Treveri

The Treveri or Treviri were a tribe of Gauls who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle, within the southern fringes of the "Arduenna Silva" (Ardennes Forest), a part of the vast Silva Carbonaria, in what are now Luxembourg, southeastern Belgium and western Germany.

Name

The spelling variants "Treveri" and "Treviri" are found in Latin texts from the time of Caesar's "De Bello Gallico" to Tacitus's "Annales". Latin texts are in general agreement that the first vowel, however, is "-e-". For their part, Greek texts mostly give "polytonic|Τρηουηροι" (transliterated "Trēouēroi)". Variants such as "Treberi" and "polytonic|Τρίβηροι (Tribēroi)" appear in Pliny and Ptolemy, respectively. A few highly deviant variant forms are also attested: "polytonic|Τριήροι (Triēroi)" in Ptolemy and "Polytonic|Τρηοῦσγροι (Trēousgroi)" in Strabo. The name has been uncertainly interpreted as referring to a "flowing river" or to "crossing the river".Alexander Falileyev (2006). " [http://hdl.handle.net/2160/282 Draft Version of a Dictionary of Continental Celtic Place-Names.] "] The first syllable is shown long and stressed "(Trēverī)" in Latin dictionaries. ["Collins Latin Dictionary Plus Grammar" (1997). HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-472092-X.
Perseus Word Study Tool. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/morphindex?lookup=Treveri&lang=la Morphological Analyses for Inflected Latin Words] .]

Geography

In the time of Julius Caesar their territory extended as far as the Rhine north of the Triboci (, , ); 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 clients of the Treveri (, ).C. Julius Caesar (c. 51 BCE). "Commentarii de Bello Gallico."] Caesar bridged the Rhine in the territory of the Treveri.Strabo (7 BCE–23 CE). "Geographica." [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/4C*.html IV:3, paragraph 3.] ] They were bordered on the north, west and south by 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 Rhine valley was removed from Treveran authority with the formation of the province of Germania Superior in the 80s CE. The valley of the Ahr would have marked their northern boundary.

"Colonia Augusta Treverorum" (now Trier, Germany) was the capital of 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 the Treveran capital during the 1st century BCE. [Elizabeth Hamilton. [http://130.91.80.97:591/PDFs/45-1/The%20Celts%20and%20Urbanization.pdf The Celts and Urbanization - the Enduring Puzzle of the "Oppida"] . Retrieved 21 November 2007.] 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 BCE), and the provincial capital of Belgica itself. It was the frequent residence of a number of emperors.

An important secondary centre was "Orolaunum" (now Arlon, Belgium) which, in Edith Wightman's assessment, "became a kind of regional capital for the western Treveri", attaining "a degree of prosperity only otherwise reached by "civitas" capitals" (p.135).Edith Mary Wightman (1970). "Roman Trier and the Treveri." Rupert Hart-Davis, London.]

Archaeological evidence suggests that the Treveri were divided into five cantons centred respectively on the "oppida" of the Titelberg, Wallendorf, Kastel, Otzenhausen and the Martberg. Inscriptions from the Roman imperial period indicate that the "civitas" was divided into at least four "pagi:" the "pagus Vilcias", the "pagus Teucorias", the "pagus Carucum" extending north of Bitburg, and the "pagus Ac [...] " or "Ag [...] " (the inscription is incomplete). Wightman tentatively suggests that the "pagus Vilcias" might have been the western region around Arlon and Longuyon, and the "pagus Teucorias" the southern region around Tholey (pp.124-125).

The fourth-century poet Ausonius lived in Trier under the Gratian's patronage; he is most famous for his poem "Mosella," evoking life and scenery along the Treveri's arterial river.

Language and ethnicity

Caesar is not explicit in "De Bello Gallico" about whether the Treveri are to be considered to belong to Gallia Celtica or Gallia Belgica, although the former hypothesis enjoys some favour. [William Smith, LLD (1854). "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography." [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0064%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DT%3Aentry+group%3D13%3Aentry%3Dtreveri-geo "Treveri"] ] Writing about a century after Caesar, Pomponius Mela identifies the Treveri as the "most enlightened" of the Belgae. [Pomponius Mela (c. 43 CE). "De Situ Orbis," [http://ourworld.cs.com/latintexts/m302.htm III:2.] The term quoted is "clarissimi"." Of course, by this stage, the administrative boundaries of Gallia Belgica had been fixed and did include the Treveri.]

According to the Roman consul Aulus Hirtius in the first century BCE, the Treveri differed little from Germanic peoples in their manner of life and savage behaviour ().Aulus Hirtius. "." In C. Julius Caesar's "Commentarii de Bello Gallico."] 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". [Cornelius Tacitus (c. 98 CE). "Germany:" [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Germania#XXVIII XXVIII] .] 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.fact|date=July 2007 The German element among the Treveri probably arrived there in the third or second century BCE.fact|date=July 2007

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.

Jerome states that as of the fourth century CE their language was similar to that of the Celts of Asia Minor (the Galatians). [Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus (c. 387). "Comentarii in Epistolam ad Galatos," II:3: "Galatas excepto sermone Graeco, quo omnis oriens loquitur, propriam linguam eamdem pene habere quam Treviros" ("That the Galatians, apart from the Greek language, which they speak just like the rest of the Orient, have their own language, which is almost the same as the Treverans'"), in "Migne, Patrologia Latina" 26, 382.] Jerome probably had first-hand knowledge of these Celtic languages, as he had both visited Augusta Treverorum and Galatia. [Helmut Birkhan (1997). "Kelten: Versuch einer Gesamtdarstellung ihrer Kultur." Verlag der Österreich. ISBN 3-700-12609-3. p.301. de icon ]

Very few personal names among the Treveri are of Germanic origin; instead, they are generally Celtic or Latin. Certain distinctively Treveran names are apparently none of the three and may represent a pre-Celtic stratum, according to Wightman (she gives "Ibliomarus, Cletussto" and "Argaippo" as examples: pp.20, 51).

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

Politics and military

Tacitus gives the Treveri the name of "socii" and says that in his time they had their own "curia" or local senate.fact|date=July 2007

Originally the "oppida" of the Titelberg, Wallendorf, Kastel, Otzenhausen and the Martberg were roughly equal in significance; however, sometime between 100 and 80 BCE, the Titelberg experienced an upsurge of growth which made it "the central "oppidum" of the Treveri" (p.38). A large open space in the central square of the Titelberg which would have been used for public meetings of a religious or political nature during the 1st century CE. By the time of Caesar's invasion, the Treveri seemed to have adopted an oligarchic system of government.Jeannot Metzler. "Le Luxembourg avant le Luxembourg." In "Histoire du Luxembourg : Le destin européen d'un « petit pays »" (ed. Gilbert Trausch, 2003). Toulouse: Éditions Privat. ISBN 2-7089-4773-7. fr icon]

The Treveri had a strong cavalry and infantry, and during the Gallic Wars would provide Julius Caesar with his best cavalry (, ). Under their leader Cingetorix, the Treveri served as Roman auxiliaries. However, their loyalties began to change in 54 BCE under the influence of Cingetorix' rival Indutiomarus (). 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 (). 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 (). The Treveri remained neutral during the revolt of Vercingetorix, and were attacked again by Labienus after it (, ). On the whole, the Treveri were more successful than most Gallic tribes in cooperating with the Romans. They probably emerged from the Gallic Wars with the status of a free "civitas" exempt from tribute.

In 30 BCE, a revolt of the Treveri was suppressed by Marcus Nonius Gallus, and the Titelberg was occupied by a garrison of the Roman army.

Agrippa and Augustus undertook the organization of Roman administration in Gaul, laying out an extensive series of roads and imposing a census in 27 BCE for purposes of taxation. The Romans built a new road from Trier to Reims via Mamer, to the north, and Arlon, thus by-passing by 25 km the Titelberg and the older Celtic route, and the capital was displaced to Augusta Treverorum (Trier) with no signs of conflict. The vicinity of Trier had been inhabited by isolated farms and hamlets before the Romans, but there had been no urban settlement here.

Following the reorganisation of the Roman provinces in Germany in 16 BCE, Augustus decided that the Treveri should become part of the province of Belgica. At an unknown date, the capital of Belgica was moved from Durocortum Remorum (Reims) to Augusta Treverorum. A significant layer of the Treveran élite seems to have been granted Roman citizenship under Caesar and/or Augustus, by whom they were given the "nomen" Julius.

According to Pliny the Elder, the Emperor Gaius (Caligula) was born "among the Treveri, at the village of Ambiatinus, above Koblenz", but Suetonius notes that this birthplace was disputed by other sources. [C. Suetonius Tranquillus (121). "De Vita Caesarum." [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Caligula*.html IV:8] .]

A faction of Treveri, led by Julius Florus and allied with the Aeduan Julius Sacrovir, led a rebellion of Gaulish debtors against the Romans in 21 CE. Florus was defeated by his rival Julius Indus, while Sacrovir led the Aedui in revolt. [Cornelius Tacitus (117). "Annales." III:40-42.] The Romans quickly re-established cordial relations with the Treveri under Indus, who promised obedience to Rome; in contrast, they completely annihilated the Aedui who had sided with Sacrovir.

Perhaps under Claudius, the Treveri obtained the status of "colonia" and probably the Latin Right without actually being colonized by Roman veterans.

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. [Jona Lendering. " [http://www.livius.org/jo-jz/julius/sabinus.html Julius Sabinus] ". From [http://wwww.livius.org www.livius.org.] ] The revolt was quashed, and more than a hundred rebel noblemen fled across the Rhine to join their Germanic allies; in the assessment of Jeannot Metzler, this event marks the end of aristocratic Treveran cavalry service in the Roman army, the rise of the local bourgeoisie, and the beginnings of "a second thrust of Romanization" (p.60). By the 2nd and 3rd centuries, representatives of the old élite bearing the "nomen" Julius had practically disappeared, and a new élite arose to take their place; these would have originated mainly from the indigenous middle class, according to Wightman (p.51).

The Treveri suffered from their proximity to the Rhine frontier during the Crisis of the Third Century. Frankish and Alamannic invasions during the 250s led to significant destruction, particularly in rural areas; given the failure of the Roman military to defend effectively against Germanic invasion, country dwellers improvised their own fortifications, often using the stones from tombs and mausoleums.

Meanwhile, Augusta Treverorum was becoming 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 further devastation from the Alamanni in 275, following which, according to Jeannot Metzler, "The great majority of agricultural domains lay waste and would never be rebuilt" (p.62). It is unclear whether Augusta Treverorum itself fell victim to the Alamannic invasion.

From 285 to 395, Augusta Treverorum was one of the residences of the western Roman Emperor, including Maximian, Constantine the Great, Constantius II, Valentinian I, Magnus Maximus, and Theodosius I; [Heinz Heinen (1985). "Trier und das Trevererland in römischer Zeit," Universität Trier. ISBN 3-87760-065-4, pp. 211-265. de icon] from 318 to 407, it served as the seat of the praetorian prefecture of Gaul. By the mid-4th century, the city was counted in a Roman manuscript as one of the four capitals of the world, alongside Rome, Alexandria, and Constantinople. New defensive structures, including fortresses at Neumagen, Bitburg and Arlon, were constructed to defend against Germanic invasion. After a Vandal invasion in 406, however, the imperial residence was moved to Mediolanum (Milan) while the praetorian guard was withdrawn to Arelate (Arles).

Religion

The Treveri were originally 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.Nicole Jufer & Thierry Luginbühl (2001). "Les dieux gaulois : répertoire des noms de divinités celtiques connus par l'épigraphie, les textes antiques et la toponymie." Paris: Editions Errance. ISBN 2-87772-200-7. fr icon] [William van Andringa (2002). "La Religion en Gaule romaine : Piété et politique, Ier-IIIe siècle apr. J.-C." Éditions Errance, ISBN 2-87772-228-7. fr icon] Among the deities unique to the Treveri were Intarabus, Ritona, Inciona and Veraudunus, and the Xulsigiae.

In Roman times, three important pagan temples in the immediate vicinity of Trier alone are well-known: the extensive Altbachtal temple complex, the nearby temple Am Herrenbrünnchen, and the important Lenus Mars Temple on the left bank of the Moselle. Inscriptions attest to the existence of a Treveran cult to Rome and Augustus, but its temple site is uncertain; Wightman suggests that the temple Am Herrenbrünnchen would be suitably located, while Metzger argues that it can only have been a poorly-known fourth temple in the city – the so-called Asclepius Temple not far from the bridge over the Moselle. The Altbachtal complex has yielded a wealth of inscriptions and the remains of a theatre and over a dozen temples or shrines, mostly Romano-Celtic "fana" dedicated to native, Roman, and Oriental deities. Outside of the city, many sacred sites are known; they are typically enclosed by a wall. Among these may be mentioned the temple of Apollo and Sirona at Hochscheid, that of Lenus Mars on the Martberg by Pommern, the temple and theatre of Mars Smertrius and Ancamna at Möhn, and a mother-goddess sanctuary at Dhronecken.

First the imperial cult and then Christianity rose to prominence in Augusta Treverorum. Constantine had a Christian church built close to his palace, and the city became the seat of a Christian archbishopric during the second half of the third century. [Heinz Heinen (1985). "Trier und das Trevererland in römischer Zeit," Universität Trier. ISBN 3-87760-065-4, pp. 327-347. de icon] Under Constantine I the city became an important centre for the diffusion of Christianity; [Carlo Del Vecchio (2000-2005). [http://www.treveris-timetravel.de/5081.htm History of Trier 2] . From [http://www.treveris-timetravel.de/index.htm Treveris-Timetravel.] ] Jerome, Athanasius of Alexandria and Martin of Tours all lived and worked in Trier during the 4th century, while Ambrose was born there.Eberhard Zahn (n.d.). "Trèves : Histoire et Curiosités." Cusanus-Verlag Trier. fr icon] In the time of Gratian, the Altbachtal complex was "not so much given up as deliberately destroyed" (p.229); cult statues were smashed, and some temples were secularized and made into homes. The present-day cathedral has its origins in a 4th-century double church.

Material culture

The territory of the Treveri had formed part of the Hunsrück-Eifel culture, covering the Hallstatt D and La Tène A-B periods (from 600 to 250 BCE).

During the century from 250 to 150 BCE, the area between the Rhine and the Meuse underwent a drastic restructuring as some crisis forced most signs of inhabitation onto the heights of the Hunsrück. Following this crisis, population returned to the lowlands and it is possible to speak with confidence of the Treveri by name. Much of the Treveran countryside seems to have been organized into rural settlements by the end of the 100s BCE, and this organization persisted into Roman times.

Even before Roman times, the Treveri had developed trade, agriculture and metal-working. They had adopted a money-based economy based upon silver coins, aligned with the Roman "denarius," along with cheaper bronze or bronze-lead coins. Trade goods made their way to the Treveri from Etruria and the Greek world; monetary evidence suggests strong trade links with the neighbouring Remi. Iron ore deposits in Treveran territory were heavily worked and formed part of the basis for the area's wealth.

Before and for some time after the Roman conquest, Treveran nobles were buried in chamber tombs which were covered with "tumuli" and filled with sumptuous goods including imported "amphorae," weaponry and .

The Treveri adapted readily to Roman civilization, adopting certain Mediterranean practices in cuisine, clothing, and decorative arts starting as early as the Roman occupation of the Titelberg in 30 BCE. As early as 21 CE, according to Greg Woolf, "the Treveri and the Aedui [were] arguably those tribes which had undergone the greatest cultural change since the conquest" (p.21).Greg Woolf (1998). "Becoming Roman: The Origins of Provincial Civilization in Gaul." Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-78982-6.] The Romans introduced viticulture to the Moselle valley (see Moselle wine). In general, the archaeological record attests to ongoing rural development and prosperity into the 3rd century CE. The many individual Treveri attested epigraphically in other "civitates" may attest to the development of a Treveran commercial network within the western parts of the Empire.

List of Treveri

References

ee also

* Celtic Luxembourg
* History of Trier