Content deleted Content added
Undid revision 1214269791 by 186.204.247.180 (talk) incorrect |
|||
(29 intermediate revisions by 14 users not shown) | |||
Line 2:
[[File:Ambiorix.jpg|thumb|A 19th century statue of [[Ambiorix]], prince of the Eburones (1st century BC), in [[Tongeren]], Belgium]]
The '''Eburones''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: {{lang|grc|Ἐβούρωνες, Ἐβουρωνοί}}) were a [[Gauls|
The Eburones played a major role in [[Julius Caesar]]'s [[Commentarii de Bello Gallico|account of his "Gallic Wars"]], as the most important tribe within the ''[[Germani cisrhenani]]'' group of tribes — ''Germani'' living west of the Rhine amongst the Belgae. Caesar claimed that the name of the Eburones was wiped out after their failed revolt against his forces during the Gallic Wars, and that the tribe was largely annihilated. Whether any significant part of the population lived on in the area as [[Tungri]], the tribal name found here later, is uncertain but considered likely.
Line 14:
Most scholars derive the [[ethnonym]] ''Eburones'' from the [[Gaulish language|Gaulish]] word for '[[yew|yew-tree]]', ''eburos'',<ref>{{harvnb|Gysseling|1960|p=297}}; {{harvnb|Delamarre|2003|p=159}}; {{harvnb|Busse|2006|p=199}}; {{harvnb|Toorians|2013|p=112}}</ref> itself stemming from [[Proto-Celtic language|Proto-Celtic]] ''*eburos'' ('yew'; cf. [[Old Irish|OIr.]] ''ibar'' 'yew', [[Breton language|MBret.]] ''euor'' '[[Frangula alnus|alder buck-thorn]]', [[Middle Welsh|MW.]] ''efwr'' '[[Heracleum maximum|cow parsnip]], hog-weed').{{Sfn|Matasović|2009|p=112}} This interpretation is supported by the story, as told by [[Julius Caesar]], of how the Eburonean king [[Cativolcus|Catuvolcus]] killed himself with poisonous yew in a ritualistic suicide.{{Sfn|Neumann|1999|p=111}}{{Sfn|Toorians|2013|p=112}}
An alternative Germanic etymology from *''eburaz'' ('boar'; cf. [[Old Norse|ON]] ''jofurr'',
The second part of the ethnonym, ''-ones'', is commonly found in both Celtic ([[Lingones]], [[Senones]], etc.) and Germanic ([[Ingaevones|Ingvaeones]], [[Semnones]], etc.) tribal names in the [[Roman Empire|Roman era]].{{sfn|Neumann|1986|p=348}}
Line 23:
=== Territory ===
The Eburones lived in an area broadly situated between the [[Ardennes and Eifel]] region in the south, and the [[Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta|Rhine-Meuse delta]] in the north. Their territory lay east of the [[Atuatuci]] (themselves east of the [[Nervii]]), south of the [[Menapii]], and north of the [[Segni (tribe)|Segni]] and [[Condrusi]] (themselves north of the [[Treveri]]).<ref>{{harvnb|Wightman|1985|p=|pp=30–31}}; {{harvnb|von Petrikovits|1999|p=92}}; {{harvnb|Schön|2006|p=}}; See Caesar, ''BG'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=2:chapter=29 II.29]–[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=2:chapter=30 II.30], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=5:chapter=38 V.38], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=6:chapter=32 VI.32], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=6:chapter=33 VI.33].</ref> To the east, the [[Sugambri]] and [[Ubii]] were their neighbours on the opposite bank of the Rhine.<ref>{{harvnb|Wightman|1985|p=42}}. See Caesar, ''BG'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=6:chapter=35 VI.35]</ref> When the Germanic [[Tencteri]] and [[Usipetes]] crossed the [[Rhine]] from [[Germania]] in 55 BC, they first fell on the Menapii and advanced into the territories of the Eburones and Condrusi, who were both "under the protection of" the [[Treveri]] to the south.<ref name="II.6">Caesar, ''BG'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=4:chapter=5 IV.5–6]</ref>[[image:Belgae rivers.png|right|thumb|Map showing the Maas (dark green) between the [[Scheldt]] (light blue) and the [[Rhine]] (cyan) with Tongeren and other cities on the Maas.|305x305px]]According to a description given by [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]] (mid-1st century BC), the greatest part of the Eburones lived between the [[Meuse]] and [[Rhine]] rivers.<ref>Caesar, ''BG'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=5:chapter=24 V.24].</ref> However, Caesar also notes that their land bordered on that of the coastal [[Menapii]] in the north, and that those among the Eburones "who were nearest the ocean" managed to hide in islands after their defeat against the Romans.<ref>Caesar, ''BG'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=6:chapter=31 VI.31], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=6:chapter=33 VI.33]</ref> This apparent geographical situation, near both the [[Condroz]] region and the [[Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta|Rhine–Meuse delta]], has suggested to many scholars that a significant part of their territory stretched west of the Meuse rather than between the Meuse and the Rhine.{{Sfn|von Petrikovits|1999|p=92}}{{Sfn|Vanderhoeven|Vanderhoeven|2004|pp=144–145}}{{Sfn|Heinrichs|2008|pp=203, 205–207|p=}} For instance, Johannes Heinrichs (2008) contends that a territory stretching from the Rhine to the [[North Sea]] would be "unrealistically large", especially since they were portrayed as clients of the neighbouring [[Atuatuci]] until 57 BC.
They have been identified by Belgian archaeologists with a material culture in
Another part of the Eburones also fled to a remote area of the [[Ardennes]], where [[Ambiorix]] himself is said to have gone with some cavalry
=== Settlements ===
{{Main|Atuatuca}}
[[File:Eburones.jpg|thumb|Eburonian settlement at Hambach-Niederzier, abandoned c. 50 BC]]
Caesar describes [[Atuatuca]] as a ''[[castellum]]'' ('fort, stronghold, shelter') located in the middle of the
Atuatuca played an important role in the revolt of Ambiorix against Rome in the winter of 54–53 BC, and in Caesar's subsequent attempts to annihilate the tribe in 53 and 51 BC.{{Sfn|Vanderhoeven|Vanderhoeven|2004|p=144}} Willy Vanvinckenroye (2001) has suggested that the Eburones did not have their own strongholds and used instead the fortress of the neighbouring [[Atuatuci]] to house troops, since they were tributary to them
==History==
Line 40 ⟶ 41:
==== Battle of the Sabis (57 BC) ====
During the [[Battle of the Sabis]], Caesar's forces clashed with an alliance of Belgic tribes in 57 BC
==== Siege of Atuatuca (54 BC) ====
Line 48 ⟶ 49:
==== Genocide (53–51 BC) ====
Caesar reports that he burnt every village and building that he could find in the territory of the Eburones, drove off all the cattle, and his men and beasts consumed all the
[[Daniel Chirot]] and Jennifer Edwards describe the conquest as a genocide, but provide no analysis of the particulars.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chirot |first1=Daniel |last2=Edwards |first2=Jennifer |date=2003 |title=Making Sense of the Senseless: Understanding Genocide |journal=Contexts |language=en |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=12–19 |doi=10.1525/ctx.2003.2.2.12 |issn=1536-5042 |s2cid=62687633}}</ref> Studies of settlement evidence suggest a significant demographic decrease in the Eburonean territory after that period, which can be plausibly linked with the Caesarian campaigns. According to Roymans, "several interrelated explanations can be given for the high degree of Roman violence in this region: the absence of urbanised settlements or heavily defended ''oppida'' that could be used by Caesar as military targets; the employment by Germanic groups of a strategy of decentralised, guerrilla-type warfare; and, of course, Caesar’s intent to revenge the ambush of a Roman army by the leader of the Eburones, Ambiorix."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Roymans |first=Nico |date=2019 |title=Conquest, mass violence and ethnic stereotyping: investigating Caesar's actions in the Germanic frontier zone |journal=Journal of Roman Archaeology |volume=32 |pages=439–458 |doi=10.1017/S1047759419000229 |s2cid=211651099 |issn=1047-7594}}</ref>
However, Heinrichs (2008) argues that the [[genocide]] of the Eburones in 53 BC could not have happened as it is claimed by [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]].{{Sfn|Heinrichs|2008|p=208}} If the systematic destruction of infrastructures by the Roman forces was intended to prevent the local people from regaining power, physical extermination proved to be impractical. The available areas of refuge hardly accessible to the Roman legions were numerous: the low mountain range of the [[Ardennes]], the swamps and wastelands towards the [[Menapii]], the coastal islands, etc. Moreover, Caesar's second attempt to annihilate the tribe two years later demonstrates that the community survived, and even probably regenerated in such a way that further actions were apparently needed.{{Sfn|Heinrichs|2008|p=208}} According to Roymans (2004), their disappearance from the political map may have resulted from "a policy of ''[[damnatio memoriae]]'' on the part of the Roman authorities, in combination with the confiscation of Eburonean territory".{{Sfn|Roymans|2004|p=23}} A great part of their gold fell into Roman hands during repeated Roman raids on the Eburones in 53–51 BC, and was then melted down and carried off.{{Sfn|Roymans|2004|p=45}}▼
▲
=== Roman period ===
After the [[Gallic Wars]], the new tribal entities that settled in the Lower Rhine region with Roman support
Under the Romans, one of the tribes associated with the Tungri, and apparently living in the north of their area
==Culture==
Line 62 ⟶ 65:
=== Classical sources ===
[[File:Keltische stammen Eburonen gouden stater.jpg|thumb|Gold stater of the Eburones. <br />Triskele on the obverse, Celticized horse on the reverse.]]
Although the term Germanic has a linguistic definition today, Roman authors such as Caesar and Tacitus did not clearly divide the Celts from what they called the Germans based on languages. On the contrary, both authors tended to emphasize, partly for political reasons, the differences in terms of the levels of civilization which had been attained, with Germanic peoples being considered wilder and less civilized peoples, requiring military and political considerations.
Despite being regarded as [[Belgae]], a type of [[Gaul]], [[Julius Caesar]] says that the [[Condrusi]], Eburones, [[Caeraesi]], [[Paemani]], and [[Segni (tribe)|Segni]] were called by the collective name of ''[[Germanic peoples|Germani]]'' and had settled there some time ago, having come from the opposite bank of the Rhine.<ref name="II.4" /><ref>Caesar, ''BG'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=6:chapter=32&highlight=condrusi VI.32]</ref> The Eburones are therefore amongst the so-called ''[[Germani cisrhenani]]'' 'Germans on this side of the Rhine', i.e. [[Germanic peoples]] who lived south and west of the Rhine and may have been distinct from the Belgae.
[[Tacitus]] later wrote that it was in this very region that the term ''Germani'' started to be used, even though he mentions a tribe Caesar did not mention, the [[Tungri]].<blockquote>The name Germany, on the other hand, they say, is modern and newly introduced, from 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, gradually prevailed, until all called themselves by this self-invented name of Germans, which the conquerors had first employed to inspire terror.<ref>Tacitus, ''[[Germania (book)|Germania]]'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0083%3Achapter%3D2 II.2]. ceterum Germaniae vocabulum recens et nuper additum, quoniamqui primi Rhenum transgressi Gallos expulerint ac nunc Tungri, tunc Germani vocati sint: ita nationis nomen, nongentis, evaluisse paulatim, ut omnes primum a victore obmetum, mox et a se ipsis invento nomine Germani vocarentur.</ref></blockquote>
This is often interpreted as implying that the Tungri, a name later used to refer to all the tribes of this area, were descendants of several tribes including the ones Caesar said were called ''Germani'' collectively.
=== Language ===
There are clues which are sometimes taken to indicate that the local peoples in former Eburonic territories spoke or adopted [[Gaulish language|Gaulish]], or some form of it. One of the basic influences on the pronunciation of Dutch is a [[Gallo-Romance]] accent. This means that in the [[Gallo-Roman culture|Gallo-Roman period]], when the Eburones had officially ceased to exist, the Latin which was then spoken was strongly influenced by a Gaulish substrate.<ref>See for instance: Schrijver, Peter, "Der Tod des Festlandkeltischen und die Geburt des Französischen, Niederländischen und Hochdeutschen." In: ''Sprachtod und Sprachgeburt'', edited by Peter Schrijver and Peter-Arnold Mumm. Münchner Forschungen zur historischen Sprachwissenschaft 2. Bremen, 2004. 1-20. {{in lang|de}}</ref>
On the other hand, studies of
=== Personal names ===
It is generally accepted that the personal names of [[Cativolcus|Catuvolcus]] and [[Ambiorix]], the Eburonean kings who opposed [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]] during the [[Gallic Wars]] (58–50 BC),
=== Material culture ===
The [[material culture]] of the region has been found by archaeologists to be highly Celtised, clearly in contact with the Celts of central Gaul, though far less rich in terms of Mediterranean luxury goods. They were not so strongly linked to the east of the Rhine. This would at the very least seem to suggest that at least the upper echelons were Celtic or had adopted a Celtic language and culture.<ref>{{Citation|last1=Lamarcq|first1=Danny|title=De Taalgrens: Van de oude tot de nieuwe Belgen|year=1996|publisher=Davidsfonds|last2=Rogge|first2=Marc}} page 47.</ref>
A further complication is that the population of the Eburones may have been made up of different components. As mentioned above, archaeological evidence implies continuity going back to Urnfield times, but with signs that militarized elites had moved in more than once, bringing forms of the Celtic-associated cultures known as [[Hallstatt culture|Hallstatt]] and later [[La Tène culture|La Tène]]. No clear archaeological evidence has been found to confirm Caesar's account that the Eburones came specifically from over the Rhine. However, these Celtic cultures were also present there, and in the period when Caesar supposes that they arrived, the peoples immediately over the Rhine were most likely not speakers of a Germanic language.
== Political organization ==
Line 108 ⟶ 111:
<!-- H -->
*{{Cite journal|last=Heinrichs|first=Johannes|date=2008|title=Die Eburonen, Oder: Die Kunst Des Überlebens|journal=Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik|volume=164|pages=203–230|jstor=20476452|issn=0084-5388}}
*{{Cite book|last=Hornung|first=Sabine|title=Siedlung und Bevölkerung in Ostgallien zwischen Gallischem Krieg und der Festigung der Römischen Herrschaft. Eine Studie auf Basis landschaftsarchäologischer Forschungen im Umfeld des Oppidums „Hunnenring“ von Otzenhausen (Lkr. St. Wendel)|date=2016|publisher=Philipp von Zabern|language=de|pages=275–318|chapter=Spuren eines Genozids? Das Schicksal der Eburonen aus archäologischer Sicht}}
<!-- L -->
*{{Cite book|last=Lambert|first=Pierre-Yves|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TjMcAQAAIAAJ|title=La langue gauloise: description linguistique, commentaire d'inscriptions choisies|date=1994|publisher=Errance|isbn=978-2-87772-089-2|language=fr|author-link=Pierre-Yves Lambert}}
*{{Cite journal|last=Lindeman|first=Fredrik O.|author-link=Fredrik Otto Lindeman|date=2007|title=Gaulish ambiorix|url=https://www.degruyter.com/view/journals/zcph/55/1/article-p50.xml|journal=Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie|language=de|volume=55|issue=1|pages=50–55|doi=10.1515/ZCPH.2007.50|s2cid=201097695}}
<!-- M -->
* {{cite book |last1=Mallory |first1=J. P. |last2=Adams |first2=Douglas Q. |title=Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture |date=1997 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-884964-98-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tzU3RIV2BWIC |language=en}}
*{{Cite book|last=Matasović|first=Ranko|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YN_YPQAACAAJ|title=Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic|date=2009|publisher=Brill|isbn=9789004173361|language=en|author-link=Ranko Matasović}}
<!-- N -->
*{{Cite book|first=Günter |last=Neumann |chapter=Eburonen |title=Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA) |edition=2 |volume= 6 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |location= Berlin/New York |year= 1986 |isbn=3-11-010468-7 |pages=348–350 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3X03vQEACAAJ}}
*{{Cite book|last=Neumann|first=Günter|title=Germanenprobleme in heutiger Sicht|year=1999|editor-last=Beck|editor-first=H.|chapter=Germani cisrhenani — die Aussage der Namen|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=te3fDzkb3uAC&pg=PA107|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3110164381|editor2-last=Geuenich|editor2-first=D.|editor3-last=Steuer|editor3-first=H.}}
*{{Cite book|last=Nouwen|first=Robert|url=http://www.shclimburg.nl/sites/shclimburg.nl/files/maaslandse-monografieen/MM%2059%20def.pdf|title=Tongeren en het land van de Tungri (31 v. Chr. - 284 n. Chr.)|date=1997|publisher=Eisma|isbn=90-74252-71-0|location=Leeuwarden|oclc=782280709}}▼
<!-- R -->
*{{Cite book|last=Roymans|first=Nico|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cWdZAQAAQBAJ|title=Ethnic Identity and Imperial Power: The Batavians in the Early Roman Empire|date=2004|publisher=Amsterdam University Press|isbn=978-90-5356-705-0|language=en}}
Line 123 ⟶ 129:
*{{Cite book|last=Toorians|first=Lauran|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f899xH_quaMC|title=Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia|date=2006|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-440-0|editor-last=Koch|editor-first=John T.|pages=1192–1198|language=en|chapter=Celts in the Low Countries}}
*{{Cite book|last=Toorians|first=Lauran|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i4IclwEACAAJ|title=Archaeological Contributions to Materials and Immateriality|date=2013|publisher=Gallo-Roman Museum of Tongeren|isbn=978-90-74605-61-8|editor-last=Creemers|editor-first=Guido|language=en|chapter=Aduatuca, 'place of the prophet'. The names of the Eburones as representatives of a Celtic language, with an excursus on Tungri|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/33460316}}
▲*{{Cite book|last=Nouwen|first=Robert|url=http://www.shclimburg.nl/sites/shclimburg.nl/files/maaslandse-monografieen/MM%2059%20def.pdf|title=Tongeren en het land van de Tungri (31 v. Chr. - 284 n. Chr.)|date=1997|publisher=Eisma|isbn=90-74252-71-0|location=Leeuwarden|oclc=782280709}}
<!-- V -->
*{{Cite book|last1=Vanderhoeven|first1=Alain|title=Archaeology in Confrontation: Aspects of Roman Military Presence in the Northwest : Studies in Honour of Prof. Em. Hugo Thoen|last2=Vanderhoeven|first2=Michel|publisher=Academia Press|year=2004|isbn=978-9038205786|editor-last=Vermeulen|editor-first=Frank|chapter=Confrontation in Archaeology: Aspects of Roman Military in Tongeren|editor2-last=Sas|editor2-first=Kathy|editor-last3=Dhaeze|editor-first3=Wouter|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zY4g1kfWvCMC&pg=PA143}}
Line 129 ⟶ 134:
*{{Cite book|last=von Petrikovits|first=Harald|title=Germanenprobleme in heutiger Sicht|year=1999|editor-last=Beck|editor-first=H.|chapter=Germani Cisrhenani|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=te3fDzkb3uAC&pg=PA88|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3110164381|editor2-last=Geuenich|editor2-first=D.|editor3-last=Steuer|editor3-first=H.}}
<!-- W -->
*{{Cite book|title=Gallia Belgica|last=Wightman|first =Edith M.|publisher= University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-05297-0| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aEyS54uSj88C|
{{refend}}
Line 144 ⟶ 149:
==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110718200914/http://www.atuatuca.de/v2/infos/eburonen.php A website on the Eburones] (largely in German)
*[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna27701894 "Ancient Celtic coin cache found in Netherlands"], [[NBC News]] 13 November 2008. [https://web.archive.org/web/20210413084303/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna27701894 Archived] 13 April 2021.
{{Gallic peoples}}
Line 154 ⟶ 159:
[[Category:Gauls]]
[[Category:Tribes involved in the Gallic Wars]]
[[Category:Tribes
[[Category:Genocides in Europe]]
|