The Sugambri are generally classified as Germanics, although they probably had Celtic ancestry as well and had a culture similar to that of those Celts who lived to their west. They lived east of the Rhine between the Sieg and Lippe Rivers in present-day western Germany The name of the Sugambri is related to the Old High German word gambar, for “vigorous.” A tribe mentioned only by the Greek geographer Strabo (first centuries b. c.e. and C. E.), the Gambrivii (Gambrians), may have been related to the Sugambri.
The Romans under Julius Caesar crossed the Rhine in 55 b. c.e. and made war on the Sugambri and on their allies living to the north, the USIPETES and beyond them the Tencteri. The Sugambri, however, remained powerful for years, carrying out raids across the Rhine, such as against the Celtic Eburones in 53 b. c.e.
In 8 c. e. Tiberius defeated the Sugambri, relocating most tribal members to the west bank of the Rhine at Cibernodorum (modern
Xanten), “marketplace of the Ciberni,” in territory defined as Gaul. This group became known as the Ciberni (also spelled Cuberni or Cugerni); many of their men served in the Roman army Some Marci may have been among them. By the early second century c. e. they became known as Traianensis after their new colony name, Ulpia Traiana, for Emperor Trajan. In 69 c. e., some Sugambri joined the Batavi in an unsuccessful revolt against the Romans.
Suiogoths See Goths.
Suiones See Svear.
World History
