Misplaced Pages

#730269

164-805: These Germani were first described by Julius Caesar , who was writing specifically about tribes near the Meuse river, who had settled among the Belgae before Roman intrusion into the area. Tribes who Caesar named as being among the Germani cisrhenani included the Eburones , the Condrusi , the Caeraesi , the Segni and the Paemani . Tacitus , writing around 100 AD when the region had been part of

328-520: A Germanic language. In the list of Belgic nations given as being in arms are Bellovaci , Suessiones , Nervii , Atrebates , Ambiani , Morini , Menapii , Caleti , Velocasses , and Veromandui , who together make up a major part of all the Belgic nations. When it comes to tribes in the extreme northeast of Gaul, against the Rhine, the Condrusi , the Eburones , the Caeraesi , and the Paemani , "are called by

492-553: A Proto-Celtic ethnic name *Bolgoi could be interpreted as "the people who swell (particularly with anger/battle fury)". In Caesar's usage, Belgium is a geographical subregion comprising the Bellovaci , Ambiani , Atrebates , and Veromandui . These four communities are widely thought to have been the original Belgae in Gaul. Julius Caesar describes Gaul at the time of his conquests (58–51 BC) as divided into three parts, inhabited by

656-623: A band of occupation near the border, and all Roman provinces west of the Rhine were eventually conquered by Germanic tribes, speaking Germanic languages: the Franks ( Germania inferior , Francia ), the Alemanni ( Germania superior , Alemannia ), the Burgundians ( Burgundy ), the Visigoths ( Visigothic Kingdom ), and so on. Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC)

820-520: A bloody battle at Munda on 17 March 45 BC, Caesar narrowly found victory; his enemies were treated as rebels and he had them massacred. Labienus died on the field. While one of Pompey's sons, Sextus , escaped, the war was effectively over. Caesar remained in the province until June before setting out for Rome, arriving in October of the same year, and celebrated an unseemly triumph over fellow Romans. By this point he had started preparations for war on

984-605: A branch of the Belgae settled in Ireland around the 5th century BC , later becoming the historical Iverni (Érainn) and their offshoots. He believes the memory of Belgae settlers was preserved in medieval Irish legend as the Fir Bolg . O'Rahilly's theory has been challenged by historians and archaeologists, and is no longer accepted. Fintan O'Toole suggested the Keshcarrigan Bowl

1148-508: A bridge across the river Rhine . These achievements and the support of his veteran army threatened to eclipse the standing of Pompey, who had realigned himself with the Senate after the death of Crassus in 53 BC. With the Gallic Wars concluded, the Senate ordered Caesar to step down from his military command and return to Rome. In 49 BC, Caesar openly defied the Senate's authority by crossing

1312-457: A certain amount, and thrown games distributing food. Many of his enemies during the civil wars were pardoned – Caesar's clemency was exalted in his propaganda and temple works – with the intent to cultivate gratitude and draw a contrast between himself and the vengeful dictatorship of Sulla. Belgae The Belgae ( / ˈ b ɛ l dʒ iː , ˈ b ɛ l ɡ aɪ / ) were a large confederation of tribes living in northern Gaul , between

1476-453: A collateral manner in the trial of Gaius Rabirius by one of the plebeian tribunes – Titus Labienus – for the murder of Saturninus in accordance with a senatus consultum ultimum some forty years earlier. The most famous event of the year was the Catilinarian conspiracy . While some of Caesar's enemies, including Catulus, alleged that he participated in the conspiracy, the chance that he

1640-537: A constitutional impossibility – which led Caesar to distance himself from the proposals: hopes for a provincial command and need to repair relations with the aristocracy took priority. He also was engaged in the Bona Dea affair, where Publius Clodius Pulcher sneaked into Caesar's house sacrilegiously during a female religious observance; Caesar avoided any part of the affair by divorcing his wife immediately – claiming that his wife needed to be "above suspicion" – but there

1804-440: A consulship during the domination of Lucius Cornelius Cinna and instead chose retirement. During Cinna's dominance, Caesar was named as flamen Dialis (a priest of Jupiter ) which led to his marriage to Cinna's daughter, Cornelia . The religious taboos of the priesthood would have forced Caesar to forgo a political career; the appointment – one of the highest non-political honours – indicates that there were few expectations of

SECTION 10

#1732851375731

1968-555: A group of tribes within the Belgic alliance as the "Germani", distinguishing them from their neighbours. The most important of these tribes in relation to Caesar's campaigns were the Eburones . The other way he used the term was to refer to those related tribes east of the Rhine, who were not Celtic. So the Germani among the Belgae are called, based on Caesar's account, the Germani cisrhenani , to distinguish them from other Germani living east of

2132-490: A guest of the king, Nicomedes IV , though later invective connected Caesar to a homosexual relation with the monarch. He then served at the Siege of Mytilene where he won the civic crown for saving the life of a fellow citizen in battle. The privileges of the crown – the Senate was supposed to stand on a holder's entrance and holders were permitted to wear the crown at public occasions – whetted Caesar's appetite for honours. After

2296-429: A last resort. At the start of 49 BC, Caesar's renewed offer that he and Pompey disarm was read to the Senate and was rejected by the hardliners. A later compromise given privately to Pompey was also rejected at their insistence. On 7 January, his supportive tribunes were driven from Rome; the Senate then declared Caesar an enemy and it issued its senatus consultum ultimum . There is scholarly disagreement as to

2460-541: A legion and five cohorts in the winter of 55–54 BC produced substantial concern in Rome about Caesar's command and competence, evidenced by the highly defensive narrative in Caesar's Commentaries . The death of Caesar's daughter and Pompey's wife Julia in childbirth c.  late August 54 did not create a rift between Caesar and Pompey. At the start of 53 BC, Caesar sought and received reinforcements by recruitment and

2624-471: A major career for Caesar. In early 84 BC, Caesar's father died suddenly. After Sulla 's victory in the civil war (82 BC), Cinna's acta were annulled. Sulla consequently ordered Caesar to abdicate and divorce Cinna's daughter. Caesar refused, implicitly questioning the legitimacy of Sulla's annulment. Sulla may have put Caesar on the proscription lists , though scholars are mixed. Caesar then went into hiding before his relatives and contacts among

2788-415: A number of symbolic honours which saw Caesar's portrait placed on coins in Rome – the first for a living Roman – with special rights to wear royal dress, sit atop a golden chair in the Senate, and have his statues erected in public temples. The month Quintilis, in which he was born, was renamed Julius (now July). These were symbols of divine monarchy and, later, objects of resentment. The decisions on

2952-492: A one-third write-down of tax farmers' arrears for Crassus and ratification of Pompey's eastern settlements. Both bills were passed with little or no debate in the Senate. Caesar then moved to extend his agrarian bill to Campania some time in May; this may be when Bibulus withdrew to his house. Pompey, shortly thereafter, also wed Caesar's daughter Julia to seal their alliance. An ally of Caesar's, plebeian tribune Publius Vatinius moved

3116-433: A permanent veto for the entire year. This clearly violated the people's well-established legislative sovereignty and triggered a riot in which Bibulus' fasces were broken, symbolising popular rejection of his magistracy. The bill was then voted through. Bibulus attempted to induce the Senate to nullify it on grounds it was passed by violence and contrary to the auspices but the Senate refused. Caesar also brought and passed

3280-531: A private deal with Pompey before two years of largely unsuccessful campaigning against Gallic insurgents. In the same year, Crassus's campaign ended in disaster at the Battle of Carrhae , culminating in his death at the hands of the Parthians . When in 52 BC Pompey started the year with a sole consulship to restore order to the city, Caesar was in Gaul suppressing insurgencies; after news of his victory at Alesia, with

3444-417: A second consulship – first mooted in 52 as colleague to Pompey's sole consulship – and a triumph. He feared that his opponents – then holding both consulships for 50 BC – would reject his candidacy or refuse to ratify an election he won. This also was the core of his war justification: that Pompey and his allies were planning, by force if necessary (indicated in the expulsion of the tribunes ), to suppress

SECTION 20

#1732851375731

3608-545: A shield, made his way to the front line, and quickly organised his forces. The two Roman legions guarding the baggage train at the rear finally arrived and helped to turn the tide of the battle. Caesar says the Nervii were almost annihilated in the battle, and is effusive in his tribute to their bravery, calling them "heroes" (for more details see Battle of the Sabis ). The Atuatuci, who were marching to their aid, turned back on hearing of

3772-520: A situation opposing Celtic and Germanic in Belgium, in a territory slightly more to the south than the early medieval Romance -Germanic language border", but van Durme accepts that Germanic did not block "Celticisation coming from the south" so "both phenomena were simultaneous and interfering". The medieval Gesta Treverorum compiled by monks of Trier claims that the Belgae were descendants of Trebeta , an otherwise unattested legendary founder of Trier,

3936-617: A tribe called the Tungri living where the Germani cisrhenani had lived, and he also stated that they had once been called the Germani (although Caesar had claimed to have wiped out the name of the main tribe, the Eburones). Other tribes that may have been included among the Belgae in some contexts were the Leuci , Treveri and Mediomatrici . Posidonius includes the Armoricani , as well. Caesar conquered

4100-516: A wall, he stopped their movement near Geneva and – after raising two legions – defeated them at the Battle of Bibracte before forcing them to return to their original homes. He was drawn further north responding to requests from Gallic tribes, including the Aedui , for aid against Ariovistus – king of the Suebi and a declared friend of Rome by the Senate during Caesar's own consulship – and he defeated them at

4264-403: A well-accepted member of the aristocracy with great future prospects in his political career. Caesar decided to return shortly thereafter and on his return was elected one of the military tribunes for 71 BC. There is no evidence that Caesar served in war – even though the war on Spartacus was on-going – during his term; he did, however, agitate for the removal of Sulla's disabilities on

4428-494: A year, and by April 46 BC he was given a new dictatorship annually. The task he was assigned revived that of Sulla's dictatorship: rei publicae constituendae . These appointments, however, were not the source of legal power themselves; in the eyes of the literary sources, they were instead honours and titles which reflected Caesar's dominant position in the state, secured not by extraordinary magistracy or legal powers, but by personal status as victor over other Romans. Through

4592-521: A year-long dictatorship, after news of his victory at Pharsalus arrived to Rome. While in Alexandria, he started an affair with Cleopatra and withstood a siege by Ptolemy and his other sister Arsinoe until March 47 BC. Reinforced by eastern client allies under Mithridates of Pergamum , he then defeated Ptolemy at the Battle of the Nile and installed Cleopatra as ruler. Caesar and Cleopatra celebrated

4756-631: Is Julius Caesar 's account of the Gallic War , the " Commentarii de Bello Gallico ", although there are classical citations of a lost work by Poseidonius which apparently mentioned the tribe. In the build-up to the Battle of the Sabis in 57 BCE, Caesar reported that he received information from Remi tribesman, who described a large part of the Belgae of northern France and Gaul as having "transrhenane" Germanic ancestry, but not all. When Caesar inquired of them what states were in arms, how powerful they were, and what they could do, in war, he received

4920-481: Is attested in evidence, did not intend to restructure Roman society. Ernst Badian, writing in the Oxford Classical Dictionary , noted that although Caesar did implement a series of reforms, they did not touch on the core of the republican system: he "had no plans for basic social and constitutional reform" and that "the extraordinary honours heaped upon him... merely grafted him as an ill-fitting head on to

5084-506: Is clearly to the east of the Rhine also and "Germanic" in that sense. After the battle of the Sabis, which the Romans won, some Belgic tribes renewed fighting against the Romans in 54 BCE. Caesar clearly differentiates between two types of remaining rebel groups: "the Nervii, Aduatuci, and Menapii" and with them "the addition of all the Germans on this side of the Rhine." Within this last group were

Germani cisrhenani - Misplaced Pages Continue

5248-459: Is considered by many historians to be one of the greatest military commanders in history. His cognomen was subsequently adopted as a synonym for " Emperor "; the title " Caesar " was used throughout the Roman Empire, giving rise to modern descendants such as Kaiser and Tsar . He has frequently appeared in literary and artistic works . Gaius Julius Caesar was born into a patrician family,

5412-554: Is no indication that Caesar supported Clodius in any way. After his praetorship, Caesar was appointed to govern Hispania Ulterior pro consule . Deeply indebted from his campaigns for the praetorship and for the pontificate, Caesar required military victory beyond the normal provincial extortion to pay them off. He campaigned against the Callaeci and Lusitani and seized the Callaeci capital in northwestern Spain, bringing Roman troops to

5576-435: The gens Julia on 12 July 100 BC. The family claimed to have immigrated to Rome from Alba Longa during the seventh century BC after the third king of Rome , Tullus Hostilius , took and destroyed their city. The family also claimed descent from Julus, the son of Aeneas and founder of Alba Longa. Given that Aeneas was a son of Venus, this made the clan divine. This genealogy had not yet taken its final form by

5740-487: The lex Pompeia Licinia extending Caesar's command and the lex Trebonia giving them respective commands in Spain and Syria, though Pompey never left for the province and remained politically active at Rome. The opposition again unified against their heavy-handed political tactics – though not against Caesar's activities in Gaul – and defeated the allies in the elections of that year. The ambush and destruction in Gaul of

5904-446: The lex Vatinia assigning the provinces of Illyricum and Cisalpine Gaul to Caesar for five years. Suetonius' claim that the Senate had assigned to Caesar the silvae callesque ("woods and tracks") is likely an exaggeration: fear of Gallic invasion had grown in 60 BC and it is more likely that the consuls had been assigned to Italy, a defensive posture that Caesarian partisans dismissed as "mere 'forest tracks'". The Senate

6068-555: The Aquitani in the southwest, the Gauls in the biggest central part, who in their own language were called Celtae , and the Belgae in the north. Each of these three parts, he says, differed in terms of customs, laws and language. He noted that the Belgae, were "the bravest, because they are furthest from the civilization and refinement of [our] Province, and merchants least frequently resort to them, and import those things which tend to effeminate

6232-703: The Atrebates , Caesar's former ally, fled to Britain after participating in Vercingetorix 's rebellion and either joined or established a British branch of his tribe. Based on the development of imagery on coins, by the time of the Roman conquest , some of the tribes of south-eastern Britain likely were ruled by a Belgic nobility and were culturally influenced by them. The later civitas (administrative division) of Roman Britain had towns including Portus Adurni ( Portchester ) and Clausentum ( Southampton ). The civitas capital

6396-461: The Battle of Ilerda before forcing surrender of the third ; his legates moved into Sicily and into Africa , though the African expedition failed. Returning to Rome in the autumn, Caesar had Lepidus, as praetor, bring a law appointing Caesar dictator to conduct the elections; he, along with Publius Servilius Isauricus , won the following elections and would serve as consuls for 48 BC. Resigning

6560-635: The Battle of Vosges . Wintering in northeastern Gaul near the Belgae in the winter of 58–57, Caesar's forward military position triggered an uprising to remove his troops; able to eke out a victory at the Battle of the Sabis , Caesar spent much of 56 BC suppressing the Belgae and dispersing his troops to campaign across much of Gaul, including against the Veneti in what is now Brittany . At this point, almost all of Gaul – except its central regions – fell under Roman subjugation. Seeking to buttress his military reputation, he engaged Germans attempting to cross

6724-481: The Black Sea in northern Anatolia. His invasion had swept aside Caesar's legates and the local client kings, but Caesar engaged him at Zela and defeated him immediately, leading Caesar to write veni, vidi, vici ("I came, I saw, I conquered"), downplaying Pompey's previous Pontic victories. He then left quickly for Italy. Caesar's absence from Italy put Mark Antony, as magister equitum , in charge. His rule

Germani cisrhenani - Misplaced Pages Continue

6888-472: The Cimbri from entering their territories; the effect of which was, that, from the recollection of those events, they assumed to themselves great authority and haughtiness in military matters. At other times, Caesar more clearly divides Belgic Gaul into the Belgae and another smaller group called the Germani . For example, he writes that his local informants claim "all the rest of the Belgae were in arms; and that

7052-416: The Cimbri . According to Plutarch's narrative, the trophies were restored overnight to the applause and tears of joy of the onlookers; any sudden and secret restoration of this sort would not have been possible – architects, restorers, and other workmen would have to have been hired and paid for – nor would it have been likely that the work could have been done in a single night. It is more likely that Caesar

7216-563: The Dutch adjective gebelgd "very angry" (weak perfect participle of the verb belgen "to become angry") and verbolgen "being angry" (strong perfect participle of obsolete verbelgen "to make angry"), as well as the Old English verb belgan , "to be angry" (from Proto-Germanic *balgiz ), derived ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *bhelgh- ("to swell, bulge, billow"). Thus,

7380-652: The English Channel into southern Britain in Caesar's time. Caesar asserts they had first crossed the channel as raiders, only later establishing themselves on the island. The precise extent of their conquests is unknown. After the Roman conquest of Great Britain, the civitas of the Belgae was bordered to the north by the British Atrebates , who were also a Belgic tribe, and to the east by the Regni , who were probably linked to

7544-454: 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 by Julius Caesar in his account of his wars in Gaul. Some peoples in southern Britain were also called Belgae and had apparently moved from the continent. T. F. O'Rahilly believed that some had moved further west and he equated them with

7708-498: The Fir Bolg in Ireland . The Roman province of Gallia Belgica was named after the continental Belgae. The term continued to be used in the region until the present day and is reflected in the name of the modern country of Belgium . The consensus among linguists is that the ethnic name Belgae probably comes from the Proto-Celtic root *belg- or *bolg- meaning "to swell (particularly with anger/battle fury/etc.)", cognate with

7872-727: The First Triumvirate , an informal political alliance that dominated Roman politics for several years. Their attempts to amass political power were opposed by many in the Senate , among them Cato the Younger with the private support of Cicero . Caesar rose to become one of the most powerful politicians in the Roman Republic through a string of military victories in the Gallic Wars , completed by 51 BC, which greatly extended Roman territory. During this time he both invaded Britain and built

8036-442: The Germani cisrhenani ) with no distinction of language intended. The east of the Rhine was not necessarily inhabited by Germanic speakers at this time. It has been remarked that Germanic speakers might have been no closer than the river Elbe in the time of Caesar. However, studies of place names, such as those of Maurits Gysseling , have been argued to show evidence of the pre-Roman presence of early Germanic languages throughout

8200-470: The Germani cisrhenani , and this is indeed also true of the tribes immediately over the Rhine at this time, such as the Tencteri and Usipetes . Surviving inscriptions also indicate that Gaulish was spoken in at least part of Belgic territory. The Romans were not precise in their ethnography of northern barbarians : by "Germanic", Caesar may simply have meant "originating east of the Rhine" (the homeland of

8364-602: The Parthians to avenge Crassus' death at Carrhae in 53 BC, with wide-ranging objectives that would take him into Dacia for three or more years. It was set to start on 18 March 44 BC. Prior to Caesar's assumption of the title dictator perpetuo in February 44 BC, he had been appointed dictator some four times since his first dictatorship in 49 BC. After occupying Rome, he engineered this first appointment, largely to hold elections; after 11 days he resigned. The other dictatorships lasted for longer periods, up to

SECTION 50

#1732851375731

8528-460: The Roman Empire , referred to these Germani next, saying that they were by his time called the Tungri . The " Germani " name had by this time become a term used more commonly to refer to many other peoples. Starting with Caesar, Roman historians described the Rhine as an important natural border between Gaul on the west, which became part of the Roman empire , and the "Germanic" territories to

8692-598: The Vangiones , the Triboci , and the Nemetes , who Tacitus contrasted to the Nervii and Treveri, whose Germanic status was more questionable. Caesar's use of the term Germani lumped the Suevi and other distant peoples together with these groups from near the Rhine. The older concept of the Germani being local to the Rhine remained common among Graeco-Roman writers for a longer time than

8856-487: The Vestal Virgins were able to intercede on his behalf. They then reached a compromise where Caesar would resign his priesthood but keep his wife and chattels; Sulla's alleged remark he saw "in [Caesar] many Mariuses" is apocryphal. Caesar then left Italy to serve in the staff of the governor of Asia, Marcus Minucius Thermus . While there, he travelled to Bithynia to collect naval reinforcements and stayed some time as

9020-480: The last civil war of the Roman Republic . Octavian set about solidifying his power, and the era of the Roman Empire began. Caesar was an accomplished author and historian as well as a statesman; much of his life is known from his own accounts of his military campaigns. Other contemporary sources include the letters and speeches of Cicero and the historical writings of Sallust . Later biographies of Caesar by Suetonius and Plutarch are also important sources. Caesar

9184-487: The 4th through the 1st centuries BC. The Belgae of this period do not appear to have drunk beer. Caesar's book Commentarii de Bello Gallico begins: "All Gaul is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgae inhabit, the Aquitani another, those who in their own language are called Celts, in ours Gauls, the third. All these differ from each other in language, customs and laws." However, many modern scholars believe that

9348-515: The Athenian playwright Menander , in Greek, " let the die be cast ". Pompey and many senators fled south, believing that Caesar was marching quickly for Rome. Caesar, after capturing communication routes to Rome, paused and opened negotiations, but they fell apart amid mutual distrust. Caesar responded by advancing south, seeking to capture Pompey to force a conference. Pompey withdrew to Brundisium and

9512-456: The Atlantic and seizing enough plunder to pay his debts. Claiming to have completed the peninsula's conquest, he made for home after having been hailed imperator . When he arrived home in the summer of 60 BC, he was then forced to choose between a triumph and election to the consulship: either he could remain outside the pomerium (Rome's sacred boundary) awaiting a triumph or cross

9676-447: The Belgae as well. The arrival and spread of Aylesford-Swarling pottery across the southeastern corner of Britain has been related to the Belgic invasion since Arthur Evans published his excavation of Aylesford in 1890, which was then thought to show "the demonstrable reality of a Belgic invasion", according to Sir Barry Cunliffe , although more recent studies tend to downplay the role of migration in favour of increasing trade links;

9840-431: The Belgae decided to disband their combined force and return to their own lands. Caesar's informants advised him that whichever tribe Caesar attacked first, the others would come to their defence. They broke camp shortly before midnight. At daybreak, satisfied the retreat was not a trap, Caesar sent cavalry to harass the rear guard, followed by three legions. Many of the Belgae were killed in battle. Caesar next marched into

10004-405: The Belgae were a Celtic-speaking group. On the other hand, at least part of the Belgae may also have had significant cultural and historical connections to peoples east of the Rhine, including Germanic peoples , judging from archaeological, placename and textual evidence. It has also been argued based on placename studies that the older language of the area, though apparently Indo-European ,

SECTION 60

#1732851375731

10168-500: The Belgae, beginning in 57 BC. He writes that the Belgae were conspiring and arming themselves in response to his earlier conquests; to counter this threat, he raised two new legions and ordered his Gallic allies, the Aedui , to invade the territory of the Bellovaci , the largest and fiercest of the Belgae tribes. Wary of the numbers and bravery of the Belgae, Caesar initially avoided a pitched battle, resorting mainly to cavalry skirmishes to probe their strengths and weaknesses. Once he

10332-421: The Belgae. ) It seems that, whatever their ancestry, at least some of the Belgic tribes spoke a variety of Gaulish as their main language by Caesar's time, and all of them used such languages in at least some contexts. Luc van Durme summarizes competing evidence of Celtic and Germanic influence at the time of Caesar by saying that "one has to accept the rather remarkable conclusion that Caesar must have witnessed

10496-530: The Belgic area north of the Ardennes , where the Germani cisrhenani lived. The sound changes described by " Grimm's law " appear to have affected names with older forms, apparently already in the second century BC. Strong evidence for old Celtic placenames, though, is found in the Ardennes and to the south of them. According to Strabo , the country of the Belgae extended along the coast where 15 tribes were living from

10660-555: The Celtic translation of the Germanic tribal name Tungri . The question of the possible presence of Germanic languages on the lower Rhine in the 1st century BC has also focused upon place-name analyses, such as those of Maurits Gysseling . As for the historicity of Caesar's account of the arrival of the Germani from beyond the Rhine, Wightman (1985) distinguishes two main scenarios: The earliest clear surviving record referring to Germani

10824-598: The Eburones, whose king Ambiorix had become a major rebel leader. When the Eburones were defeated, the Segni and Condrusi "of the nation and number of the Germans [ Germani ], and who are between the Eburones and the Treviri, sent embassadors to Caesar to entreat that he would not regard them in the number of his enemies, nor consider that the cause of all the Germans on this side the Rhine [ omnium Germanorum , qui essent citra Rhenum ]

10988-511: The Germans, who dwell on this side of the Rhine [ Belgas in armis esse, Germanosque qui cis Rhenum ], had joined themselves to them." The reference to the Cimbric migrations means that movements of people from east of the Rhine must have happened early enough for them already to be established west of the Rhine in the second century BCE. But it remains unclear which Belgic Gauls were considered Germani by ancestry and which, if any, might have spoken

11152-511: The Lower Rhine, and subsequently crossed it into Gaul under its new Roman overlords. This included the Ubii , Sicambri and Tencteri and Usipetes , who all moved into Roman "Germania inferior" (Lower Germania ). Similarly, some originally transrhenane groups eventually crossed to the west of the Rhine further south, Germania Superior, and Caesar and Tacitus also called these Germani . This included

11316-537: The Mediterranean and also supported the lex Manilia in 66 BC to reassign the Third Mithridatic War from its then-commander Lucullus to Pompey. Four years after his aunt Julia's funeral, in 65 BC, Caesar served as curule aedile and staged lavish games that won him further attention and popular support. He also restored the trophies won by Marius, and taken down by Sulla, over Jugurtha and

11480-487: The Nervii, Menapii and Morini, revolted again and wiped out fifteen cohorts, only to be put down by Caesar. The Belgae fought in the uprising of Vercingetorix in 52 BC. After their final subjugation, Caesar combined the three parts of Gaul, the territory of the Belgae, Celtae and Aquitani, into a single unwieldy province ( Gallia Comata , "long-haired Gaul") that was reorganized by the emperor Augustus into its traditional cultural divisions. The province of Gallia Belgica

11644-714: The Rhenus (Rhine) to the Liger (Loire). Strabo also says that "Augustus Caesar, when dividing the country into four parts, united the Keltae to the Narbonnaise; the Aquitani he preserved the same as Julius Caesar, but added thereto fourteen other nations of those who dwelt between the Garonne and the river Loire, and dividing the rest into two parts, the one extending to the upper districts of the Rhine ( Gallia Lugdunensis ) he made dependent upon Lugdunum,

11808-482: The Rhine in what he understood to be their homeland. However, the later historian Tacitus was informed that the name Germania was known to have changed in meaning: In other words, Tacitus understood that the collective name Germani had first been used in Gaul, for a specific people there with connections beyond the Rhine, the Tungri being the name of the people living where the Eburones had lived in later imperial times, and

11972-425: The Rhine, which marked it as a Roman frontier; displaying Roman engineering prowess, he here built a bridge across the Rhine in a feat of engineering meant to show Rome's ability to project power. Ostensibly seeking to interdict British aid to his Gallic enemies, he led expeditions into southern Britain in 55 and 54 BC, perhaps seeking further conquests or otherwise wanting to impress readers in Rome; Britain at

12136-800: The Roman Augusta Treverorum , "Augusta of the Treveri ". Caesar names the following as Belgic tribes, which can be related to later Roman provinces: Southwest: possibly not in "Belgium": Northwest and considered remote by Romans: South, not in alliance against Rome: Caesar sometimes calls them Belgae, sometimes contrasts them with Belgae. Descendants of the Cimbri , living near Germani Cisrhenani : Possibly Belgae, later within Belgica I: Not Belgae, later in Germania Superior (still later Germania I): Later, Tacitus mentioned

12300-618: The Roman empire in the two Roman provinces of Germania: So the two Roman provinces named Germania , both mainly on the west of the Rhine, gave an official form to the concept of Germani cisrhenani . As the empire grew older, new tribes arrived into Germania cisrhenana , and these regions started to become more independent. By the time of the collapse of the empire's central power in Gaul (5th century), all or most of these peoples were unified in their use of Germanic languages or dialects. The cisrhenane Germani eventually ceased to be restricted to

12464-627: The Rubicon and marching towards Rome at the head of an army. This began Caesar's civil war , which he won, leaving him in a position of near-unchallenged power and influence in 45 BC. After assuming control of government, Caesar began a programme of social and governmental reform, including the creation of the Julian calendar . He gave citizenship to many residents of far regions of the Roman Republic. He initiated land reforms to support his veterans and initiated an enormous building programme. In early 44 BC, he

12628-439: The Senate at the end for execution. During his year as praetor, Caesar first attempted to deprive his enemy Catulus of the honour of completing the rebuilt Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus , accusing him of embezzling funds, and threatening to bring legislation to reassign it to Pompey. This proposal was quickly dropped amid near-universal opposition. He then supported the attempt by plebeian tribune Metellus Nepos to transfer

12792-560: The Senate from reassigning his command in Transalpine Gaul, even if his position in Cisalpine Gaul and Illyricum was guaranteed by the lex Vatinia until 54 BC. His success was evidently recognised when the Senate voted state funds for some of Caesar's legions, which until this time Caesar had paid for personally. The three allies' relations broke down in 57 BC: one of Pompey's allies challenged Caesar's land reform bill and

12956-435: The Senate in hope that it would take up the matter to show its beneficence for the people, there was little opposition and the obstructionism that occurred was largely unprincipled, firmly opposing it not on grounds of public interest but rather opposition to Caesar's political advancement. Unable to overcome Cato's filibustering, he moved the bill before the people and, at a public meeting, Caesar's co-consul Bibulus threatened

13120-508: The Senate stalled and was regardless dropped. He stayed near the city until some time around mid-March. During the Gallic Wars, Caesar wrote his Commentaries thereon, which were acknowledged even in his time as a Latin literary masterwork. Meant to document Caesar's campaigns in his own words and maintain support in Rome for his military operations and career, he produced some ten volumes covering operations in Gaul from 58 to 52 BC. Each

13284-418: The allies had a poor showing in the elections that year. With a real threat to Caesar's command and acta brewing in 56 BC under the aegis of the unfriendly consuls, Caesar needed his allies' political support. Pompey and Crassus too wanted military commands. Their combined interests led to a renewal of the alliance; drawing in the support of Appius Claudius Pulcher and his younger brother Clodius for

13448-410: The autumn, Cicero and others sought disarmament by both Caesar and Pompey, and on 1 December 50 BC this was formally proposed in the Senate. It received overwhelming support – 370 to 22 – but was not passed when one of the consuls dissolved the meeting. That year, when a rumour came to Rome that Caesar was marching into Italy, both consuls instructed Pompey to defend Italy, a charge he accepted as

13612-463: The banks of the Rhine and the surrounding territory. According to some scholars such as Walter Goffart , the theoretical descriptions of Germanic peoples by Tacitus, which have been very influential in modern times, may never have been commonly read or used in the Roman era. It is clear in any case that in later Roman times the Rhine frontier (or Limes Germanicus ), the area where Caesar had first come in contact with Suevians and Germani cisrhenani ,

13776-456: The body of the traditional structure". The most important of Caesar's reforms was to the calendar, which saw the abolition of the traditional republican lunisolar calendar and its replacement with a solar calendar now called the Julian calendar . He also increased the number of magistrates and senators (from 600 to 900) to better administer the empire and reward his supporters with offices. Colonies also were founded outside Italy – notably on

13940-479: The boundary, giving up his command and triumph, to make a declaration of consular candidacy. Attempts to waive the requirement for the declaration to be made in person were filibustered in the Senate by Caesar's enemy Cato, even though the Senate seemed to support the exception. Faced with the choice between a triumph and the consulship, Caesar chose the consulship. Caesar stood for the consulship of 59 BC along with two other candidates. His political position at

14104-514: The capture of Mytilene, Caesar transferred to the staff of Publius Servilius Vatia in Cilicia before learning of Sulla's death in 78 BC and returning home immediately. He was alleged to have wanted to join in on the consul Lepidus ' revolt that year but this is likely literary embellishment of Caesar's desire for tyranny from a young age. Afterward, Caesar attacked some of the Sullan aristocracy in

14268-482: The civil war. Some of the Sullan nobles – including Quintus Lutatius Catulus – who had suffered under the Marian regime objected, but by this point depictions of husbands in aristocratic women's funerary processions was common. Contra Plutarch, Caesar's action here was likely in keeping with a political trend for reconciliation and normalisation rather than a display of renewed factionalism. Caesar quickly remarried, taking

14432-404: The command against Catiline from the consul of 63, Gaius Antonius Hybrida, to Pompey. After a violent meeting of the comitia tributa in the forum, where Metellus came into fisticuffs with his tribunician colleagues Cato and Quintus Minucius Thermus , the Senate passed a decree against Metellus – Suetonius claims that both Nepos and Caesar were deposed from their magistracies; this would have been

14596-593: The common name of Germans" [ Germani ]. These Germani provided one joint force to the alliance, and apparently the number of men they committed was uncertain to the Remi. Caesar later added the Segni to the list of tribes among the Belgae who went by the name of the Germani . There is another group living close to these tribes, in the northeast, called the Aduatuci , who descended from the above-mentioned Cimbri, but these are not referred to as Germani, even though their ancestry

14760-631: The consulship of 54 BC, they planned second consulships with following governorships in 55 BC for both Pompey and Crassus. Caesar, for his part, would receive a five-year extension of command. Cicero was induced to oppose reassignment of Caesar's provinces and to defend a number of the allies' clients; his gloomy predictions of a triumviral set of consuls-designate for years on end proved an exaggeration when, only by desperate tactics, bribery, intimidation and violence were Pompey and Crassus elected consuls for 55 BC. During their consulship, Pompey and Crassus passed – with some tribunician support –

14924-541: The courts but was unsuccessful in his attempted prosecution of Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella in 77 BC, who had recently returned from a proconsulship in Macedonia. Going after a less well-connected senator, he was successful the next year in prosecuting Gaius Antonius Hybrida (later consul in 63 BC) for profiteering from the proscriptions but was forestalled when a tribune interceded on Antonius' behalf. After these oratorical attempts, Caesar left Rome for Rhodes seeking

15088-454: The defeat and retreated to one stronghold, were put under siege, and soon surrendered and handed over their arms. However, the surrender was a ploy, and the Atuatuci, armed with weapons they had hidden, tried to break out during the night. The Romans had the advantage of position and killed 4,000. The rest, about 53,000, were sold into slavery. In 53 BC, the Eburones, led by Ambiorix , along with

15252-540: The dictatorship after eleven days, Caesar then left Italy for Greece to stop Pompey's preparations, arriving in force in early 48 BC. Caesar besieged Pompey at Dyrrhachium , but Pompey was able to break out and force Caesar's forces to flee. Following Pompey southeast into Greece and to save one of his legates, he engaged and decisively defeated Pompey at Pharsalus on 9 August 48 BC. Pompey then fled for Egypt; Cato fled for Africa; others, like Cicero and Marcus Junius Brutus , begged for Caesar's pardon. Pompey

15416-424: The east. The Germani on the east side of the Rhine were considered to be living in their original homeland. So this land was referred to not only as " Germania Transrhenana, " (the opposite of cisrhenana) but also, for example by Ptolemy and Strabo , as Germania magna , meaning "Greater Germany." In contrast, on the left bank of the Rhine, the cisrhenane Germani were regarded by Caesar as tribes who had crossed

15580-566: The election of magistrates to recall Cicero from exile on the condition that Cicero would refrain from criticism or obstruction of the allies. Politics in Rome fell into violent street clashes between Clodius and two tribunes who were friends of Cicero. With Cicero now supporting Caesar and Pompey, Caesar sent news of Gaul to Rome and claimed total victory and pacification. The Senate at Cicero's motion voted him an unprecedented fifteen days of thanksgiving. Such reports were necessary for Caesar, especially in light of senatorial opponents, to prevent

15744-522: The fact that the tribes which first crossed the Rhine and drove out the Gauls, and are now called Tungrians, were then called Germans [ Germani ]. Thus what was the name of a tribe, and not of a race [ nationis nomen, non gentis ], gradually prevailed, till all called themselves by this self-invented name of Germans [ Germani ], which the conquerors had first employed to inspire terror. Many historians read Caesar and Tacitus in combination to conclude that Caesar

15908-510: The first century, but the clan's claimed descent from Venus was well established in public consciousness. There is no evidence that Caesar himself was born by Caesarian section ; such operations entailed the death of the mother, but Caesar's mother lived for decades after his birth and no ancient sources record any difficulty with the birth. Despite their ancient pedigree, the Julii Caesares were not especially politically influential during

16072-465: The following information: that the greater part of the Belgae were sprung, from the Germans [ Germani ], and that having crossed the Rhine at an early period, they had settled there, on account of the fertility of the country, and had driven out the Gauls who inhabited those regions; and that they were the only people who, in the memory of our fathers, when all Gaul was overrun, had prevented the Teutones and

16236-494: The forests and attacked the approaching Roman column at the river Sabis (previously thought to be the Sambre , but recently the Selle is thought to be more probable). Their attack was quick and unexpected. The element of surprise briefly left the Romans exposed. Some of the Romans did not have time to take the covers off their shields or to even put on their helmets. However, Caesar grabbed

16400-415: The fourth century 'German' was no longer a term which included all western barbarians. [...] Ammianus Marcellinus , in the later fourth century, only uses Germania when he is referring to the Roman provinces of Upper Germany and Lower Germany; east of Germania are Alamannia and Francia . Between the time of Caesar and Tacitus several of the transrhenane Germani peoples crossed and became established in

16564-402: The funerary practice of communities to the north and south. Around this same time, a characteristic form of enclosed sanctuary began to be built, and from the late 2nd through the mid 1st centuries BC, fortifications with a high earthen rampart and a wide, flat-bottomed ditch are concentrated there. The coinage of the Belgae in Gaul shows commonalities in design and distribution patterns from

16728-437: The group containing the Eburones and Condrusi, might or might not have been considered Germani in a broad sense. Tacitus on the other hand certainly knew of such claims, but expressed doubt about them, writing of two of the tribes most geographically and politically close to the Germani , that the "Treveri and Nervii are even eager in their claims of a German origin, thinking that the glory of this descent distinguishes them from

16892-505: The hand of Sulla's granddaughter Pompeia . For much of this period, Caesar was one of Pompey 's supporters. Caesar joined with Pompey in the late 70s to support restoration of tribunician rights; his support for the law recalling the Lepidan exiles may have been related to the same tribune's bill to grant lands to Pompey's veterans. Caesar also supported the lex Gabinia in 67 BC granting Pompey an extraordinary command against piracy in

17056-427: The later sources assert he instead wanted the conspirators imprisoned pending trial. Most accounts agree that Caesar supported confiscation of the conspirators' property. Caesar likely advocated the former, which was a compromise position that would place the Senate within the bounds of the lex Sempronia de capite civis , and was initially successful in swaying the body; a later intervention by Cato , however, swayed

17220-473: The liberty of the Roman people to elect Caesar and honour his accomplishments. Around 10 or 11 January 49 BC, in response to the Senate's "final decree", Caesar crossed the Rubicon – the river defining the northern boundary of Italy – with a single legion, the Legio XIII Gemina , and ignited civil war . Upon crossing the Rubicon, Caesar, according to Plutarch and Suetonius, is supposed to have quoted

17384-462: The middle republic. The first person known to have had the cognomen Caesar was a praetor in 208 BC during the Second Punic War . The family's first consul was in 157 BC, though their political fortunes had recovered in the early first century, producing two consuls in 91 and 90 BC. Caesar's homonymous father was moderately successful politically. He married Aurelia , a member of

17548-486: The mind; and they are the nearest to the Germans, who dwell beyond the Rhine, with whom they are continually waging war". Ancient sources such as Caesar are not always clear about the things used to define ethnicity today. While Caesar or his sources described the Belgae as distinctly different from the Gauls, Strabo stated that the differences between the Celts (Gauls) and Belgae in countenance, language, politics and way of life

17712-476: The minutes of the Senate and the assemblies, signalling the Senate's accountability to the public. He then brought in the Senate a bill – crafted to avoid objections to previous land reform proposals and any indications of radicalism – to purchase property from willing sellers to distribute to Pompey's veterans and the urban poor. It would be administered by a board of twenty (with Caesar excluded), and financed by Pompey's plunder and territorial gains. Referring it to

17876-442: The more theoretical and general concept of Caesar. Cassius Dio wrote in the third century that "some of the Celts, whom we call Germans", "occupied all the Belgic territory along the Rhine and caused it to be called Germany". At least two well-read sixth century Byzantine writers, Agathias and Procopius , understood the Franks on the Rhine to effectively be the old Germani under a new name, since, as Agathias wrote, they inhabit

18040-419: The normal operation of the state – justice, legislation, administration, and public works – were concentrated into Caesar's person without regard for or even notice given to the traditional institutions of the republic. Caesar's domination over public affairs and his competitive instinct to preclude all others alienated the political class and led eventually to the conspiracy against his life. Caesar, as far as

18204-478: The other Belgae to have similar transrhenane ancestry. But in any case it is clear that he, like Tacitus, apparently makes a distinction between two types of Germani , as shown by the above quotations where the Nervii, Aduatuci, and Menapii are both contrasted with the cisrhenane Germani such as the Eburones and the Condrusi. So in the northern Belgic region of Gaul, at least some of the other Belgic nations, apart from

18368-467: The other [he assigned] to the Belgae ( Gallia Belgica )." Apart from the Germani, the report of Caesar seems to indicate that more of the Belgae had some Germanic ethnicity, but this is not necessarily what defines a tribe as Belgic. Edith Wightman proposed that Caesar can be read as treating only the southwestern Belgic tribes, the Suessiones, Viromandui and Ambiani and perhaps some of their neighbours, as

18532-434: The period after Pharsalus, the Senate showered Caesar with honours, including the title praefectus moribus ( lit.   ' prefect of morals ' ) which historically was associated with the censorial power to revise the Senate rolls. He was also granted power over war and peace, usurping a power traditionally held by the comitia centuriata . These powers attached to Caesar personally. Similarly extraordinary were

18696-563: The pirates were sold into slavery per Velleius Paterculus . His studies were interrupted by the outbreak of the Third Mithridatic War over the winter of 75 and 74 BC; Caesar is alleged to have gone around collecting troops in the province at the locals' expense and leading them successfully against Mithridates' forces. While absent from Rome, in 73 BC, Caesar was co-opted into the pontifices in place of his deceased relative Gaius Aurelius Cotta . The promotion marked him as

18860-410: The plebeian tribunate and for those who supported Lepidus' revolt to be pardoned. These advocacies were common and uncontroversial. The next year, 70 BC, Pompey and Crassus were consuls and brought legislation restoring the plebeian tribunate's rights; one of the tribunes, with Caesar supporting, then brought legislation pardoning the Lepidan exiles. For his quaestorship in 69 BC, Caesar

19024-508: The politically influential Aurelii Cottae , producing – along with Caesar – two daughters. Buoyed by his own marriage and his sister's marriage (the dictator's aunt) with the extremely influential Gaius Marius , he also served on the Saturninian land commission in 103 BC and was elected praetor some time between 92 and 85 BC; he served as proconsular governor of Asia for two years, likely 91–90 BC. Caesar's father did not seek

19188-409: The pontifical election before the tribes , Caesar faced two influential senators: Quintus Lutatius Catulus and Publius Servilius Isauricus . Caesar came out victorious. Many scholars have expressed astonishment that Caesar's candidacy was taken seriously, but this was not without historical precedent. Ancient sources allege that Caesar paid huge bribes or was shamelessly ingratiating; that no charge

19352-628: The question remains unclear. A large number of coins of the Ambiani dating to the mid-second century BC have been found in southern Britain and the remains of a possible Belgic fort have been unearthed in Kent. Within memory of Caesar's time, a king of the Suessiones (also referred to as Suaeuconi) called Diviciacus was not only the most powerful king of Belgic Gaul, but also ruled territory in Britain. Commius of

19516-733: The remaining anti-Caesarian leaders, including Metellus Scipio and Juba, also committed suicide shortly thereafter. Labienus and two of Pompey's sons, however, had moved to the Spanish provinces in revolt. Caesar started a process of annexing parts of Numidia and then returned to Italy via Sardinia in June 46 BC. Caesar stayed in Italy to celebrate four triumphs in late September, supposedly over four foreign enemies: Gaul, Egypt, Pharnaces (Asia), and Juba (Africa). He led Vercingetorix, Cleopatra's younger sister Arsinoe, and Juba's son before his chariot; Vercingetorix

19680-465: The rest of the magistrates for 47 BC – no elections had yet been held – and also for those of 46 BC. Caesar would serve with Lepidus as consul in 46; he borrowed money for the war, confiscated and sold the property of his enemies at fair prices, and then left for Africa on 25 December 47 BC. Caesar's landing in Africa was marked with some difficulties establishing a beachhead and logistically. He

19844-588: The river, and had settled among the Celtic Belgae . This territory was considered to be geographically part of Gaul. Caesar conquered it, and it became part of the Roman empire — roughly the later province of Germania Inferior . It is possible that these original Germani on the Lower Rhine were, in modern terminology, Celtic-language speaking, and not Germanic language-speaking. The name Germani in antiquity cannot be assumed to imply linguistic unity, let alone

20008-479: The sites of Carthage and Corinth, which had both been destroyed during Rome's 2nd century BC conquests – to discharge Italy's population into the provinces and reduce unrest. The royal power of naming patricians was revived to benefit the families of his men and the permanent courts jury pools were also altered to remove the tribuni aerarii , leaving only the equestrians and senators. He also took further administrative actions to stabilise his rule and that of

20172-454: The specific reasons why Caesar marched on Rome. A very popular theory is that Caesar was forced to choose – when denied the immunity of his proconsular tenure – between prosecution, conviction, and exile or civil war in defence of his position. Whether Caesar actually would have been prosecuted and convicted is debated. Some scholars believe the possibility of successful prosecution was extremely unlikely. Caesar's main objectives were to secure

20336-505: The state. Caesar reduced the size of the grain dole from 320,000 down to around 150,000 by tightening the qualifications; special bonuses were offered to families with many children to stall depopulation. Plans were drawn for the conduct of a census. Citizenship was extended to a number of communities in Cisalpine Gaul and to Cádiz . During the civil wars, Caesar had also instituted a novel debt repayment programme (no debts would be forgiven but they could be paid in kind), remitted rents up to

20500-476: The support of Pompey he received twenty days of thanksgiving and, pursuant to the "Law of the Ten Tribunes", the right to stand for the consulship in absentia. From the period 52 to 49 BC, trust between Caesar and Pompey disintegrated. In 51 BC, the consul Marcellus proposed recalling Caesar, arguing that his provincia (here meaning "task") in Gaul – due to his victory against Vercingetorix in 52 –

20664-669: The territory of the Suessiones and besieged the town of Noviodunum ( Soissons ). Seeing the Romans' siege engines , the Suessiones surrendered, whereupon Caesar turned his attention to the Bellovaci, who had retreated into the fortress of Bratuspantium (between modern Amiens and Beauvais ). They quickly surrendered, as did the Ambiani. The Nervii , along with the Atrebates and Viromandui, decided to fight (the Atuatuci had also agreed to join them, but had not yet arrived). They concealed themselves in

20828-414: The third through the first centuries BC within this subregion, inhabited in the time of Caesar by Bellovaci, Ambiani, Atrebates, and Veromandui. From 250 BC onward, the disposal of the dead was primarily through cremation, with some inhumation practiced. Ceramics and brooches are typical grave goods, while items of feasting appear in wealthier graves. The absence of weapons distinguishes these burials from

20992-476: The three so-called triumvirs sought to maintain the goodwill of the extremely popular Publius Clodius Pulcher , who was plebeian tribune in 58 BC and in that year successfully sent Cicero into exile. When Clodius took an anti-Pompeian stance later that year, he unsettled Pompey's eastern arrangements, started attacking the validity of Caesar's consular legislation, and by August 58 forced Pompey into seclusion. Caesar and Pompey responded by successfully backing

21156-446: The time was strong: he had supporters among the families which had supported Marius or Cinna; his connection with the Sullan aristocracy was good; his support of Pompey had won him support in turn. His support for reconciliation in continuing aftershocks of the civil war was popular in all parts of society. With the support of Crassus, who supported Caesar's joint ticket with one Lucius Lucceius , Caesar won. Lucceius, however, did not and

21320-431: The time was to the Romans an "island of mystery" and "a land of wonder". He, however, withdrew from the island in the face of winter uprisings in Gaul led by the Eburones and Belgae starting in late 54 BC which ambushed and virtually annihilated a legion and five cohorts. Caesar was, however, able to lure the rebels into unfavourable terrain and routed them in battle. The next year, a greater challenge emerged with

21484-449: The true ethnic Belgae, as opposed to those in a political and military alliance with them. She reads Caesar as implying a "transition zone" of mixed ethnicity and ancestry for the Menapii , Nervii and Morini , all living in the northwest of the Belgic region, neighbours to the Germani cisrhenani in the northeast. (Caesar also mentions his allies the Remi being closest to the Celts amongst

21648-409: The tutelage of the rhetorician Apollonius Molon . While travelling, he was intercepted and ransomed by pirates in a story that was later much embellished. According to Plutarch and Suetonius, he was freed after paying a ransom of fifty talents and responded by returning with a fleet to capture and execute the pirates. The recorded sum for the ransom is literary embellishment and it is more likely that

21812-452: The uniform level of Gallic effeminacy". One of the reasons (or excuses) for Caesar's interventions in Gaul in the first place was an apparent increase in movements of transrhenane peoples, attempting to enter Gaul, apparently due to major movements of people such as the Suevi who had come from relatively far east. While some of the original transrhenane Germani who Caesar mentions came from near

21976-477: The uprising of most of central Gaul, led by Vercingetorix of the Averni . Caesar was initially defeated at Gergovia before besieging Vercingetorix at Alesia . After becoming himself besieged, Caesar won a major victory which forced Vercingetorix's surrender; Caesar then spent much of his time into 51 BC suppressing any remaining resistance. In the initial years from the end of Caesar's consulship in 59 BC,

22140-611: The use of Germanic languages according to the modern definition ( Indo-European languages that underwent the First Germanic Sound Shift ). The name Germani itself is assumed to be Celtic (Gaulish) in origin, and even the tribal names from east of the Lower Rhine seem to be Celtic as well, such as the Usipetes and Tencteri . The later name of the Tungri , on the other hand, has been interpreted as being genuinely Germanic. Jacob Grimm even suggested that Germani represents

22304-571: The victory with a triumphal procession on the Nile . He stayed in Egypt with Cleopatra until June or July that year, though the relevant commentaries attributed to him give no such impression. Some time in late June, Cleopatra gave birth to a child by Caesar, called Caesarion . When Caesar landed at Antioch , he learnt that during his time in Egypt, the king of what is now Crimea, Pharnaces , had attempted to seize what had been his father's kingdom, Pontus, across

22468-452: The voters returned Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus instead, one of Caesar's long-standing personal and political enemies. After the elections, Caesar reconciled Pompey and Crassus, two political foes, in a three-way alliance misleadingly termed the "First Triumvirate" in modern times. Caesar was still at work in December of 60 BC attempting to find allies for his consulship and the alliance

22632-432: The year. This opposition caused serious political difficulties to Caesar and his allies, belying the common depiction of triumviral political supremacy. Later in the year, however, Caesar – with the support of his opponents – brought and passed the lex Julia de repetundis to crack down on provincial corruption. When his consulship ended, Caesar's legislation was challenged by two of the new praetors but discussion in

22796-500: 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 a civil war , and subsequently became dictator from 49 BC until his assassination in 44 BC. He played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire . In 60 BC, Caesar, Crassus , and Pompey formed

22960-434: Was a participant is extremely small. Caesar won his election to the praetorship in 63 BC easily and, as one of the praetor-elects, spoke out that December in the Senate against executing certain citizens who had been arrested in the city conspiring with Gauls in furtherance of the conspiracy. Caesar's proposal at the time is not entirely clear. The earlier sources assert that he advocated life imprisonment without trial;

23124-541: Was a small one, unlike the difference between the Aquitanians and Celts. The fact that the Belgae were living in Gaul means that in one sense they were Gauls. This may be Caesar's meaning when he says "The Belgae have the same method of attacking a fortress as the rest of the Gauls". Inconsistently, Caesar in Bello Gallico , II.4 also contrasted them with Gauls: So Caesar used the word "Germani" in two ways. He described

23288-414: Was able to escape to Greece, abandoning Italy in face of Caesar's superior forces and evading Caesar's pursuit. Caesar stayed near Rome for about two weeks – during his stay his forceful seizure of the treasury over tribunician veto put the lie to his pro-tribunician war justifications – and left Lepidus in charge of Italy while he attacked Pompey's Spanish provinces. He defeated two of Pompey's legates at

23452-548: Was allotted to serve under Gaius Antistius Vetus in Hispania Ulterior . His election also gave him a lifetime seat in the Senate. However, before he left, his aunt Julia, the widow of Marius died and, soon afterwards, his wife Cornelia died shortly after bearing his only legitimate child, Julia . He gave eulogies for both at public funerals. During Julia's funeral, Caesar displayed the images of his aunt's husband Marius, whose memory had been suppressed after Sulla's victory in

23616-782: Was also persuaded to assign to Caesar Transalpine Gaul as well, subject to annual renewal, most likely to control his ability to make war on the far side of the Alps. Some time in the year, perhaps after the passing of the bill distributing the Campanian land and after these political defeats, Bibulus withdrew to his house. There, he issued edicts in absentia, purporting unprecedentedly to cancel all days on which Caesar or his allies could hold votes for religious reasons. Cato too attempted symbolic gestures against Caesar, which allowed him and his allies to "feign victimisation"; these tactics were successful in building revulsion to Caesar and his allies through

23780-466: Was an on-going struggle between two tribes in central Gaul which collaterally involved Roman alliances and politics. The divisions within the Gauls – they were no unified bloc – would be exploited in the coming years. The first engagement was in April 58 BC when Caesar prevented the migrating Helvetii from moving through Roman territory, allegedly because he feared they would unseat a Roman ally. Building

23944-447: Was at Venta Belgarum ( Winchester ), which was built on top of an Iron Age oppidum (this was itself built on the site of two earlier abandoned hillforts ); Winchester remains Hampshire's county town to this day. In addition to Venta Belgarum, the ancient geographer Ptolemy lists Aquae Calidae ( Bath ) and Iscalis as poleis of the Belgae. In his theory of Ireland's prehistory, T. F. O'Rahilly suggested in 1946 that

24108-468: Was bounded on its east by the Rhine and extended all the way from the North Sea to Lake Constance ( Lacus Brigantinus ), including parts of what is now western Switzerland, with its capital at the city of the Remi (Reims). Under Diocletian , Belgica Prima (capital Augusta Trevirorum, Trier ) and Belgica Secunda (capital Reims ) formed part of the diocese of Gaul. The Belgae had made their way across

24272-610: Was complete; it evidently was incomplete as Caesar was that year fighting the Bellovaci and regardless the proposal was vetoed. That year, it seemed that the conservatives around Cato in the Senate would seek to enlist Pompey to force Caesar to return from Gaul without honours or a second consulship. Cato, Bibulus, and their allies, however, were successful in winning Pompey over to take a hard line against Caesar's continued command. As 50 BC progressed, fears of civil war grew; both Caesar and his opponents started building up troops in southern Gaul and northern Italy, respectively. In

24436-501: Was defeated by Titus Labienus at Ruspina on 4 January 46 BC and thereafter took a rather cautious approach. After inducing some desertions from the republicans, Caesar ended up surrounded at Thapsus . His troops attacked prematurely on 6 April 46 BC, starting a battle ; they then won it and massacred the republican forces without quarter . Marching on Utica, where Cato commanded, Caesar arrived to find that Cato had killed himself rather than receive Caesar's clemency. Many of

24600-466: Was ever laid alleging this implies that bribery alone is insufficient to explain his victory. If bribes or other monies were needed, they may have been underwritten by Pompey, whom Caesar at this time supported and who opposed Catulus' candidacy. Many sources also assert that Caesar supported the land reform proposals brought that year by plebeian tribune Publius Servilius Rullus , however, there are no ancient sources so attesting. Caesar also engaged in

24764-467: Was executed. According to Appian, in some of the triumphs, Caesar paraded pictures and models of his victories over fellow Romans in the civil wars, to popular dismay. The soldiers were each given 24,000 sesterces (a lifetime's worth of pay); further games and celebrations were put on for the plebs. Near the end of the year, Caesar heard bad news from Spain and, with an army, left for the peninsula, leaving Lepidus in charge as magister equitum . At

24928-454: Was finalised only some time around its start. Pompey and Crassus joined in pursuit of two respective goals: the ratification of Pompey's eastern settlement and the bailing out of tax farmers in Asia, many of whom were Crassus' clients. All three sought the extended patronage of land grants, with Pompey especially seeking the promised land grants for his veterans. Caesar's first act was to publish

25092-406: Was in charge of the remaining republicans; they allied with Juba of Numidia ; what used to be Pompey's fleet also raided the central Mediterranean islands. Caesar's governor in Spain, moreover, was sufficiently unpopular that the province revolted and switched to the republican side. Caesar demoted Antony on his return and pacified the mutineers without violence before overseeing the election of

25256-457: Was killed when he arrived in Alexandria , the capital of Egypt . Caesar arrived three days later on 2 October 48 BC. Prevented from leaving the city by Etesian winds , Caesar decided to arbitrate an Egyptian civil war between the child pharaoh Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator and Cleopatra , his sister, wife, and co-regent queen. In late October 48 BC, Caesar was appointed in absentia to

25420-437: Was knowingly using the term Germani in both a strict sense, for a group associated by the region they lived in near the Rhine and were actually locally named this way, and in an extended sense, for tribal groups of similar perceived ancestry, most clearly those on the east of the Rhine. He was probably the first to do so. Apart from the Germani in this strict sense then, it is unclear to what extent if any that Caesar believed

25584-494: Was later adopted as a collective name for the non-Celtic peoples beyond the Rhine, the other, better-known way that Caesar used the term. The cultural cohesion of Belgium as Caesar sketched it is suggested by the maintaining of these borders, more or less, in administrative divisions ( pagi ) mapped out later by the Romans and still evident in the parishes of the Carolingian era . Archaeology suggests cultural continuities from

25748-417: Was likely produced in the year following the events described and was likely aimed at the general, or at least literate, population in Rome; the account is naturally partial to Caesar – his defeats are excused and victories highlighted – but it is almost the sole source for events in Gaul in this period. Gaul in 58 BC was in the midst of some instability. Tribes had raided into Transalpine Gaul and there

25912-470: Was merely restoring his family's public monuments – consistent with standard aristocratic practice and the virtue of pietas – and, over objections from Catulus, these actions were broadly supported by the Senate. In 63 BC, Caesar stood for the praetorship and also for the post of pontifex maximus , who was the head of the College of Pontiffs and the highest ranking state religious official. In

26076-469: Was not Celtic (see Nordwestblock ) and that Celtic, though influential amongst the elite, might never have been the main language of the part of the Belgic area north of the Ardennes. For example, Maurits Gysseling suggested that prior to Celtic and Germanic influences the Belgae may have comprised a distinct Indo-European branch, termed Belgian . However, most of the Belgic tribal and personal names recorded are identifiably Gaulish , including those of

26240-427: Was one and the same; that they had formed no plans of war, and had sent no auxiliaries to Ambiorix". In the time of Tacitus, long after Caesar claimed to have annihilated the name of the Eburones, the area where the Eburones had lived was inhabited by the Tungri , but Tacitus claimed that this was not their original name:- The name Germany [ Germania ], on the other hand, they say, is modern and newly introduced, from

26404-570: Was proclaimed "dictator for life" ( dictator perpetuo ). Fearful of his power and domination of the state, a group of senators led by Brutus and Cassius assassinated Caesar on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC. A new series of civil wars broke out and the constitutional government of the Republic was never fully restored. Caesar's great-nephew and adopted heir Octavian, later known as Augustus , rose to sole power after defeating his opponents in

26568-460: Was satisfied his troops were a match for them, he made camp on a low hill protected by a marsh at the front and the river Aisne behind, near Bibrax (between modern Laon and Reims ) in the territory of the Remi. The Belgae attacked over the river, but were repulsed after a fierce battle. Realising they could not dislodge the Romans and aware of the approach of the Aedui into the lands of the Bellovaci,

26732-456: Was the normal "Germanic" area mentioned in writing. Walter Goffart has written that "the one incontrovertible Germanic thing" in the Roman era was "the two Roman provinces of 'Germania,' on the middle and lower course of the Rhine river" and: "Whatever 'Germania' had meant to Tacitus, it had narrowed by the time of St Jerome to an archaic or poetic term for the land normally called Francia ". Edward James similarly wrote: It seems clear that in

26896-403: Was unpopular: Publius Cornelius Dolabella , serving as plebeian tribune in 47 BC, agitated for debt relief and after that agitation got out of hand the Senate moved for Antony to restore order. Delayed by a mutiny in southern Italy, he returned and suppressed the riots by force, killing many and delivering a similar blow to his popularity. Cato had marched to Africa and there Metellus Scipio

#730269