Eburones: Difference between revisions

The '''Eburones''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: {{lang|grc|Ἐβούρωνες, Ἐβουρωνοί}}), were a [[Gauls|GallicGaulish]]-[[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] tribe, dwelling in the northeast of [[Gaul]], who lived north of the Ardennes in whatthe region near that is now the southern Netherlands, eastern Belgium, and the German [[Rhineland]], in the period immediately preceding the Roman conquest of the region. Though living in Gaul, they were also described as being both [[Belgae]] and [[Germanic peoples|Germani]] (for a discussion of these terms, [[#Language|see below]]).

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 exterminatedannihilated. 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.

They are mentioned as ''Eburones'' by [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]] (mid-1st c. BC) and [[Orosius]] (early 5th c. AD),<ref>[[Julius Caesar|Caesar]]. ''[[Commentarii de Bello Gallico]]'' ''(BG)''. 2:4</ref>; and [[Orosius]] (early 5th c. AD),<ref>[[Orosius]]. ''Historiae Adversus Paganos,'', 6:7.</ref> as ''Eboúrōnes'' (Ἐβούρωνες) by [[Strabo]] (early 1st c. AD),<ref>[[Strabo]]. ''[[Geographica|Geōgraphiká]]'', [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/strabo-geography/1917/pb_LCL050.233.xml 4:3:5].</ref> as ''Ebourōnoí'' (Ἐβουρωνοί) by [[Cassius Dio]] (3rd c. AD).<ref>[[Cassius Dio]]. ''Rhōmaïkḕ Historía'', [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/dio_cassius-roman_history/1914/pb_LCL053.413.xml XL60.5]. </ref><ref name=":0">{{Harvnb|Falileyev|2010}}, entrys.v. 2007''Eburones''.</ref>

TheMost namescholars derive the [[ethnonym]] ''Eburones'' possibly stems from the [[Gaulish language|Gaulish]] ''eburos''word for ('[[yew|yew-tree]]'), ''eburos'',<ref>{{Sfnharvnb|Gysseling|1960|p=297}}; {{Sfnharvnb|Delamarre|2003|p=159}}; {{Sfnharvnb|Busse|2006|p=199}}; {{Sfnharvnb|Toorians|2013|p=112}}</ref> itself ultimatelystemming from [[Proto-Celtic language|Proto-Celtic]] ''*eburos'' ('yew'; cf. [[Old Irish|OIr.]] ''ibar'' 'yew', [[Breton language|Middle BretonMBret.]] ''euor'' '[[Frangula alnus|alder buck-thorn]]', or [[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'', or [[German language|Ger.]] ''Eber'') has also been proposed.{{Sfn|Lambert|1994|p=34}}{{Sfn|Toorians|2013|p=112}} [[Xavier Delamarre|Delamarre]] (2003) points out that coins of the ''Aulerci [[Eburovices]]'', in [[Normandy]], show the head of a wild boar, and argues that there might have been, further northeast, a "semantic contamination, in the mixed Germano-Celtic [[Rhineland|Rhenish]] areas, of the Gaulish ''eburos'' by the Germanic quasi-homonym ''*eburaz''."{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=160}} [[Joseph Vendryes|Vendryes]] (1948) saw a Celtic 'boar-god' ''*epro'' behind the name of the yew,{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=160}} and it has been noted that the boar and the yew are both associated with concepts of lordship and longevity in the Germanic and—to a lesser extent—in Celticextent—Celtic traditions, which may provided a reason for such a "contamination".{{Sfn|Toorians|2013|p=116}}

[[Maurits Gysseling|Gysseling]] (1960) has suggested that place names such as [[Averbode Abbey|Averbode]] and Avernas ([[Hannut]]) might be derived from the Eburones.{{Sfn|Gysseling|1960|pp=85–86}}

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]] (nearthemselves 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'', [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=2:chapter=29 II.29]–[httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=2:chapter=30 II.30], [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=5:chapter=38 V.38], [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=6:chapter=32 VI.32], [httphttps://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'', [httphttps://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'', [httphttps://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'', [httphttps://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'', [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=6:chapter=31 VI.31], [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=6:chapter=33 VI.33]</ref> This apparent geographical situation, northnear ofboth the [[Condroz|Crondroz]] andregion nearand 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. AsSince archaeological findings suggest that the Eburonean territory did not extend substantially east of the Meuse in the direction of the Rhine, Heinrichs argues that thetheir Eburonesterritory werewas rather principally centred in an area located west of the Meuse.{{Sfn|Heinrichs|2008|pp=203, 205–207|p=}}

They have been identified by Belgian archaeologists with a material culture in the northern [[Limburg (Belgium)|Limburg]] and the [[Campine]] region. According to WighmanEdith Wightman (1985), "this would certainly account for the [[wikt:propinquity|propinquity]] of Eburones and [[Menapii]] mentioned by Caesar; the distribution of war-time [[stater]]s attributed to the Eburones (a mixture of [[wikt:transrhenine|transrhenine]] and Treveran elements) also corresponds with this group."{{Sfn|Wightman|1985|p=31}} Based on the concentrations of coins, Nico Roymans (2004) has proposed to also regard the eastern half of the Rhine–Meuse delta as part of the Eburonean polity. The area was later inhabited by the [[Batavi (Germanic tribe)|Batavian]]s, who likely assimilated the local Eburones in this scenario.{{Sfn|Roymans|2004|pp=23, 27}}

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, and. Caesar also portrays the [[Scheldt]] river (''Scaldis'') as flowing into the Meuse, apparently confusing thethis river with the [[Sambre]].<ref>Caesar, ''BG'', [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=6:chapter=33 VI.33]</ref> This has led scholars to argue that Caesar or later copyists sometimes confused river names or used them differently than later writers did.<ref>{{harvnb|Wightman|1985|p=42}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Berres|first=Thomas|date=1970|title=Die Geographischen Interpolationen in Caesars Bellum Gallicum|journal=Hermes|volume=98|issue=2|pages=154–177|jstor=4475637|issn=0018-0777}}</ref> Some scholars have argued for a location in the northern [[Eifel|Eifel region]], but this is difficult to reconcile with the fact that the [[Condrusi]], who gave their name to the [[Condroz]] region, are described by Caesar as dwelling between the Treveri and Eburones. Wightman further notes that "no cultural groupings can be isolated to suit the Eburones in the north Eifel".{{Sfn|Wightman|1985|p=31}}

Caesar describes [[Atuatuca]] as a ''[[castellum]]'' ('fort, stronghold, shelter') located in the middle of the EburoneEburonean territory, which has sometimes been taken to imply that it was between the [[Meuse]] and the [[Rhine]] rivers where, in another passage, Caesar locates the greatest part of the Eburonean population.<ref>{{harvnb|Vanderhoeven|Vanderhoeven|2004|p=145}}, {{harvnb|von Petrikovits|1999|p=92}}. Cf. {{harvnb|Caesar|1917|p=6:32}} "...impedimenta omnium legionum Aduatucam contulit. Id castelli nomen est. Hoc fere est in mediis Eburonum finibus...", and {{harvnb|Caesar|1917|p=5:24}}, "pars maxima est inter Mosam ac Rhenum".</ref> The exact location theof their stronghold remains uncertain, but; it is almost certainly not the same as the later [[Civitas Tungrorum|Atuatuca Tungrorum]], which seemsappears to have been erected ''[[Ex nihilo|ex-nihilo]]'' as a Roman military base ca. 10 BC.{{Sfn|Vanderhoeven|Vanderhoeven|2004|p=|pp=148, 151}} AccordingIn tothe [[Edithwords of Wightman|Wightman]] (1985), "changes which took place after Caesar, involving new folk from across the Rhine and reorganization of existing peoples, make localization difficult."{{Sfn|Wightman|1985|p=30}}

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,. whichThis would explainprovide any origin for the place name.{{Sfn|Vanvinckenroye|2001|p=53}} Both are linguistically related to each other,{{Sfn|Toorians|2013|p=109}} although the settlement cannot be historically linked to the tribe with certainty.{{Sfn|Wightman|1985|p=30}}

During the [[Battle of the Sabis]], Caesar's forces clashed with an alliance of Belgic tribes in 57 BC in the [[Battle of the Sabis]]. Before that battleevent, information from the [[Remi]], a tribe allied with Rome, statedreported that the Germani (the Condrusi, the Eburones, the Caeraesi, and the Paemani) had collectively promised, theyto thought,send aboutaround 40,000 men. These were to join 60,000 [[Bellovaci]], 50,000 [[Suessiones]], 50,000 [[Nervii]], 15,000 [[Atrebates]], 10,000 [[Ambiani]], 25,000 [[Morini]], 9,000 [[Menapii]], 10,000 [[Caleti]], 10,000 [[Velocasses]], 10,000 [[Viromandui]], and 19,000 Aduatuci. The whole force was led by [[Galba (Suessiones)|Galba]], king of the Suessiones.<ref name="II.4">Caesar, ''BG'', [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=2:chapter=4&highlight=eburones II.4]</ref> However, the alliance did not work. The Suessiones and Bellovaci surrendered after the Romans defended the Remi and then moved towards their lands. And after this the Ambiani offered no further resistance and the Nervii, along with the Atrebates and Viromandui, formed the most important force on the day of the battle. The Eburones are not mentioned specifically in the description of the battle itself, but after the defeat the Eburones became important as one of the tribes continuing to resist Roman overlordship.

In 54 BC, Caesar's forces were still in Belgic territory, having just returned from their [[Caesar's invasions of Britain|second expedition to Britain]], and needed to be wintered. Crops had not been good, due to a drought, and this imposition upon the communities led to new conflict. This insurrection started only 15 days after a legion and five cohorts (one and a half legions) under the command of Caesar's legates, [[Quintus Titurius Sabinus]] and [[Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta]] arrived in their winter quarters in the country of the Eburones. The Eburones, encouraged by messages from the [[Treveri|Treveran]] king [[Indutiomarus]], and headed by their two kings, [[Ambiorix]] and [[Cativolcus]], attacked the Roman camp; and after inducing the Romans to leave their stronghold on the promise of a safe passage, massacred nearly all of them (approximately 6000 men).<ref>Caesar, ''BG'', [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0001%3Abook%3D5%3Achapter%3D24 V.24]-[httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Caes.+Gal.+5.37&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0001 V.37]</ref> Encouraged by this victory, Ambiorix rode personally first to the Aduatuci and then to the Nervi, arguing for a new attack on the RomanRomans wintering in Nervian territory under the command by [[Quintus Tullius Cicero]], brother of the [[Cicero|famous orator]].<ref name="V.38">Caesar, ''BG'', [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0001%3Abook%3D5%3Achapter%3D38 V.38]</ref> The Nervii agreed and summoned forces quickly from several tribes under their government, [[Centrones]], [[Grudii]], [[Levaci]], [[Pleumoxii]], and [[Geiduni]].<ref>Caesar, ''BG'', [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0001%3Abook%3D5%3Achapter%3D39 V.39]</ref> Caesar reported that this was thwarted by his timely intervention, and the Belgic allies dispersed, Caesar "fearing to pursue them very far, because woods and morasses intervened, and also [because] he saw that they suffered no small loss in abandoning their position".<ref>Caesar, ''BG'', [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Caes.+Gal.+5.40&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0001 V.40] and [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0001%3Abook%3D5%3Achapter%3D52 V.52].</ref>

In the meantime [[Labienus]], one of Caesar's most trusted generals, was wintering in the territory of the Treveri, and also came under threat when news of the Eburones rebellion spread. Eventually, he killed the king of the Treveri, Indutiomarus. "This affair having been known, all the forces of the Eburones and the Nervii which had assembled, depart; and for a short time after this action, Caesar was less harassed in the government of Gaul."<ref>Caesar, ''BG'', [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=5:chapter=58&highlight=eburones V.58]</ref> In the following year Caesar entered the country of the Eburones, and Ambiorix fled before him. Cativolcus poisoned himself with a concoction from a [[yew tree]].<ref name="v.31">Caesar, ''BG'', [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=6:chapter=31&highlight=ocean VI.31]</ref> The country of the Eburones was difficult for the Romans, being woody and swampy in parts. Caesar invited the neighboring people to come and plunder the Eburones, "in order that the life of the Gauls might be hazarded in the woods rather than the legionary soldiers; at the same time, in order that a large force being drawn around them, the race and name of that state may be annihilated for such a crime".<ref name="vi.34">Caesar, ''BG'', [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=6:chapter=34&highlight=eburones VI.34]</ref> The [[Sicambri]], from east of the Rhine, were one of the main raiders. While Caesar was ravaging the country of the Eburones, he left Quintus Tullius Cicero with a legion to protect the baggage and stores, at a place called [[Aduatuca]], which he tells us, though he had not mentioned the name of the place before, was the place where Sabinus and Cotta had been killed.<ref>Caesar, ''BG'', [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=6:chapter=32&highlight=aurunculeius VI.32], [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0001%3Abook%3D6%3Achapter%3D35 VI.35] and [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=6:chapter=37&highlight=cotta VI.37]</ref> The plan to take advantage of the Sicambri backfired when the Eburones explained to the Sicambri that the Roman supplies and booty, not the refugees, were the most attractive target for plundering.

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 corngrain that the weather of the autumnal season did not destroy. He left those who had hid themselves, if there were any, with the hope that they would all die of hunger in the winter. Caesar sayswrites that he wanted to annihilate the Eburones and their name, and indeed we hear no more of the Eburones. Their country was soon occupied by a Germanic tribe withvanished afrom differenthistory name,after the [[Tungri]]Gallic wars.{{CN|date=September However, the report of Tacitus that the Tungri were the original "''Germani''" that came earliest over the Rhine, and the way this matches the description by Caesar of the Eburones and their neighbours, leads to the possibility that they survived under a new name.2022}}

After the [[Gallic Wars]], the new tribal entities that settled in the Lower Rhine region with Roman support werelived on territories previously occupied by the Eburones.{{Sfn|Roymans|2004|p=25}} Based on a comment by [[Tacitus]], who identifies the Tungri as descendants of the first group of [[Germanic peoples|Germani]] towhich crosscrossed the Rhine and drivedrove away the Gauls, Nouwensome (1997)scholars hashave proposed that theremnants Tungri emerged fromof the former Eburonean confederation may have contributed to the ethnic composition of the [[Tungri]].{{Sfn|Nouwen|1997|p=43}} The [[Batavi (Germanic tribe)|Batavi]], who settled in the [[Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta|Rhine–Meuse delta]] fromin the late 1st century BC, probablymay also have merged with remnantremnants of older indigenous Eburonean groups that had survived in the area.{{Sfn|Roymans|2004|p=55}}

Under the Romans, one of the tribes associated with the Tungri, and apparently living in the north of their area, (in the modern [[Campine]]), were the [[ToxandriansTexuandri]]. Like the Tungri, they werehad nevernot been mentioned by Caesar. LikeSimilarly to the Condrusi (whom Caesar had mentioned, and who continued to exist under Roman rule), the Texuandri or Toxandrians were recognized as a distinct grouping for the administrative purpose of mustering troops. The etymology of this name is uncertain, but it has been proposed that it may be a translation of the original Gaulish name of the Eburones, referring to the yew tree (''[[taxus]]'' in [[Latin]]).<ref name="wightman53-54">{{Citationharvnb|last=Wightman|first=Edith Mary|title=Gallia Belgica|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aEyS54uSj88C|year=1985|publisherpp=University of California Press|isbn=978052005297053–54}}, pages 53–54.</ref>

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'', [httphttps://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]]'', [httphttps://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.<ref name="vanderhoeven">{{Citationsfn|last1=Vanderhoeven|first1=Alain|title=Archaeology in Confrontation: Aspects of Roman Military Presence in the Northwest (Studies in Honour of Prof. Em. Hugo Thoen)|page=143|editor-last=Vermeulen|editor-first=Frank|chapter=Confrontation in Archaeology: Aspects of Roman Military in Tongeren|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zY4g1kfWvCMC&pg=PA143|publisher=Ghent University|last2=Vanderhoeven|first2=Michel|year=2004|isbnp=9789038205786|editor2-last=Sas|editor2-first=Kathy|editor3-last=Dhaeze|editor3-first=Wouter143}}</ref> The name may even be an artificial name meaning "the sworn ones" or confederates.<ref name="wightman53-54" />

On the other hand, studies of placenamesplace names such as those of [[Maurits Gysseling]], have been argued to show evidence of the very early presence of early Germanic languages throughout the area north of the Ardennes. The sound changes described by "[[Grimm's Law]]" appear to have affected names with older forms, apparentlyseemingly already in the 2nd century BC. It ishas been argued furthermoreby some scholars that the older language of the area, though apparently [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]], was not Celtic (see [[Nordwestblock]]) and therefore that Celtic, though influential amongst the elite, might never have been the language of the area where the Eburones lived.<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 44.</ref>

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), wereare of Celtic origin.{{Sfn|Toorians|2013|p=114}} The firstformer is most likely the [[Gaulish language|Gaulish]] compound ''catu-uolcus'' ('war-falcon'), formed with the rootstem ''catu-'' ('combat') attached to the word ''uolcos'' ('falcon, hawk').{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|pp=111, 327}}{{Sfn|Toorians|2013|p=114}} The Eburonean name has an exact parallel in the [[Welsh language|Welsh]] ''cadwalch'' ('hero, champion, warrior').{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=327}}{{Sfn|Toorians|2013|p=114}} It has been noted that the use of the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] rootstem ''*katu-'' ('fight') as a [[Compound (linguistics)|compound]] in personal names is common to both Gallic and Germanic traditions (e.g., ''[[Caturix|Catu-rīx]]'' and ''Haðu-rīh'', which are [[Cognate|cognates]]).{{Sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=201}}{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=111}} The name 'Ambiorix' is generally analyzed as the Gaulish prefix ''ambio-'' attached to the word ''rix'' ('king'),;<ref>{{harvnb|Lambert|1994|p=60}}; {{harvnb|Delamarre|2003|p=|pp=41–42}}; {{harvnb|Lindeman|2007|p=53}}; {{harvnb|Toorians|2013|pp=114–115}}</ref> andit could be interpreted as meaning 'king of the surroundings' or 'king protector',.{{Sfn|LindemanDelamarre|20072003|p=53|pp=41–42}}{{Sfn|TooriansLindeman|20132007|ppp=114–11553}} or as the 'king of the enclosure', 'king of the surroundings'.{{Sfn|DelamarreToorians|2003|p=2013|pp=41–42114–115}}

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.<ref>{{Citationsfn|last=Wightman|first=Edith Mary|title=Gallia Belgica|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aEyS54uSj88C|year=1985|publisherpp=University of California Press|isbn=978052005297013–14}} pages 13-14.</ref>

The Eburones were probably a loose federation of several small clans, which may explain the dual kingship institution. Their political system, similar to that of the [[Sicambri|Sugambri]], included several kings ruling on different territories.{{Sfn|Wightman|1985|p=31}}{{Sfn|Roymans|2004|p=|pp=19, 50}} The distribution of Eburonean [[Triskelion|triskeles]] [[Stater|staters]] also points to a polycentric political structures with several cores of influence.{{Sfn|Roymans|2004|p=50}} According to Roymans, "the fact that the Eburones and, somewhat later, the Sugambri were in a position to triumph over Roman armies attests to the ability of groups and individuals in these societies to summon considerable strength, at least in periods of crisis."{{Sfn|Roymans|2004|p=19}} The formation of [[comitatus|comitati]] was probably common during the Late Iron Age, as evidenced by the [[retinue]] of [[equites]] that escorted [[Ambiorix]] as he fled the Roman troops, and by similar practices attested in neighbouring tribes.{{Sfn|Roymans|2004|p=19}}

At the time of the Roman conquest, the Eburones were clients of the [[Treveri]], and [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]] mentions that the Eburonean king [[Ambiorix]] began his revolt against the Romans at the insistence of the Treveri.{{Sfn|Roymans|2004|pp=21, 44}} They were also paying tribute to the Atuatuci, who were holding Eburonean hostages in chains and slavery, including the son and nephew of the Eburone king [[Ambiorix]].{{Sfn|Caesar|1917|p=5:27}} It was with these two tribes that the Eburones quickly formed a military alliance against Caesar's forces.<ref>''BG'' [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0001%3Abook%3D5%3Achapter%3D38 V.38] - [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0001%3Abook%3D5%3Achapter%3D39 V.39].</ref> Caesar also reports that, during the conflict, the Eburones had some sort of alliance, organized via their allies the Treveri, with the Germanic tribes over the [[Rhine]].<ref>''BG'' [httphttps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=6:chapter=5&highlight=eburones%2Ctreviri VI.5]</ref>

*{{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}}

*{{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|dateyear=1985|language=en|author-link=Edith Mary Wightman}}

{{PeoplesGallic of Gaulpeoples}}

[[Category:Tribes ofin pre-Roman Gaul]]

[[Category:Genocides in Europe]]