Ambivareti

The Ambivareti were a small ancient Gallic tribe living in what is now the region of Burgundy during the Iron Age. They were clients of the most powerful Aedui.

Name

Aedui core territory (in red) and confederation (in brown), with allies (in pink) and enemies (in grey)

They are attested as Ambivareti by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC). ^{[1] [2]}

According to Xavier Delamarre, the ethnic name Ambivareti is derived from the Gaulish root uer- ('river'), which is also attested as uar- in place and river names. ^[3]

Helmut Birkhan suggested that the similarity in name with the Ambivariti, located west of the Meuse in modern Belgium, could point to a common origin prior to subsequent migrations. ^[4]

Geography

The location of their territory, somewhere in the vicinity of Aeduan territory, remains uncertain. ^[2]

History

During the Gallic Wars (58–50 BC), they are cited by Caesar as clients of the Aedui. ^[2]

From the Aedui and their dependents (Segusiavi, Ambivareti, Aulerci Brannovices, Blannovii) they ordered thirty-five thousand.

— Caesar, Gallic Wars, VII 75

He [Caesar] sent Gaius Antistius Reginus to the Ambivareti, Titus Sextius to the Bituriges, Gaius Caninius Rebilus to the Ruteni, each with a single legion.

— Caesar, Gallic Wars, VII 90

References

1. Caesar, VII 75, 90
2. Kruta 2000, p. 409.
3. Delamarre 2003, p. 301.
4. Birkhan 1997, p. 235 n. 1.

Primary sources

• Caesar (1917). The Gallic War. Loeb Classical Library. Translated by Edwards, H. J. Harvard University Press. ISBN   978-0-674-99080-7.

Secondary sources

• Birkhan, Helmut (1997). Kelten: Versuch einer Gesamtdarstellung ihrer Kultur. Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. ISBN   978-3-7001-2609-6.
• Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental. Errance. ISBN   9782877723695.
• Kruta, Venceslas (2000). Les Celtes, histoire et dictionnaire : des origines à la romanisation et au christianisme. Robert Laffont. ISBN   2-221-05690-6.