Ambiorix

Famous because of his resistance to

Julius Caesar

Who was he?

• 1st century BC• Leader of the Eburones

(Belgic tribe ~ Gallia Belgica)• The Romans called it ‘Tungri’

Tungri

• Capital: Atuatuca Tungrorum Tongeren

• Statue of Ambiorix in Tongeren

Poperinge

We don’t know how Ambiorix really looked like, it is just an assumption.

Julius Caesar

• The Eburones were suppressed by other tribes.Julius Caesar freed them.

• Later, Caesar ‘kidnapped’ the leader of the Aedui.

• The Eburones fought against Caesar• He wrote a book about the wars against

the Belgian tribes‘Comentarii de bello Gallico’

’Horum omnium fortissimi sunt

Belgae’

Of all the Gauls, the Belgians are the bravest

Ambiorix nowadays

• A lot of pubs, chip stands, factories are called ‘Ambiorix’

• Comics about Ambiorix• There is also a brand of shoes called

‘Ambiorix’)(you can even find hits on Wikipedia )

THE SECRETOF

We are not sure whether he lived or not. The only proof we have, is from the ‘Comentarii de bello Gallico’, written by Caesar.

Some say Caesar made up Ambiorix as an excuse for his troops being slaughtered, but the question is what advantage did he get by inventing this?

Possible answer: Maybe his victory would seem more glorious.

The end