Ambiorix was, together with Catuvolcus, prince of the Eburones, leader of a Belgic tribe of north-eastern Gaul (Gallia Belgica), where modern Belgium is located. In the 19th century Ambiorix became a Belgian national hero because of his resistance against Julius Caesar, as written in Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico.
Although Julius Caesar had freed him from paying tribute to the Atuatuci, Ambiorix joined Catuvolcus in the winter of 54 BC in an uprising against the Roman forces under Quintus Titurius Sabinus and Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta.
Sabinus and Cotta debated the whole night on what they should do. Sabinus trusted Ambiorix and considered it would be wise to do what he had advised them. Cotta thought it would be better to stay and try to fight back when the attacks would happen. Ultimately, Cotta decided they would stay, but it wouldn't be his fault if they all got killed by doing so. This made the Roman troops very unsure and therefore they decided to leave anyway. The two closest Roman camps were behind hills and in the other option behind a plain near a valley. Sabinus and Cotta chose for the easy solution and crossed the valley. While they crossed the valley Ambiorix and his men attacked them from up the hills and slaughtered them. Sabinus, Cotta and their troops were massacred.
Ambiorix remained forgotten until the 19th century. When Belgium became independent in 1830 the national government started searching through their historical archives for persons who could serve as national heroes. In Caesar's "De Bello Gallico" they discovered Ambiorix and his deeds. In 1841 the Belgian poet Joannes Nolet de Brauwere van Steeland wrote a lyrical epic about Ambiorix and on September 5, 1866 a statue of Ambiorix was erected on the Great Market of Tongeren in Belgium. There is no proof he ever lived there, but since Tongeren is Belgium's oldest city and Caesar referenced Atuatuca (Tongeren's original name was Atuatuca Tongorum) it was placed there.
Nowadays Ambiorix is one of the most famous characters in Belgian history. Many companies, bars and French fry stands have named themselves after him and in many Belgian comics such as Suske en Wiske and Jommeke he has played a guest role. There was also a short lived comic called Ambionix, which features a scientist teleporting a Belgae chief, loosely based on Ambiorix, to modern day Belgium.
In the French comic Asterix in the album Asterix in Belgium Asterix, Obelix, Dogmatix and Vitalstatistix go to Belgium because they are angry with Caesar about his remark that the Belgians are the bravest of all the Gauls.
In 2005 Ambiorix was nominated for the title De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian). In the Flemish edition he ended in fourth place. In the Walloon edition he ended in 50th place.
Category:Ancient Gauls Category:Barbarian people of the Gallic Wars Category:Gallic rulers Category:1st-century BC European rulers
br:Ambiorix bg:Амбиорикс ca:Ambiorix de:Ambiorix es:Ambiórix fa:آمبیوریکس fr:Ambiorix ko:암비오릭스 hr:Ambiorix it:Ambiorige la:Ambiorix lb:Ambiorix li:Ambiorix hu:Ambiorix nl:Ambiorix (persoon) ja:アンビオリクス no:Ambiorix pl:Ambioryks pt:Ambiorix ru:Амбиорикс sh:Ambioriks fi:Ambiorix sv:Ambiorix tr:Ambiorix uk:АмбіоріксThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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