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Sicambri

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The approximate positions of someGermanic peoplesreported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 1st century.
Roman Gaul and Germania east of the Rhine around 70 A. D.

TheSicambri,also known as theSugambriorSicambrians,were aGermanic peoplewho duringRoman timeslived on the east bank of the riverRhine,in what is nowGermany,near the border with theNetherlands.They were first reported byJulius Caesar,who described them as Germanic (Germani), though he did not necessarily define this in terms of language.

Whether or not the Sicambri spoke aGermanicorCelticlanguage, or something else, is not certain, because they lived in the so-calledNordwestblockzone where these two language families came into contact and were both influential.

By the 3rd century, the region in which they and their neighbours had lived had become part of the territory of theFranks,which was a new name that possibly represented a new alliance of older tribes, possibly including the Sicambri. However, many Sicambri had been moved into the Roman empire by this time.

Language

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The material culture of the Sicambri which was a variant of theLa Tène culture,which is associated withCeltic languages.[1]

Like theCimbri,and like their neighbours across the Rhine, theEburones,many names of Sicambrian leaders end in typical Celtic suffixes like -rix (Baetorix, Deudorix, etc.).

If the Sicambri were not Celtic speakers themselves, this could also indicate intense contacts with Celtic peoples across the Rhine inGaul.

History

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The Sicambri appear in history around 55 BC, during the time of conquests ofGaulbyJulius Caesarand his expansion of theRoman Empire.Caesar wrote in hisCommentarii de Bello Gallicothat near the confluence of theRhineandMeusea battle took place in the land of theMenapiiwith a large number ofTencteriandUsipetes,who then proceeded to move south. When these two peoples were routed by Caesar, their cavalry escaped and found asylum back across the river with the Sicambri. Caesar then built a bridge across the river to punish the Sicambri. In 53 BC, Caesar confronted a raiding army of Sicambri who had crossed the Rhine to take advantage of the Roman war with theEburones.

When Caesar defeated theEburones,he invited all of the peoples that were interested to destroy the remainder. The Sicambri responded to Caesar's call. They took large amounts of cattle, slaves and plunder. Caesar commented that "these men are born for war and raids". "No swamp or marsh will stop them". After the raid on the Eburones they moved on against the Romans. They destroyed some of Caesar's units, in revenge for his campaign against them, and when the remains of the legion withdrew into the city ofAtuatuca,the Sicambri went back across the Rhine.

Suetoniussays thatAugustusmoved the Sicambri, presumably only a part of them, to the west bank of the Rhine, like theUbii.[2]

Claudius Ptolemylocated the Sicambri, together with theBructeri Minores,at the most northern part of the Rhine and south of theFrisiiwho inhabit the coast north of the river. Matching the much earlier description of Caesar,Strabolocated the Sicambri next to the Menapii, “who dwell on both sides of the riverRhinenear its mouth, in marshes and low thorny woods. It is opposite to these Menapii that the Sicambri are situated ". Strabo describes them as Germanic, and that beyond them are theSueviand other peoples.[3]Elsewhere Strabo mentions that the Rhine valley Germans have been mainly displaced: "there are but few remaining, and some portion of them are Sicambri". He apparently understood their position on the Rhine to literally be on the coast.[4]With the German wars still on-going, he describes them as being one of the most well-known Germanic tribes in his time.[5]

In 16 BC their leader Melo, brother of Baetorix, organised a raid and defeated a Roman army under the command ofMarcus Lollius,which sparked a reaction from the Roman Empire and helped start the series ofGermanic Wars.Later the Sicambri under Deudorix, son of Baetorix, joined the rebellion ofArminiuswhich subsequently annihilated the 3 Roman legions ofPublius Quinctilius Varus.

In 12BC and 11 BC, the descriptions of the wars ofNero Claudius Drususshow that the tribe was living to the south of the riverLippe,with theUsipetesnow settled to their north.[6]In 9 BC the Sicambri battled the Romans in an alliance with the Cherusci and Suevi and lost. At least a part was forced to move to the south side of the lower Rhine, where they possibly merged into Romanized populations such as theTungriorCugerni.[7]

In contrast to those Sicambri who were moved west of the Rhine, the main part of the Sicambri "migrated deep into the country anticipating the Romans" according toStrabo.It has been suggested that theMarsiwere a part of the Sicambri who managed to stay east of the Rhine after most had been moved from the area to join the Eburones and otherGermani cisrhenani.[8]

In 26 AD some Sicambrian auxiliaries allied to Rome were involved in crushing an uprising ofThraciantribesmen.[9]By the time of Rome's conflict with the BritishSilures,Tacitus reports that the Sicambri could be mentioned as an historical example of a tribe who "had been formerly destroyed or transplanted into Gaul".[10]

Martial,in hisLiber De Spectaculis,a series of epigrams written to celebrate the games in the Colosseum under Titus or Domitian, noted the attendance of numerous peoples, including the Sicambri: "With locks twisted into a knot, are come the Sicambrians..."[11]


Sicambri as poetic name for Franks

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In Roman andMerovingiantimes,panegyricsplayed an important role in the transmission of culture. One of the ritual customs of these poems is the use of archaic names for contemporary things. Romans were often called Trojans, andFrankswere called Sicambri. An example of this custom is remembered by the 6th-century historianGregory of Tours(II, 31), who states that the Merovingian Frankish leaderClovis I,on the occasion of his baptism into theCatholicfaith, was addressed as a Sicamber bySaint Remigius,the officiatingbishop of Rheims.At the crucial moment of Clovis's baptism, Remigius declared, "bend down your head, you proud Sicamber. Honour what you have burnt. Burn what you have honoured." It is likely that this recalled a link between the Sicambri and the Franks.

More examples of Franks being called Sicamber can be found in thePanegyrici Latini,Life of King Sigismund,Life of King Dagobertand other old texts.

Sicambri in Frankish mythology

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Building Sicambria

An anonymous work of 727 calledLiber Historiae Francorumstates that following the fall ofTroy,12,000 Trojans led by chiefsPriamandAntenormoved to theTanais(Don) river, settled inPannonianear theSea of Azovand founded a city called Sicambria. After altercations theAlansand Emperor Valentinian (the late 4th century AD), who renamed them Franks, they moved to the Rhine.

These stories have obvious difficulties. Historians, including eyewitnesses like Caesar, have given us accounts that place the Sicambri firmly at the delta of the Rhine, and archaeologists have confirmed ongoing settlement of peoples. Frankish historianFredegaralso has the Franks originate in Troy but lets them move straight to the Rhine.

Notes

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  1. ^Heinrichs, Johannes (2005), "Sugambrer",Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde,vol. 30
  2. ^Suetonius,Divus Augustus21
  3. ^Strabo,"3",Geography,vol. IV
  4. ^Strabobook 7 chap 1
  5. ^book 7 chap 2.
  6. ^Cassius Dio54.32.
  7. ^Florus, II.30(alsohere). Also see Orosius.
  8. ^J. N. Lanting & J. van der Plicht (Dec 15, 2010)."De ¹⁴C Chronologie van de Nederlandse Pre- en Protohistorie VI".Palaeohistoria.51/52. Barkhuis.ISBN9789077922736.Retrieved2015-04-25.
  9. ^Tacitus, The Annals4.47
  10. ^Tacitus, Annals,12.39.
  11. ^Martial,Liber de spectaculis,epigram 3, line 9.

Bibliography

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  • Heinrichs, Johannes (2005)."Sugambrer".In Beck, Heinrich; Geuenich, Dieter;Steuer, Heiko(eds.).Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde[Dictionary of Germanic antiquity studies] (in German). Vol. 30. Berlin, New York: de Gruyter.ISBN3110183854.
  • Bruno Krüger (Hrsg.),Die Germanen – Geschichte und Kultur der germanischen Stämme in Mitteleuropa. Ein Handbuch in zwei Bänden.Bd. 1, 4. Auflage, Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1983 (Publications of the Central Institute for Ancient History and Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the GDR, Bd. 4).
  • Alexander Sitzmann, Friedrich E. Grünzweig, Hermann Reichert (Hrsg.):Die altgermanischen Ethnonyme.Fassbaender, Wien 2008,ISBN978-3-902575-07-4.
  • Reinhard Wolters,Die Schlacht im Teutoburger Wald. Arminius, Varus und das römische Germanien.Beck, München 2008,ISBN978-3-406-57674-4.
  • Ian Wood - The Merovingian Kingdoms. Pearson Education, 1994.

Primary sources

  • Julius Caesar -Commentarii de Bello Gallico,particularly Book 6, Chapter 35
  • Martial - Liber De Spectaculis, 3
  • Tacitus - Annals
  • Strabo - Geography
  • Ptolemy - The Geography
  • Fredegar - The 4th book of the chronicle of Fredegar with its continuations, translated by J. M. Wallace-Hadrill. Books on Demand, reprint 2005.

See also

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