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The Atrebates (singular Atrebas, meaning "settlers") were a Belgic tribe of Gaul and Britain before the Roman conquests.

The Atrebates in Gaul

The Gaulish Atrebates lived in or around modern Artois in northern France. Their capital, Nemetocenna, is now the city of Arras.

In 57 BC they were part of a Belgic military alliance in response to Julius Caesar's conquests elsewhere in Gaul, contributing 15,000 men. Caesar took this build-up as a threat and marched against it, but the Belgae had the advantage of position and the result was a stand-off. When no battle was forthcoming the Belgic alliance broke up, determining to gather to defend whichever tribe Caesar attacked. Caesar subsequently marched against several tribes and achieved their submission.

The Atrebates then joined with the Nervii and Viromandui and attacked Caesar at the battle of the Sabis but were there defeated. After thus conquering the Atrebates, Caesar appointed one of their countrymen, Commius, as their king. Commius was involved in Caesar's two expeditions to Britain in 55 and 54 BC and negotiated the surrender of Cassivellaunus. In return for his loyalty he was also given authority over the Morini. However he later turned against the Romans and joined in the revolt led by Vercingetorix in 52 BC. After Vercingetorix's defeat at the Siege of Alesia, Commius had further confrontations with the Romans, negotiated a truce with Mark Antony, and ended up fleeing to Britain with a group of followers. However, he appears to have retained some influence in Gaul: coins of post-conquest date have been found stamped with his name, paired with either Garmanos or Carsicios, who may have been his sons or regents.

Ptolemy's 2nd century Geography refers to the "Atribati" living on the coast of Belgic Gaul, near the river Sequana (Seine), and names Metacum as a town of theirs.

The Atrebates in Britain

Commius soon established himself as king of the British Atrebates, a kingdom he may have founded. Their territory comprised modern Hampshire, West Sussex and Surrey, centred on the capital Calleva Atrebatum (modern Silchester).

The settlement of the Atrebates in Britain was not a mass population movement. Archaeologist Barry Cunliffe argues that they "seem to have comprised a series of indigenous tribes, possibly with some intrusive Belgic element, given initial coherence by Commius". It is possible that the name "Atrebates", as with many "tribal" names in this period, referred only to the ruling house or dynasty and not to an ethnic group; Commius and his followers, after arriving in Britain, may have established a power-base and gradually expanded their sphere of influence, creating what was in effect a proto-state. However during Caesar's first expedition to Britain in 55 BC, after the Roman cavalry had been unable to cross the Channel, Commius was able to provide a small group of horsemen from his people, suggesting that he may have already had kin in Britain at that time. After this time, the Atrebates were recognized as a client kingdom of Rome.

Coins stamped with Commius's name were issued from Calleva from ca. 30 BC to 20 BC. Some coins are stamped "COM COMMIOS": interpreting this as "Commius son of Commius", and considering the length of his apparent floruit, some have concluded that there were two kings, father and son, of the same name.

Three later kings of the British Atrebates name themselves on their coins as sons of Commius: Tincomarus, Eppillus and Verica. Tincomarus seems to have ruled jointly with his father from about 25 BC until Commius's death in about 20 BC. After that, Tincomarus ruled the northern part of the kingdom from Calleva, while Eppillus ruled the southern half from Noviomagus (Chichester). Numismatic and other archeological evidence suggests Tincomarus took a more pro-Roman stance than his father, and John Creighton argues from the imagery on his coins that he was brought up as an obses (diplomatic hostage) in Rome under Augustus.

Augustus's Res Gestae mentions two British kings presenting themselves to him as supplicants, probably ca. 7 AD. The passage is damaged, but one is probably Tincomarus (the other is Dubnovellaunus, of either the Trinovantes or the Cantiaci). It appears Tincomarus was ousted by his brother, and from this point Epillus's coins are marked "Rex", indicating that he was recognised as king by Rome.

In about 15, Eppillus was succeeded by Verica (at about the same time, a king by the name of Eppillus appears as ruler of the Cantiaci in Kent). But Verica's kingdom was being pressed by the expansion of the Catuvellauni under Cunobelinus. Calleva fell to Cunobelinus's brother Epaticcus by about 25. Verica regained some territory following Epaticcus's death in about 35, but Cunobelinus's son Caratacus took over the campaign and by the early 40s the Atrebates were conquered. Verica fled to Rome, giving the new emperor Claudius the pretext for the Roman conquest of Britain.

After the Roman conquest, part of the Atrebates' lands were organized into the pro-Roman kingdom of the Regnenses under Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus, who may have been Verica's son. The tribal territory was later organised as the civitates (administrative districts within a Roman province) of the Atrebates, Regnenses and possibly the Belgae.

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The Belgae were a group of nations or tribes living in northern Gaul, on the west bank of the Rhine, in the 1st century BC, and later also attested in Britain. They gave their name to the Roman province of Gallia Belgica, and later, to the modern country of Belgium, where they are
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Gaul (Latin: Gallia) was the name given, in ancient times, to the region of Western Europe comprising present-day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of
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This page is protected from moves until disputes have been resolved on the .
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Artois (Dutch: Artesië) is a former province of northern France. Its territory has an area of around 4000 km² and a population of about one million.
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Motto
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité
"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"
Anthem
"La Marseillaise"


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Commune of
Arras

Place des Héros in Arras



Administration
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1st century BC - 1st century
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The Belgae were a group of nations or tribes living in northern Gaul, on the west bank of the Rhine, in the 1st century BC, and later also attested in Britain. They gave their name to the Roman province of Gallia Belgica, and later, to the modern country of Belgium, where they are
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Gaius Julius Caesar
Dictator of the Roman Republic

Reign October, 49 BC–March 15, 44 BC
Full name Gaius Julius Caesar
Born 12 July 100 BC - 102 BC
Rome, Roman Republic
Died 15 March 44 BC (aged 57)
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The Nervii were one of the most powerful Belgic tribes, living east of the Scheldt in northern Gaul in the 1st century BC. The Greek Roman Strabo wrote that the Nervians were of Germanic origin. Tacitus confirmed this in his book "Germania" (par.
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The Viromandui were a tribe of the Belgae, occupying a small region in northern Gaul. We know about them primarily from Julius Caesar's De Bello Gallico. A book chronicling Caesar's early conquests against the Gauls.
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Battle of the Sabis, also known as the Battle of the Sambre[1] or the Battle against the Nervians (or Nervii), was fought in 57 BC in the area known today as Flanders, between the legions of the Roman Republic and an association of Belgic tribes,
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Commius (Commios, Comius, Comnios) was a historical king of the Belgic nation of the Atrebates, initially in Gaul, then in Britain, in the 1st century BC.
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1st century BC - 1st century
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58 BC 57 BC 56 BC - 55 BC - 54 BC 53 BC 52 BC

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Cassivellaunus was a historical British chieftain who led the defence against Julius Caesar's second expedition to Britain in 54 BC. He also appears in British legend as Cassibelanus
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The Morini were a Belgic tribe in the time of the Roman Empire. We know little about their language but one of their cities, Boulogne-sur-Mer was called Bononia by Zosimus and Bonen in the Middle Ages.
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Vercingetorix (pronounced [werkiŋˈgetoriks] (died 46 BC), was chieftain of the Arverni, originating from the Arvernian city of Gergovia and known as the man who led the Gauls in their ultimately unsuccessful war
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1st century BC - 1st century
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55 BC 54 BC 53 BC - 52 BC - 51 BC 50 BC 49 BC

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Battle of Alesia or Siege of Alesia took place in September 52 BC around the Gallic oppidum of Alesia, a major town centre and hill fort of the Mandubii tribe.
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Marcus Antonius (Latin: M·ANTONIVS·M·F·M·N [1]) (c. January 14, 83 BC – August 1, 30 BC), known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general.
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Claudius Ptolemaeus (Greek: Κλαύδιος Πτολεμαῖος; after 83 – 161 AD), known in English as Ptolemy, was a Greek[1] or Egyptian
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The 2nd century is the period from 101 to 200 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period
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Gallia Belgica was a Roman province located in what is now the southern part of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, northeastern France, and western Germany. The indigenous population of Gallia Belgica consisted of a mixture of Celtic and Germanic tribes, often described as the
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In Gallo-Roman religion, Sequana was the goddess of the river Seine, particularly the springs at the source of the Seine, and the Gaulish tribe the Sequani. The springs, called the Fontes Sequanae ("The Springs of Sequana") are located in a valley in the Chatillon Plateau, to the
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Seine, see Seine River (disambiguation). For the old Seine département, see Seine (département). For a kind of fishing net, see seine (fishing).


Seine
The Seine viewed from the Eiffel Tower.
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    Hampshire, sometimes historically Southamptonshire, Hamptonshire, (abbr. Hants), or the County of Southampton, is a county on the south coast of England.
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    For the former parliamentary constituency, see .


    West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex (with Brighton and Hove), Hampshire and Surrey.
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    Surrey

    Geography
    Status Ceremonial & Non-metropolitan county
    Origin Historic
    Region South East England
    Area
    - Total
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    Calleva Atrebatum (or Silchester Roman Town) was an Iron Age oppidum and subsequently a town in the Roman province of Britannia and the civitas capital of the Atrebates tribe.
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