Aduatuci

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The Aduatuci or Atuatuci were a tribe formed in east Belgium from descendants of (proto-)Germanic Cimbri, Teutons, and Ambrone tribes. Originally from Jutland, the tribes combined with local fragments of Germanic and Gaul peoples forming the Aduatuci. The Aduatuci sent troops to assist the Nervii or Nervians in the Battle of the Sabis, and were later defeated by the Romans after withdrawing to a fortified Aduatuci city.

1 Background
2 Assisting the Nervians
3 Defeat
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Background

The Aduatuci were descendants of a group of Germanic tribes that migrated south-east at the end of the 2nd century BC. These tribes, the Cimbri, the Teutones, and Ambrones were engaged and defeated by Roman forces as they neared Italy. The Teutones and Ambrones were defeated by the Romans at Aqua Sextae in 102 BC. The Cimbri were defeated by the Romans in northeast Italy in 101 BC. The Aduatuci were probably the remnants of a group of the Cimbri who stayed in northern Gaul after defeating Roman forces in Gaul in 109 BC, before the Germanic tribes moved south towards Italy.

[edit] Assisting the Nervians

The Battle of Sabis took place in 57 BC between the Romans and the Nervians. Although the Roman forces under Julius Caesar eventually defeated the Nervians, the Romans were almost overtaken by the surprisingly strong tribe. The Aduatuci sent troops to assist the Nervians, but when they learned of the Nervians’ defeat, the Aduatuci retreated towards a single fort. Caesar pursued the Aduatuci to punish them for assisting the Nervians

[edit] Defeat

Map Detaling Siege of the Aduatuci

Following the Battle of the Sabis, the Aduatuci withdrew to a fortified city upstream the Meuse River from the Battle of the Sabis. The Romans followed and besieged the Aduatuci city. The Aduatuci successfully resisted the Romans' initial attacks but surrendered after the Romans erected siege weapons and approached the city with them. Caesar promised mercy if the Aduatuci surrendered, so the Aduatuci opened their gates and forfeited their weapons to the Romans. This may have been an attempt to trick the Romans and catch them off guard in a later attack. Caesar kept his word that evening by sending Roman troops out of the Aduatuci city to avoid looting and violence against the Aduatuci. The Aduatuci then engaged the Romans in a surprise attack that night. While the Aduatuci fought well, the Romans were prepared and they defeated the Aduatuci. Many Aduatuci were killed in the battle and those that survived were sold into slavery. Caesar was particularly harsh with the Aduatuci because he was angry at the violation of the initial Aduatuci surrender.

[edit] References

C. Julius Caesar. Caesar's Gallic War. Translator. W. A. McDevitte. Translator. W. S. Bohn. 1st Edition. New York. Harper & Brothers. 1869. Harper's New Classical Library.
Cassius Dio. Roman History III, Books 36-40. Translator. Earnest Cary. Translator. Herbert B. Foster. Harvard University Press. 1914. Loeb Classical Library.
The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth. Third edition. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.