From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Treveri or Treviri were a tribe of Gauls which inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle, within the southern fringes of the vast Arduenna Silva (Ardennes Forest).

Contents 1 Geography 2 Language and ethnicity 3 Politics and military 4 Religion 5 List of Treveri 6 References

In the time of Julius Caesar their territory extended as far as the Rhine north of the Triboci;^[1] across the Rhine from them lived the Ubii. Caesar mentions that the Segni and the Condrusi lived between the Treveri and the Eburones, and that the Condrusii and Eburones were dependents of the Treveri.^[2] Caesar bridged the Rhine in the territory of the Treveri.^[3][4]

They were bordered on the north, west and south by the Belgic tribes friendly to Rome: the Tungri, the Remi and the Mediomatrici, respectively. Later the Germanic Vangiones and Nemetes would settle to the east of the Treveri along the Rhine, and Treveran territory thereafter was probably similar to that which afterwards became the diocese of Trier. The valley of the Ahr would have marked its northern boundary. Thus, their location corresponds to present-day Luxembourg and its surroundings in Belgium and Germany.

Colonia Augusta Treverorum (now Trier, Germany) was their civitas under the Empire. There is strong evidence that the recently excavated oppidum on the Titelberg plateau in the extreme south west of Luxembourg was their capital during the 1st century BC.^[5] The transfer of their activities to Trier followed the construction of Agrippa's road linking Trier with Reims which bypassed Titelberg. During the Roman period, Trier became a Roman colony (in 16 BC), and the provincial capital of Belgica itself. It was the frequent residence of a number of emperors.

According to Aulus Hirtius they differed little from Germanic peoples in their manner of life and savage behaviour.^[6] The Treveri boasted of their German origin, according to Tacitus, in order to distance themselves from "Gallic laziness" (inertia Gallorum). But Tacitus does not include them with the Vangiones, Triboci or Nemetes as "tribes unquestionably German".^[7] Their name itself appears to be of mixed origin (Celtic, Germanic, etc.), and may mean "forest villagers" ('tre' = tree & 'wier'= house, village).^{[citation needed]} The presence of hall villas of the same type as found in indisputably Germanic territory in northern Germany, alongside Celtic types of hall villas, corroborates the idea that they were Celto-Germans.^{[citation needed]} The German element among the Treveri probably arrived there in the third or second century BC.^{[citation needed]}

Jerome states that as of the fourth century AD their language was similar to that of the Celts of Asia Minor (the Galatians).^[8] Very few personal names among them are of Germanic origin; instead, they are generally Celtic or Latin.

Strabo says that their Nervian and Tribocan neighbours were Germanic peoples who by that point had settled on the left bank of the Rhine, while the Treveri are implied to be Gaulish.^[3]

After the Roman conquest, Latin was used extensively by the Treveri for public and official purposes.

Tacitus gives the Treveri the name of socii and says that in his time they had their own curia or local senate.^{[citation needed]}

The Treveri had a strong cavalry and infantry, and during the Gallic Wars would provide Julius Caesar with his best cavalry.^[9] Under their leader Cingetorix, the Treveri served as Roman auxiliaries. However, their loyalties began to change in 54 BC under the influence of Cingetorix' rival Indutiomarus.^[10] According to Caesar, Indutiomarus instigated the revolt of the Eburones under Ambiorix that year and led the Treveri in joining the revolt and enticing Germanic tribes to attack the Romans.^[11] The Romans under Titus Labienus killed Indutiomarus and then put down the Treveran revolt; afterwards, Indutiomarus' relatives crossed the Rhine to settle among the Germanic tribes.^[12] The Treveri remained neutral during the revolt of Vercingetorix, and were attacked again by Labienus after it.^[13]

In 29 BC, a revolt of the Treveri was suppressed by Marcus Nonnus Gallus.

Suetonius notes that Caligula was said by Pliny to have been born "in Trier, at the village of Ambiatinus, above Koblenz", but that this birthplace was disputed by other sources.^[14]

Following the reorganisation of the Roman provinces in Germany in 16 BC, Augustus decided that the Treveran capital of Augusta Treverorum (Trier) should become the capital of the province of Belgica.

A faction of Treveri, led by Julius Florus and Julius Sacrovir, led a rebellion of Gaulish debtors against the Romans in 21 AD. Florus was defeated by his rival Julius Indus, while Sacrovir led the Aedui in revolt.^[15]

In 70, the Treveri under Julius Classicus and Julius Tutor and the Lingones under Julius Sabinus joined the Batavian rebellion and declared Sabinus as Caesar.^[16]

In subsequent centuries, Augusta Treverorum became an urban centre of the first importance, overtaking even Lugdunum (Lyon). During the Crisis of the Third Century, the city served as the capital of the Gallic Empire under the emperors Tetricus I and II from 271 to 274. The Treveri suffered incursions from the Alamanni, who destroyed Augusta Treverorum in 275. From 293 to 395, Augusta Treverorum was one of the residences of the western Roman Emperor, including Constantius II, Valentinian I, Magnus Maximus, and Theodosius I;^[17] from 318 to 407, it served as the seat of the praetorian prefecture of Gaul.

The Treveri were polytheists, and following the Roman conquest many of their gods were identified with Roman equivalents or coupled with Roman gods. Among the most important gods worshipped in Treveran territory were Mercury and Rosmerta, Lenus Mars and Ancamna, Jupiter Optimus Maximus, Apollo, Intarabus, and Minerva.^[18][19]

First the imperial cult and then Christianity rose to prominence in Augusta Treverorum. The city became the seat of a Christian archbishopric during the second half of the third century.^[20] Under Constantine I the city became an important centre for the diffusion of the religion.^[21]

• Ambrose
• Cingetorix
• Indutiomarus
• Julius Classicus
• Julius Florus
• Julius Indus
• Julius Sacrovir
• Julius Tutor