Ambrons

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The Ambrones ( lat. Ambrones ) were a tribal association in ancient Germania . End of the 2nd century BC BC parts of the tribe moved south with the Cimbri and Teutons and were perceived there by the Romans as a threat ( Cimber Wars ).

The word "Ambrones"

So far there is no satisfactory explanation for the origin of the term “ambrones”. The most important hint seems to be the syllable of the Indo-European "Ambr-" , which can be translated as "water" or "rain". The Anglo-Saxon Widsith poetry also names a tribe of the ymbre , whose name could be derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for "child", "umbor" .

origin

The question of the origin of the ambrones is closely related to the meaning of the word . A relationship with the Italian Umbrians is not excluded. Plutarch called them in connection with the Ligurians and Rufius Festus used the term as a synonym for "rabble". On the other hand, many place and river names in today's German-speaking area indicate a possible direction of origin. The settlement area could have been located both in Bavaria on the Amper and on the North Sea coast, where the name of the island Amrum (then Ambrum ) indicates a possible connection.

Although the Roman historian Rufius Festus counted the ambrones among the Gauls , today it is more likely that they belong to the Germanic tribes . Since they joined the Teutons who set off from what is now Jutland , the coastal region is the most likely settlement.

history

A part of the ambrones joined around the year 120 BC. For unknown reasons, the Cimbri and Teutons moved south. They traveled with them through Central Europe and took part in numerous battles against the Romans, keeping closely to the Teutons. Her first notable mention in history was her participation in the Battle of Noreia . 105 BC BC the train defeated the Romans in the battle of Arausio . Together with the Teutons, they were supposed to be around 30,000 strong in 102 BC. Destroyed in the battle of Aquae Sextiae (today Aix-en-Provence ). In fact, it is possible that some groups previously settled on the upper Vistula , where Claudius Ptolemy later located a tribe of the ombrones . From the later Anglo-Saxon tradition of the ymbre it can be concluded that parts of the tribe probably also remained in the north on the coast.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c R. Wenskus : Ambronen. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd edition De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1968-2008, ISBN 3-11-016227-X , vol. 1, p. 252.
  2. ^ Plutarch : Marius. 19th
  3. ↑ For the different approaches with regard to the river names see: Hans Krahe : Our oldest river names. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1964, ISBN 3-447-00536-X , pp. 90f.
  4. ↑ Ptolemy : 3, 5, 8.