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[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: | Limes Modern Bavai, capital ( civitas) of the  Nervii, in the French Département Nord not far off the Belgian border. The Celtic place name as well as some scanty finds from the Latène period hint at the possibility that a modest pre-Roman settlement existed. However, B. is a Roman foundation, and has to be seen in the context of Agrippa's road building programme for the reorganization of Gaul (20/19 BC). At this junction of the links with Durocort…

[German version] Region (Amm. Marc. 17,8,3) in the modern provinces of Noord-Brabant, Antwerpen and Limburg, in the Middle Ages the earldom of Teisterbant. The population (Texuandri: Plin. HN 4,106; ILS 2556; CIL III, 6239; 14214) consisted of different groups, among them Germanic peoples which gathered in the former settlement area of the Eburones. The Salii [1], who settled in T. in Late Antiquity, were defeated in AD 358 by Iulianus [11], but may have remained in the country and made T. the starting point for their expansion in the 4th and 5th cents. Schön, Franz (Regensburg) Bibliograp…

[German version] River in Picardy (France), modern Somme, rises north-east of St. Quentin and flows into the mare Britannicum (English Channel) at Abbeville. The form S. itself is not attested but reconstructed from the name of the city Samarobriva. Other forms of the name: Sambra (Not. Dign. Occ. 38,8: classis Sambrica), Somena (Ven. Fort. 7,4,15), Sumena (Greg. Tur. Franc. 2,9), Sumina, Sumna, Summana ( cf. [1. 1335 f.]). In Not. Dign. Occ. loc. cit., the modern Somme is referred to as Sambra [2]; in Ptol. 2,9,2, the river is called Φροῦδις/ Phroûdis. Schön, Franz (Regensburg) Bibliog…

[German version] (Σηκοανοί/ Sēkoanoí, Σηκουανοί/ Sēkouanoí). A Celtic people, ethnically and culturally related to the north and east Gallic tribes, who in the Prehistoric Period presumably lived on the Sequana [1] (Seine) first, later in present-day Franche-Comté. In the mid 1st cent. BC, the rule of king Catamantaloedes was succeeded by an aristocratic regime (Caes. B Gall. 1,3,4). The S. called the Germani into their country against the Haedui and were forced to cede to them large parts of their t…

[German version] City of the Leuci in Gallia Belgica (It. Ant. 365,3; Tab. Peut. 2,5; Νάσιον/ Násion, Ptol. 2,9,13) between the rivers Mosella and Matrona [2] in the region of the present-day communities of Naix-aux-Forge and Saint-Amand-sur-Ornain. The Gallo-Roman city, located in the Ornain valley, succeeded a Celtic oppidum (52 ha) situated on the neighbouring hill of Boviolles. N. is located on the military road leading from Durocortorum to Tullum and Divodurum (Tab. Peut. l.c.; It. Ant. l.c.), but its importance in transportation is prim…

[German version] (Οὐέσσονες/ Ouéssones, Ptol. 2,9,11). People in Gallia Belgica in the particularly fertile modern Soissonais (departement of Aisne/Oise). With the Remi to the east, the S. formed a cultural identity, linked by the same law, the same magistrates and a unified commander-in-chief (Caes. B Gall. 2,3,4 f.). In about 80 BC, Diviciacus [1] gained supremacy as far as the southeast of Britain. When Caesar invaded in 58/7 BC, the state unity of the S. and the pro-Roman Remi disintegrated. Th…

[German version] Settlement area of the  Catalauni in modern Champagne, repeatedly the scene of significant battles, thus in AD 273 the victory of emperor Aurelianus over the Gallic usurper  Esuvius Tatricus (SHA Aurelian. 23,3; Eutr. 9,13; Jer. Chron. AD 273), and in AD 366 the victory of general Iovinus over a Germanic army (Amm. Marc. 27,2,4). The Campi Catalauni attained particular fame with the battle of Châlon of 451, when, under Avitus' leadership, a coalition between Rome and the Visigoths…

[German version] (Τοῦγγροι/ Toûngroi). A tribe in Gallia Belgica (It. Ant. 358,15; Ptol. 2,9,9) that had not yet appeared at the time of Caesar's capture of Gallia. At the time, the Germani [2] Cisrhenani were settling between the Scaldis (Schelde) and the Rhenus [2] (Rhine) under the hegemony of the Eburones. After the defeat inflicted upon the latter by Caesar (Caes. B Gall. 6,5; 6,29-34; 8,24 f.), the entire political structure of the Germani Cisrhenani was dissolved in accordance with Roman policy. In the Augustan Period, the civitas of the T. was founded in the western area …

[German version] Small town between the Seltzbach and the Sauer, at the mouth of these two rivers as they flow into the Rhine (today one of the Rhine arms), present-day Sel(t)z (Département Bas-Rhin southeast of Wissembourg). S. was situated on the border of the civitates of the Triboci and the Nemetes and was classified as belonging to them at least in late antiquity. The roads Mogontiacum-Argentorate and Saravus-Vosegus-Agri Decumates crossed here (It. Ant. 354,6; Tab. Peut. 3,3). There are traces of settlements dating to the Bronze Age; a Celtic oppidum from the pre-Roman era is …

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Celts Vicus near Wederath (Bernkastel-Wittlich district) on the Roman road Augusta Treverorum--Mogontiacum (Tab. Peut.; CIL XIII 7555a). The burial ground belonging to it shows continuous use from the 4th cent. BC to the 4th cent. AD. The beginnings of the vicus, however, did not occur until the 1st cent. AD. A preliminary settlement of Latène or early Roman times could not yet be documented. After the turmoil of AD 275/6, B. remained inhabited until the 4th cent. due to its location and its significance for traffic. Schön, Fran…

(Βελγικοί; Belgikoí: Cass. Dio 39,1; 40,42; Βέλγαι; Bélgai: Str. 4,1,1). [German version] A. Origins According to Caesar's division of Gallia into three population groups (Caes. B Gall. 1,1), the B. were the one settling between the Seine, Marne, North Sea and Rhine; their southern spread is not specified. Little can be said with certainty about the origins of the B. At the beginning of the 3rd cent. BC, tribal groups, presumably from Jutland and the Baltic region, invaded this region (Mela 3,36; 57; Amm. Ma…

[German version] Modern Tournai/Doornik in the Belgian province of Hainault. Gallo-Roman vicus on both banks of the Scaldis (Scheldt) in the border region between the Menapii and Nervii, a node on the route from Gesoriacum (Boulogne-sur-mer) to Bagacum (modern Bavai: Tab. Peut. 2,3;  It. Ant. 367,7), from which roads lead to Castellum (modern Cassel; It. Ant. 377,5) and Tervanna (ibid. 378,11). There is evidence of traces of settlement as early as the Iron Age, the Gallo-Roman presence i…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: | Gallia/Gaul Principal town of the civitas of the Ambiani, Late Antique Ambianis, modern Amiens (Dépt. Somme) at a crossing ( -briva) over the Samara (Caes. B Gall. 5,24,1; 47,2; 53,3; Cic. Fam. 7,11,2; 12,1,16; Tab. Peut. 2,3; CIL XIII 3490; Notae Tironianae 73 Zangenmeister; Honorius, Cosmographia 36 B1 Riese; in Ptol. 2,9,4 alternatively: Σαμαρόβριγα/ Samaróbriga; ILS 5839; It. Ant. 379,9 f.; 380,1: Samarabriva). No evidence of a preceding Celtic settlement has been found [1]. Its geographical charact…

[German version] People in Gallia Belgica between Matrona and Mosella, north-west of the Sequani, south-west of the Mediomatrici; their territory extended in the east and the south-east up to the Vosges (Caes. B Gall. 2,14; Tac. Hist. 1,64; Ptol. 2,9,13; Plin. HN 4,106; Luc. 1,242); civitas/capital was Tullum. A spring and healing cult has been attested with the L. - either in the form of Apollo worship (Graux, Malaincourt) or the Celtic Apollo Grannus (Tullum, Nasium, Grand) [1] or a nameless deity (Laneuveville) [2]. According to Claudi…

[German version] The uplands which extend over some 200 km in eastern France (Caes. B Gall. 4,10; Luc. 1,397; Plin. HN 16,197; Vibius Sequester 145,16 Riese; Vosagus: Tab. Peut. 3,2-4; Ven. Fort. 7,4; Greg. Tur. Franc. 10,10), modern Vosges Mountains, form in the east the western edge of the Upper Rhine lowlands and in the west cross into the Lorraine plateau and the Monts Faucilles, in the north continue in the Palatinate Forest and in the south descend towards the Burgundy Gate. The V. is considered to be the boundary…

[German version] [1] River in Gallia Belgica River in Gallia Belgica, mentioned in ancient saints' legends (e.g., MGH Scriptorum rerum Merovingiorum 5,634,12; 5,643,12; details in [1. 1338]), modern Sambre, rising on the western edge of the Ardennes and flowing into the Mosa [1] (Meuse/Maas) near Namur. Identification with the Sabis [1] (Caes. B Gall. 2,16,1; 2,18) is uncertain. Schön, Franz (Regensburg) Bibliography 1 Holder. [German version] [2] Modern Somme Besides the modern Sambre (= S. [1]), the Samara was also called the S.  (cf. Not. Dign. Occ. 38,8). T…

[German version] A people of Gallia Belgica, Northern France, settled in the region of Picardie on the so-called 'sill of Vermandois', on the upper courses of the Samara (the modern Somme) and Isar(a) [2] (the modern Oise; Liv. Per. 104; Plin. HN 106; Ptol. 2,9,11; Oros. 6,7). In part surrounded by dense forests, the V. had as neighbours to the north and north-east the Nervii and Atrebates [1], to the west the Ambiani and Bellovaci, and to the south the Suessiones. During Caesar’s Gallic War, they…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Batavian Revolt Today's Bitburg, vicus located on a naturally elevated site along the Roman road Augusta Treverorum -- Colonia (It. Ant. 372,4), centre of the Treverian pagus of the Bedenses. Inscriptions indicate that B. sported a lively theatre (CIL XIII 4132; BRGK 40, 1959, 125,8) and activities of   iuniores (CIL XIII 4131). After B.'s destruction around AD 275/6, it was newly built in the 4th cent. as a military fort with oval surrounding walls (two hectares) and was i…

[German version] Oppidum of the  Bellovaci, mentioned in Caes. B Gall. 2,13, localization uncertain. It is a matter of dispute whether it was a settlement on the same location as -- and preceding -- the capital of the civitas  Caesaromagus, or whether is was a Celtic settlement in a completely different location (Bailleul sur Thérain, Breteuil sur Noye). Schön, Franz (Regensburg)

[German version] Present-day Arlon-Arel (Belgium, province of Luxembourg), vicus of the civitas of the Treveri, probably the main town of one of their pagi . It was built by the sources of the Semois at the crossing point of the important major roads from Durocortorum to Augusta [6] Treverorum (Itin. Anton. 366,2; [1]) and from Divodurum to Aduatuca. In view of the threat from barbarians the settlement was transferred to the northern hill town (present-day St. Donat) at the end of the 3rd/beginning o…