears in the placename Bodincomagus , a Ligurian town on the right bank of the Po downstream near today's Turin. According to
4641-409: The Polada culture and Rhone culture , southern branches of the Unetice culture . It is said that the ligurians inhabited the Po valley around the 2,000 B.C., they not only appear in the legends of the Po valley, but would have left traces (linguistic and craft) found in the archaeological also in the area near the northern Adriatic coast. The Ligurians are credited with forming the first villages in
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#17328480619944732-578: The Roman Republic itself. At the Rhône , the Cimbri clashed with the Roman armies. Discord between the Roman commanders, the proconsul Quintus Servilius Caepio and the consul Gnaeus Mallius Maximus , hindered Roman coordination and so the Cimbri succeeded in first defeating the legate Marcus Aurelius Scaurus and later inflicted a devastating defeat on Caepio and Maximus at the Battle of Arausio . The Romans lost as many as 80,000 men, according to Livy ; Mommsen (in his History of Rome ) thought that excluded auxiliary cavalry and non-combatants who brought
4823-405: The Romans celebrated fifteen triumphs and suffered at least one serious defeat. Historically, the beginning of the campaign dates back to 193 BC on the initiative of the Ligurian conciliabula (federations), who organized a major raid going as far as the right bank of the river Arno. Roman campaigns followed (191, 188 and 187 BC); these were victorious, but not decisive. In the campaign of 186 BC,
4914-412: The Romans wanted to permanently pacify Liguria to facilitate further conquests in Gaul. To that end, they prepared a large army of almost 36,000 soldiers, under the command of proconsuls Publius Cornelius Cethegus and Marcus Baebius Tamphilus , with the aim of putting an end to Ligurian independence. In 180 BC, the Romans inflicted a serious defeat on the Apuani Ligures, and deported 40,000 of them to
5005-402: The Romans were beaten by the Ligurians in the Magra valley. In this battle, which took place in a narrow and precipitous place, the Romans lost about 4000 soldiers, three eagle insignia of the second legion and eleven banners of the Latin allies. In addition, the consul Quintus Martius was also killed in the battle. It is thought that the place of the battle and the death of the consul gave rise to
5096-442: The Second Punic War, however, hostilities were not over yet. Ligurian tribes and Carthaginian holdouts operating from the mountain territories continued to fight with guerrilla tactics. Thus, the Romans were forced into continuous military operations in northern Italy. In 201 BC, the Ingauni signed a peace treaty with Rome. It was only in 197 BC that the Romans, under the leadership of Minucius Rufus, succeeded in regaining control of
5187-407: The Teuton king Teutobod prisoner. The Cimbri had penetrated through the Alps into northern Italy. The consul Quintus Lutatius Catulus had not dared to fortify the passes, but instead he had retreated behind the river Po , and so the land was open to the invaders. The Cimbri did not hurry, and the victors of Aquae Sextiae had the time to arrive with reinforcements. At the Battle of Vercellae , at
5278-463: The battle. Genua was rebuilt in the same year. Ligurian troops were present at the Battle of Zama in 202 BC, which marked the final end of Carthage as a great power. In 200 BC, the Ligures and Boii sacked and destroyed the Roman colony of Placentia , effectively controlling the most important ford of the Po Valley. During the same period, the Romans were at war with the Apuani. Serious Roman efforts began in 182 BC, when both consular armies and
5369-435: The beginning of the Middle Bronze Age (16th-15th century BC), when north-western Italy appears closely linked regarding the production of bronze artifacts, including ornaments, to the western groups of the Tumulus culture ( Central Europe , 1600 BC - 1200 BC). The bearers of the Canegrate culture maintained its homogeneity for only a century, after which it melded with the Ligurian populations and with this union gave rise to
5460-403: The city between 1898 and 1910, the Ligurian population that lived in Genoa maintained trade relations with the Etruscans and the Greeks, since several objects from these populations were found. In the 5th century BC the first town, or oppidum , was founded at the top of the hill today called Castello (Castle), which is now inside the medieval old town. Thucydides (5th century BC) speaks of
5551-432: The city of Atuatuca in the land of the Belgic Eburones , whom they dominated. Thus Ambiorix king of the Eburones paid tribute and gave his son and nephew as hostages to the Atuatuci ( Gall. 6.27). In the first century AD, the Eburones were replaced or absorbed by the Germanic Tungri , and the city was known as Atuatuca Tungrorum, i.e. the modern city of Tongeren . The population of modern-day Himmerland claims to be
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#17328480619945642-405: The conflict followed (197-155 BC), characterized by the fact that the Apuani Ligurians entrenched themselves on the Apennines, from where they periodically descended to plunder the surrounding territories. The Romans, for their part, organized continuous expeditions to the mountains, hoping to surround and defeat the Ligurians (taking care not to be destroyed by ambushes). In the course of these wars,
5733-425: The confluence of the river Sesia with the Po , in 101 BC, the long voyage of the Cimbri also came to an end. It was a devastating defeat. Two chieftains, Lugius and Boiorix , died on the field, while the other chieftains Caesorix and Claodicus were captured. The women killed both themselves and their children in order to avoid slavery. The Cimbri were annihilated, although some may have survived to return to
5824-412: The first half of 2nd millennium BC perhaps for the arrival of new people from the transalpine regions of Switzerland and Southern Germany . Its influences are also found in the cultures of the Early Bronze Age of Liguria , Romagna , Corsica , Sardinia ( Bonnanaro culture ) and Rhone Valley. There are some commonalities with the previous Bell Beaker Culture including the usage of the bow and
5915-413: The first migratory wave of the proto-Celtic population from the northwest part of the Alps that, through the Alpine passes , penetrated and settled in the western Po valley between Lake Maggiore and Lake Como ( Scamozzina culture ). They brought a new funerary practice— cremation —which supplanted inhumation . It has also been proposed that a more ancient proto-Celtic presence can be traced back to
6006-430: The foot of the Alps. The year was 102 BC. The battle began as a chance encounter but the Romans turned it into a victory. Roman camp followers attempting to draw water from a nearby river were attacked by the Ambrones, who were still using it. The Ligurians acting as Roman auxiliaries came to their rescue and were repulsed across the river. The opportunity was not lost on Marius. The Romans quickly formed ranks and caught
6097-402: The heirs of the ancient Cimbri. The adventures of the Cimbri are described by the Danish Nobel Prize–winning author Johannes V. Jensen , himself born in Himmerland, in the novel Cimbrernes Tog (1922), included in the epic cycle Den lange Rejse (English The Long Journey , 1923). The so-called Cimbrian bull (" Cimbrertyren "), a sculpture by Anders Bundgaard , was erected on 14 April 1937 in
6188-439: The homeland where a population with this name was residing in northern Jutland in the 1st century AD, according to the sources quoted above. Some of the surviving captives are reported to have been among the rebelling gladiators in the Third Servile War . Justin 's epitome of Trogus has Mithridates the Great send emissaries to the Cimbri to request military aid during the Social War (91-88 BCE). Justin also states that
6279-471: The lands of one of Rome's allies, the Taurisci . On the request of the Roman consul Gnaeus Papirius Carbo , sent to defend the Taurisci, they retreated, only to find themselves deceived and attacked at the Battle of Noreia , where they defeated the Romans. Only a storm, which separated the combatants, saved the Roman forces from complete annihilation. Now the road to Italy was open, but they turned west towards Gaul . They came into frequent conflict with
6370-527: The language of the Cimbri: referring to the Northern Ocean (the Baltic or the North Sea ), Pliny the Elder states: "Philemon says that it is called Morimarusa, i.e. the Dead Sea, by the Cimbri, until the promontory of Rubea, and after that Cronium." The contemporary Gaulish terms for "sea" and "dead" appear to have been mori and *maruo- ; compare their well-attested modern Insular Celtic cognates muir and marbh ( Irish ), môr and marw ( Welsh ), and mor and marv ( Breton ). The same word for "sea"
6461-478: The language they spoke, though some scholars argue that it was a Germanic language, while others argue that it was Celtic . Together with the Teutones and the Ambrones , they fought the Roman Republic between 113 and 101 BC during the Cimbrian War . The Cimbri were initially successful, particularly at the Battle of Arausio , in which a large Roman army was routed. They then raided large areas in Gaul and Hispania . In 101 BC, during an attempted invasion of
6552-590: The map of Ptolemy , the "Kimbroi" are placed on the northernmost part of the peninsula of Jutland, i.e., in the modern landscape of Himmerland south of Limfjorden (since Vendsyssel-Thy north of the fjord was at that time a group of islands). Some time before 100 BC many of the Cimbri, as well as the Teutons and Ambrones , migrated south-east. After several unsuccessful battles with the Boii and other Celtic tribes , they appeared c. 113 BC in Noricum , where they invaded
6643-417: The more modern names today. These indicate a different origin (e.g., Asiago is known also by its original Cimbro name of Sleghe ). The Cimbrian origin myth was popularized by humanists in the 14th century. Despite these connections to southern Germany, belief in a Himmerland origin persisted well into modern times. On one occasion in 1709, for instance, Frederick IV of Denmark paid the region's inhabitants
6734-508: The oldest copper mines in the western Mediterranean basin. It was during this period of the Copper Age in Italy that we find throughout Liguria a large number of anthropomorphic stelae in addition to rock engravings. The Polada Culture (a location near Brescia , Lombardy , Italy) was a cultural horizon extended in the Po valley from eastern Lombardy and Veneto to Emilia and Romagna , formed in
6825-598: The period when they lived in Gaul. Boiorix, who may have had a Celtic if not a Celticized Germanic name, was king of the Cimbri after they moved away from their ancestral home of northern Jutland. Boiorix and his tribe lived around Celtic peoples during his era as J. B. Rives points out in his introduction to Tacitus' Germania ; furthermore, the name "Boiorix" can be seen as having either Proto-Germanic or Celtic roots. The science fiction story " Delenda Est " by Poul Anderson depicts an alternate history in which Hannibal won
6916-646: The place-name of Marciaso, or that of the Canal of March on Mount Caprione in the town of Lerici (near the ruins of the city of Luni ), which was later founded by the Romans. This mountain had a strategic importance because it controlled the valley of Magra and the sea. In 185 BC, the Ingauni and the Intimilii also rebelled and managed to resist the Roman legions for the next five years, before capitulating in 180 BC. The Apuani, and those of hinterland side still resisted. However,
7007-506: The prisoners of war and sprinkled their blood, the nature of which allowed them to see what was to come. Strabo gives this vivid description of the Cimbric folklore: Their wives, who would accompany them on their expeditions, were attended by priestesses who were seers; these were grey-haired, clad in white, with flaxen cloaks fastened on with clasps, girt with girdles of bronze, and bare-footed; now sword in hand these priestesses would meet with
7098-399: The prisoners of war throughout the camp, and having first crowned them with wreaths would lead them to a brazen vessel of about twenty amphorae; and they had a raised platform which the priestess would mount, and then, bending over the kettle, would cut the throat of each prisoner after he had been lifted up; and from the blood that poured forth into the vessel some of the priestesses would draw
7189-490: The region that is reinforced by Gaulish toponyms such as those ending with the suffix -ago < Celtic -*ako(n) (e.g. Asiago is clearly the same place name as the numerous variants – Azay , Aisy , Azé , Ezy – in France, all of which derive from *Asiacum < Gaulish *Asiāko(n) ). On the other hand, the original place names in the region, from the specifically localized language known as 'Cimbro' are still in use alongside
7280-478: The regions of Samnium . This deportation was followed by another one of 7,000 Ligurians in the following year. These were one of the few cases in which the Romans deported defeated populations in such a high number. In 177 BC other groups of Apuani Ligures surrendered to the Roman forces, and were eventually assimilated into Roman culture during the 2nd century BC, while the military campaign continued further north. The Frinatiates surrendered in 175 BC, followed by
7371-619: The river Varus , which proceeds from Mount Cema, one of the Alps. Transalpine Ligures are said to have inhabited the South Eastern portion of modern France, between the Alps and the Rhone river , from where they constantly battled against the Greek colony of Massalia. The consul, Quintus Opimius, defeats the Transalpine Ligurians, who had plundered Antipolis and Nicaea, two towns belonging to
7462-663: The root Ambr - and its variants are found in many areas of the European continent: the Ombrones of the upper Vistula ; the * Ymbre (dat. Ymbrum ), a tribe mentioned in the Widsith ; the islands of Amrum (older Ambrum ) and Imbria (modern Fehmarn ); the river names Ammer , Amper , and Emmer ; the region of Ammerland ; the town of Emmerich ; the Italic Umbri (or Ombrii ); and the Greek personal names Ambri and Ambriki . Ambrones
7553-520: The time), perhaps due to Celtic-speaking interpreters (a Celtic intermediary could also explain why one proposed etymology for the Teutons, Germanic *Þeuðanōz , became Latin Teutones ). Because of the similarity of the names, the Cimbri have been at times associated with Cymry , the Welsh name for themselves. However, Cymry is derived from Brittonic *Kombrogi (cf. Allobroges ), meaning "compatriots", and
7644-431: The total loss closer to 112,000. Other estimates are much smaller, but by any account a large Roman army was routed. Rome was in panic, and the terror cimbricus became proverbial. Everyone expected to soon see the new Gauls outside of the gates of Rome. Desperate measures were taken: contrary to the Roman constitution, Gaius Marius , who had defeated Jugurtha , was elected consul and supreme commander for five years in
7735-616: The troops of his brother Hannibal. In the port of Savo (modern-day Savona ), then capital of the Ligures Sabazi, triremes of the Carthaginian fleet of Mago Barca , brother of Hannibal, which were intended to cut the Roman trade routes in the Tyrrhenian Sea, found shelter. In the early stages of the war, the pro-Roman Ligurians suffered. The Taurini were on the path of Hannibal 's march into Italy, and in 218 BC, they were attacked by him, as he had allied with their long-standing enemies,
7826-504: The two peoples soon found themselves in disagreement and the military campaign came to a halt with the dissolution of the alliance. Meanwhile, a Roman fleet commanded by Quintus Fabius Maximus routed Ligurian ships on the coast (234-233 BC), allowing the Romans to control the coastal route to and from Gaul and to counter the Carthaginian expansion in Iberia , given that the Pisa - Luni - Genoa sea route
7917-560: The western passes, while the Cimbri and the Tigurines were to take the northern route across the Rhine and later across the Central Eastern Alps . At the estuary of the Isère , the Teutons and the Ambrones met Marius, whose well-defended camp they did not manage to overrun. Instead, they pursued their route, and Marius followed them. At Aquae Sextiae , the Romans won two battles and took
8008-414: The world." The Ambrones were part of the fleeing multitude. Plutarch gives the numbers advancing on Italy as 300,000 armed fighting men, and much larger hordes of women and children. (Many of Plutarch's figures were enormous exaggerations). The Barbarians divided themselves into two bands, and it fell to the lot of the Cimbri to proceed through Noricum in the interior of the country against Catulus, and of
8099-476: Was an argument in favour of his push to set the Rhine as a new Roman border. Yet, one cannot always trust Caesar and Tacitus when they ascribe individuals and tribes to one or the other category, although Caesar made clear distinctions between the two cultures. Some ancient sources categorize the Cimbri as a Germanic tribe, but some ancient authors include the Cimbri among the Celts. There are few direct testimonies to
8190-431: Was granted they set sail for home; and it is ridiculous to suppose that they departed from their homes because they were incensed on account of a phenomenon that is natural and eternal, occurring twice every day. And the assertion that an excessive flood-tide once occurred looks like a fabrication, for when the ocean is affected in this way it is subject to increases and diminutions, but these are regulated and periodical. On
8281-519: Was now safe. In 222 BC the Insubres , during a war with Romans occupied the oppidum of Clastidium, that at that time, it was an important locality of the Anamari (or Marici ), a Ligurian tribe that, probably for fear of the nearby warlike Insubres, had already accepted the alliance with Rome the year before. For the first time, the Roman army marched beyond the Po, expanding into Gallia Transpadana. In 222 BC,
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