Editing Ambiorix

{{short description|Eburonian king}}
{{For|the racehorse|Ambiorix (horse)}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Expand Dutch|date=October 2024}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2022}}
}}

{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Ambiorix
| office              = King and chieftain of the [[Belgae]]
| office1             = Prince of the [[Eburones]]
| image               = Image:Ambiorix.jpg
| caption             = Statue of Ambiorix in [[Tongeren]], Belgium.
| alongside2          = 
| predecessor2        = 
| party               = 
| alongside1          = 
| predecessor1        = 
| successor1          = 
| successor2          = 
| birth_name          = 
| birth_date          = 
| birth_place         = Unknown
| death_date          = Unknown year in the era BC
| death_place         = [[Gaul]]
| resting_place       = 
| spouse              = 
| children            = 
| parents             = 
| term_start          = 
| term_end            = 
| term_start1         = 
| term_end1           = 
| term_start2         = 
| term_end2           = 
| term_start3         = 
| term_end3           = 
| alongside3          = 
| predecessor3        = 
| successor3          = 
| term_start4         = 
| term_end4           = 
| alongside4          = 
| predecessor4        = 
| successor4          = 
| death_cause         = 
}}

'''Ambiorix''' ([[Gaulish]] "king of the surroundings", or "king-protector") ({{floruit}} 54–53 BC) was, together with [[Cativolcus]], prince of the [[Eburones]], leader of a [[Belgae|Belgic]] tribe of north-eastern [[Gaul]] ([[Gallia Belgica]]), where modern [[Belgium]] is located. In the nineteenth century Ambiorix became a [[Belgium|Belgian]] [[Folk hero|national hero]] because of his [[Resistance movement|resistance]] against [[Julius Caesar]], as written in Caesar's ''[[Commentarii de Bello Gallico]]''.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Smith |first=William |author-link=William Smith (lexicographer) |title=Ambiorix |editor=William Smith |editor-link=William Smith (lexicographer) |encyclopedia=[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]] |volume=1 |pages=138–139 |publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]] |location=Boston |year=1867 |url=http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0147.html |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102143053/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0147.html |archive-date=November 2, 2013}}</ref>

== Name ==
It is generally accepted that ''Ambiorix'' is a [[Gaulish]] personal name formed with the prefix ''ambio-'' attached to ''rix'' ('king'), but the meaning of the first element is debated.<ref>{{Harvnb|Evans|1967|pp=134–136}}; {{Harvnb|Lambert|1995|pp=116–117}}; {{harvnb|Delamarre|2003|p=|pp=41–42}}; {{harvnb|Lindeman|2007|p=53}}; {{harvnb|Toorians|2013|pp=114–115}}.</ref> Some scholars translate ''Ambiorix'' as the 'king of the surroundings' or 'king of the enclosure', by interpreting ''ambio-'' as a thematized form of ''ambi-'' ('around, on both sides') meaning 'surroundings' or else 'enclosure' (cf. [[Old Irish]] ''imbe'' 'enclosure').{{Sfn|Evans|1967|pp=134–136}}{{Sfn|Lambert|1995|pp=115–116}}{{sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=|pp=41–42}} Alternatively, [[Fredrik Otto Lindeman]] renders ''Ambiorix'' as the 'protector-king', by deriving ''ambio-'' from the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] compound {{lang|ine-x-proto|*h₂mbhí-péh₂}} ('protector'; cf. [[Indo-Aryan languages|Old Indic]] ''adhi-pá-'' 'protector, ruler, master, king').{{sfn|Lindeman|2007|p=53}}{{sfn|Toorians|2013|pp=114–115}}

== Biography ==

===Early history===
In 57 BCE, Julius Caesar conquered parts of [[Gaul]] and also [[Belgica]] (Belgium, modern-day Northern France, Luxembourg, part of present-day Netherlands below the [[Rhine]] River; and the north-western portion of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany). There were several tribes in the country who fought against each other frequently. The [[Eburones]] were ruled by Ambiorix and [[Catuvolcus]]. In 54 BCE, Caesar's troops urgently needed more food, and so the local tribes were forced to give up part of their [[harvest]], which had not been good that year. Understandably, the [[starving]] Eburones were reluctant to do so and Caesar ordered that [[Military camp|camps]] be built near the Eburones' villages. Each [[centurion]] was ordered to make sure the food supplies were delivered to the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] [[soldiers]]. This created resentment among the Eburones.

Although [[Julius Caesar]] had freed him from paying tribute to the [[Atuatuci]], Ambiorix joined [[Catuvolcus]] in the winter of 54 BCE in an uprising against the [[Roman Republic|Roman]] forces under [[Quintus Titurius Sabinus]] and [[Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta]].

===Resisting the Romans===
{{Main|Ambiorix's revolt}}
[[Image:Liège, Palais Provincial, épisodes des guerres d'Ambiorix.JPG|thumb|Ambiorix attacking Roman soldiers, relief at the Liège Provincial Palace]]
Because a drought had disrupted his grain supply, Caesar was forced to winter his legions among the rebellious Belgic tribes. Roman troops led by Sabinus and Cotta were wintering among the Eburones when they were attacked by them, led by Ambiorix and Cativolcus. Ambiorix deceived the Romans, telling them the attack was made without his consent, and further advised them to flee as a large Germanic force was preparing to cross the Rhine. Trusting Ambiorix, Sabinus and Cotta's troops left the next morning. A short distance from their camp, the Roman troops were ambushed by the Eburones and massacred.

Elsewhere, another Roman force under [[Quintus Tullius Cicero]], younger brother of the orator [[Cicero|Marcus]], were wintering amongst the Nervii. Leading a coalition of rebellious Belgic tribes, Ambiorix surrounded Cicero's camp. After a long while, a Roman messenger was finally able to slip through the Belgic lines and get word of the uprising to Caesar. Mobilizing his legions, Caesar immediately marched to Cicero's aid. As they approached the besieged Roman camp, the Belgae moved to engage Caesar's troops. Vastly outnumbered, Caesar ordered his troops to appear confused and frightened, and they successfully lured the Belgae to attack them on ground favourable to the Romans. Caesar's forces launched a fierce counterattack, and soon put the Belgae to flight. Later, Caesar's troops entered Cicero's camp to find most of the men wounded.

Meanwhile, [[Indutiomarus]], a leader of the Treveri, began to harass Labienus's camp daily, eventually provoking Labienus to send out his cavalry with specific orders to kill Indutiomarus. They did so, and routed the remnants of Indutiomarus's army. Caesar personally remained in Gaul for the remainder of winter due to the renewed Gallic threat.

===Caesar's revenge===
When the [[Roman Senate]] became aware of the latest events, Caesar swore to destroy all the Belgic tribes. Ambiorix had killed fifteen [[Cohort (military unit)|cohorts]]. A Belgic attack on Cicero, then stationed with a legion in the territory of the [[Nervii]], failed due to the timely appearance of Caesar. The Roman campaigns against the Belgae took a few years, but eventually the tribes were slaughtered or driven out and their fields burned. The Eburones disappeared from history after this genocidal event. According to the writer [[Florus]], Ambiorix and his men succeeded in escaping across the [[Rhine]] and vanished from history.<ref>[[Florus]], iii. 10. § 8</ref>

==Legacy==
Caesar wrote about Ambiorix in his commentary about his battles against the Gauls, ''[[De Bello Gallico]]''. In this text he also famously wrote: "Of these [three regions], the Belgae are the bravest." ("...&nbsp;''Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae''&nbsp;...").

Ambiorix remained a relatively obscure figure until the nineteenth century. The independence of Belgium in 1830 spurred a search for [[national heroes]]. In Caesar's ''De Bello Gallico'', Ambiorix and his deeds were rediscovered. In 1841, the Belgian poet Joannes Nolet de Brauwere Van Steeland wrote a [[lyric poetry|lyric]]al [[epic poetry|epic]] about Ambiorix. Furthermore, on 5 September 1866 a statue of Ambiorix was erected on the main market square in [[Tongeren]], Belgium, referred to by Caesar as [[Atuatuca]], i.e. Atuatuca Tungrorum.

Today, Ambiorix is one of the most famous characters in [[Belgium|Belgian]] history. Many companies, bars and [[friterie]]s have named themselves after him, and in many Belgian [[comics]] such as [[Suske en Wiske]] and [[Jommeke]] he plays a guest role. There was also a short-lived comic called ''Ambionix'',<ref>{{cite web|title=Ambionix official home page |url=http://www.wimswerts.be/htmlmap/ambionix.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915093052/http://www.wimswerts.be/htmlmap/ambionix.html |archive-date=2008-09-15 }}</ref> which featured a scientist teleporting a Belgic chief, loosely based on Ambiorix, to modern-day Belgium.

==In popular culture==
* Ambiorix leads the Gallic civilization in the ''New Frontier'' season pass of the [[4X]] video game ''[[Civilization VI]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPhGpbCIPUA| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211122/NPhGpbCIPUA| archive-date=2021-11-22 | url-status=live|title=Civilization VI - First Look: Gaul Civilization VI - New Frontier Pass|publisher=Official [[Civilization (series)|Civilization]] Website|date=September 22, 2020|access-date=September 22, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{Cite book|last=Delamarre|first=Xavier|title=Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental|year=2003|publisher=Errance|isbn=9782877723695|author-link=Xavier Delamarre}}
*{{Cite book|last=Evans|first=D. Ellis|title=Gaulish Personal Names: A Study of Some Continental Celtic Formations|date=1967|publisher=Clarendon Press|oclc=468437906|author-link=Ellis Evans}}
*{{Cite journal|last=Lambert|first=Pierre-Yves|author-link=Pierre-Yves Lambert|year=1995|title=Préverbes gaulois suffixés en -io- : ambio-, ario-, cantio-|journal=Études celtiques|volume=31|issue=1|pages=115–121|doi=10.3406/ecelt.1995.2065}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Lindeman|first=Fredrik O.|author-link=Fredrik Otto Lindeman|year=2007|title=Gaulish ambiorix|journal=Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie|language=de|volume=55|issue=1|pages=50–55|doi=10.1515/ZCPH.2007.50}}
* {{Cite book|last=Toorians|first=Lauran|title=Archaeological Contributions to Materials and Immateriality|year=2013|publisher=Gallo-Roman Museum of Tongeren|isbn=978-90-74605-61-8|editor-last=Creemers|editor-first=Guido|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 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.academia.edu/33460316/Toorians-Aduatuca.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}
{{refend}}

===Primary sources===
* Caesar, ''[[Gallic Wars|De Bello Gallico]]'' v. 26–51, vi. 29–43, viii. 24; Dio Cassius xl. 7–11; Florus iii. 10.

==External links==
* [https://www.livius.org/am-ao/ambiorix/ambiorix.html Ambiorix]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ambiorix}}
[[Category:1st-century BC monarchs in Europe]]
[[Category:Belgae]]
[[Category:Celtic warriors]]
[[Category:1st-century BC Gaulish tribal chiefs]]
[[Category:Early Germanic warriors]]
[[Category:Barbarian people of the Gallic Wars]]