Ariovistus

Ariovistus († 54 BC) was a prince of the Germanic Suevi in the 1st century BC and opponents of Gaius Julius Caesar in the Gallic Wars.

Life

Ariovistus origin is unknown. His Gallic ( Celtic ) language skills to have been unusual for a Germanic people. It is reported by his two wives (one Suebin from his home and the sister of the king Voccio Norian ) who came to escape their lives, and his two daughters, only one of which survived the events and was taken prisoner.

Around the year 71 BC Ariovistus crossed with about 15,000 men the Upper Rhine and invaded Gaul. Enlisted by the Gallic Sequani and Arverni ( the tribe of Vercingetorix ) should withdraw its troops supporting this in a dispute for supremacy in Gaul to fight the romans friendly Aedui. 61 BC Ariovistus defeated the Gallic Aedui at the Battle of Magetobriga (now La - Moigte -de- Broie at Pontailler -sur -Saône and Heuilley -sur -Saône ), and made ​​them tributary. He was autocratic and cruel ruled ( after Caesar representation that is certainly not objective) of the Aedui. The Aedui called allied with them Roman Empire for help, this remained passive because of domestic disputes. The Roman Senate appointed Ariovistus even a " friend of the Roman people ." The reason for this is unclear, but still shows its importance even before the intervention of Caesar in Gaul.

Probably Ariovistus was also looking for a new settlement area, as Caesar reports that he sent more Germans across the Rhine until their numbers have increased to allegedly 120,000. This now also occupied a third of the fertile area of the Sequani and demanded a another third. Ariovistus had members of the Germanic peoples of the Haruden, Vangiones, Triboci, Sedusier, Marcomanni and Nemeter settle in the newly acquired territory, to support his rule.

The Gauls now asked Caesar together to help. This was clear that a larger number of Germans in Gaul, sooner or later also threatened the Roman Empire and that he must act. Caesar sent ambassadors to Ariovistus and told him not to bring any other Germanic tribes across the Rhine to release hostages held by the Aedui and let the Aedui and their allies in peace. Ariovistus sent word confidently in return, that the Romans did not dictate how they should react to the winner. He would not do a military confrontation out of the way.

Caesar took advantage of this - as before his intervention against the Helvetii - as an excuse to "free Gaul " ( ie the part of Gaul that is not part of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis, or Gallia Transalpina was ) to intervene. He first occupied the capital sequanische Vesontio, due to their mounting a strategically important objective, and provided his troops. Here his troops first heard of the immense size and the fearsome view of their opponents, so that they got to do with fear. Only due to an impassioned speech Caesar could keep his legions of mutiny. This representation is, like many others, represented by Caesar certainly exaggerated. Course descriptions in De Bello Gallico Its also pursued their own interests, which he sought to support through subjective descriptions.

In a battle near the Rhine, probably in what is now Alsace in Mulhouse, in the noisy completely exaggerated Roman propaganda fell 80,000 Germans struck Caesar in 58 BC Ariovistus and be composed of members from seven strains army. This fled with a few warriors back across the Rhine into Germany. After that, only more reports that in the year 54 BC the Teutons had mourned him.

Ancient assessment

The main source for the person Ariovistus is the first book of Caesar's De Bello Gallico work. Also, the Roman senator and historian Cassius Dio, who wrote a comprehensive history of Rome in the early third century AD, describes the events, which he relied on older templates and probably did not follow Caesar description. Caesar describes him as a true wild Teutons and reports of his atrocities among the Gauls, but are not consistently the image of a stupid barbarians. The discussion that led Ariovistus via Messenger with Caesar, shows a confident attitude. Caesar calls him rex Germanorum ( German king) and does not speak of a Suevi.

Archeology

The military campaigns of the Suevi to Ariovistus belong with which the Marcomanni, to the beginnings of an archaeologically identifiable Hiking motion Rhine and the Elbe, which found its preliminary end in the kingdom of the Marcomanni in Bohemia. Graves with valuable grave goods of these Germanic warrior caste were also found in the Thuringian area since the 1930s.

Swell

• Gaius Iulius Caesar: De Bello Gallico 1.30 to 54.
• Cassius Dio: Romaike Historia 38.34 to 50.
• Plutarch: Caesar from 19.6 to 12.
• Appian Celtica, fragments 1, 9 and 16