European Kingdoms

Tungri (Belgae)

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In general terms, the Romans coined the name 'Gaul' to describe the Celtic tribes of what is now central, northern, and eastern France. To the north of these were the tribes of the Belgae, divided from the Gauls by the rivers Marne and the Seine, but bordered to their east by a slowly growing Germanic populace which only increased its pressure on them over time (see feature link for a discussion of the origins of the Celtic name).

The Tungri may have been included amongst the Belgae, being located in the midst of them by the middle of the first century BC. They apparently had a tribal capital at Atuatuca (modern Tongeren, which remembers the Tungri name). This was also attested as being the tribal centre of the neighbouring Atuatuci tribe, in what is now Belgium's Limburg province (raising the possibility that the Tungri and the Atuatuci were one and the same).

They were neighboured to the south by the Caerosi and Condrusi, with the Atuatuci dominating them to the west and north, and with the Germanic Sicambri lying across the Rhine to the east.

The Belgae appear to have been formed of tribes which were seaborne and which lived along the North Atlantic and/or Baltic coastlines. They would seem to have been a branch of Celts who had established themselves in Northern Europe, although precisely where is entirely open to speculation (not to mention some heated debate).

Their dialect probably used a 'b' or a 'v' sound where their western cousins in Gaul used a 'w' sound, opening up different interpretations for their names. However, the tribal name Tungri does not appear to be Celtic. After removing the Latin suffix 'i', the 'r' at the end of the word, 'tungr' looks Germanic. It probably comes from the proto-Germanic 'tunga', modern German 'zunge', meaning 'a tongue'. This would make the tribe's name the 'tunga' plus '-er', meaning 'speakers'.

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(Information by Peter Kessler, Edward Dawson, and Trish Wilson, with additional information from The Oxford History of England: Roman Britain, Peter Salway, from The La Tene Celtic Belgae Tribes in England: Y-Chromosome Haplogroup R-U152 - Hypothesis C, David K Faux, from The Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, William Smith, from Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, Harry Thurston Peck, from the Encyclopaedia of European Peoples, Carl Waldman & Catherine Mason, from the Complete Works of Tacitus, Alfred John Church, William Jackson Brodribb, & Lisa Cerrato, from Roman Soldier versus Germanic Warrior: 1st Century AD, Lindsay Powell, from The Germany and the Agricola of Tacitus, Cornelius Tacitus (Project Gutenberg), from Reallexicon der Germanischen Altertumkunde, J Hoops & H Beck (1968-2008, in German), from De voorgeschiedenis der Lage Landen, S J Laet (J B Wolters, 1959, in Dutch), from Keltisch en Germaans in de Nederlanden, Lauran Toorians (Belgisch Genootschap voor Keltische Studies, 2005, in Dutch), from Histoire de la Gaule, Danièle Roman & Yves Roman (Fayard, 1997, in French), from La civilization de la Tene/en Champagne, le faciès marnie, Denise Bretz-Mahler (CNRS, 1997, in French), from Gallia Belgica, Edith Wightman (Batsford, 1985), and from External Links: The Works of Julius Caesar: Gallic Wars, and The Natural History, Pliny the Elder (John Bostock, Ed), and The Illustrated History of Belgium, and L'Arbre Celtique (The Celtic Tree, in French), and Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz or Dictionnaire Historique de la Suisse or Dizionario Storico dell Svizzera (in German, French, and Italian respectively).)

113 - 105 BC

A large-scale migration of Cimbri and Teutones passes through Central Europe, and along the way it picks up Celto-Germanic Helvetii peoples who at this time are located in central Germany (in territory which later becomes Franconia). Together this band enters southern Gaul and northern Italy, and comes up against the Roman republic.

An illustration depicting the Teutones wandering in Gaul, part of a large-scale migration from modern Denmark into northern Italy in the second century BC

As shocking as this invasion is to the Romans, according to the later writings of Julius Caesar, the 'Germani' tribes of the Caerosi, Condrusi, Eburones, and Paemani (and perhaps also the unmentioned Segni) have already settled in Gaul, along the eastern edges of Gaulish and Belgae territory around the modern Belgian and Dutch borders.

This suggests that the Germanic tribes are already pushing outwards from their Northern European base around the Danish peninsula and the southern shores of the Baltic.

53 BC

Caesar enters the country of the Eburones, forcing the rebellious Ambiorix to flee and his co-ruler to commit suicide. Despite this apparent capitulation, the country of the Eburones proves difficult for the Romans.

Caesar invites the neighbouring people to come and plunder the tribe and, after stubborn resistance, Caesar burns every village and building he can find in their territory, drives off all the cattle, and confiscates all of the tribe's grain.

The gentle rolling landscape of the Limberg region would have made idea pasture and farming land for the Belgic tribes, but its proximity to the Maas would have provided the woods and swamps which served as a refuge in times of need

The Germanic Sicambri take the opportunity to cross the Rhine and surprise many of the plunderers, seizing a large part of the Eburones' cattle. The Eburones are destroyed by this action and no further mention is made of them in history. Their land is occupied by the Tungri.

It seems strange that the Tungri are not mentioned in relation to the Celtic revolt of 53-52 BC, although their geographical position places them well away from the main fighting.

Could the Tungri occupation of the lands of the Eburones instead be a sanctioned takeover of the Eburones survivors by a Germanic warrior elite? This would bring the Germanic element into a tribe which is also counted as being Belgae. As such, they may have ruled themselves out of a Romano-Gaulish conflict.

Alternatively, the local Atuatuci are not mentioned again after 54 BC, just as the Tungri appear on the scene, and occupying very similar territory. Could they be formed of an amalgamation of the Atuatuci and Eburones survivors, both of whom already have a Germanic element to their make-up, just like the Tungri?

This vast map covers just about all possible tribes which were documented in the first centuries BC and AD, mostly by the Romans and Greeks, and with an especial focus on 52 BC (click or tap on map to view at an intermediate size)

This becomes even more likely when it is remembered that the Tungri have a capital at Atuatuca (modern Tongeren), which is also attested as being the tribal centre of the Atuatuci.

AD 69 - 70

Gaius Julius Civilis leads a Batavian insurrection against a Rome which is distracted by the events of the 'Year of the Four Emperors'. Supported by the Bructeri, Canninefates, Chauci, Cugerni, and Tencteri, who send reinforcements, he is initially successful.

Castra Vetera is captured and two Roman legions are lost, while two others fall into the hands of the rebels. In AD 70 the Chatti, Mattiaci, and Usipetes join in, besieging the legionary fortress at Mogontiacum (modern Mainz).

Eventual Roman pressure, with aid from the Mediomatrici, Sequani, and Tungri, forces Civilis to retreat to the Batavian island where he agrees peace terms with General Quintus Petilius Cerialis. His subsequent fate is unknown, but the Batavi are treated with great consideration by Emperor Vespasian.

The Gaulish and Germanic Batavian revolt of AD 69-70 was a major contributor to the instability experienced in the Roman empire during the 'Year of Four Emperors'

fl AD 71

Sided with Rome during the Batavian revolt.

fl AD 71

Co-magistrate?

122 - 138

The Tungri are first mentioned in connection with Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain on a stone at the Carrawburgh fort which is dated to this period. The First Cohort of the Tungri is mentioned in a total of ten inscriptions.

As well as postings to Carrawburgh and Housesteads they also do turns of duty at the forts of Chesterholm and Castlecary on Hadrian's Wall. A detachment of Vardulli cavalrymen from northern Iberia and Batavi from the Netherlands also serve on the wall in the same period.

c.280

Although Christianity is rapidly spreading throughout Gaul, persistent persecutions and continual conflicts prevent the organisation of the Catholic Church during the first few centuries AD.

Hadrian's Wall stretched the width of northern Britain, an attempt to contain attacks from the north with allied tribes on its northern flank to help enforce that protection, a policy which only really started to fail in the fourth century AD

Adopting the administrative divisions of the Roman empire, the Catholic ecclesiastical authorities make Civitas Tungrorum a diocese (bishopric). Later this will become the capital of the diocese of Liège.