Commius (Commios, Comius) was a historical king of the Belgic nation of the Atrebates, initially in Gaul, then in Britain, in the 1st century BC.
Commius - Ally of Caesar.
When Julius Caesar conquered the Atrebates in Gaul in 57 BC, as recounted in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico, he appointed Commius as king of the tribe. Before Caesar's first expedition to Britain in 55 BC, Commius was sent as Caesar's envoy to persuade the Britons not to resist him, as Caesar believed he would have ...
Circumvallation is a standard military tactic of siege used in ancient and modern warfare. It describes the process of the attacking army building a line of fortifications around the besieged city facing towards the city (to protect itself from sorties by its defenders and to enhance the blockade). The resulting fortifications are known as 'lines of circumvallation'.
Lines of circumvallation generally consist of earth ramparts and entrenchments that encircle the besieged city. The line of circumvallation can be used as a base for launching assaults against the besieged city o ...
The Atrebates (meaning settlers) were a Belgic tribe of Gaul and Britain before the Roman conquests.
Atrebates - The Atrebates in Gaul.
The Gaulish Atrebates lived in or around modern Artois in northern France. Their capital, Nemetocenna, is now the city of Arras.
In 57 BC they were part of a Belgic military alliance in response to Julius Caesar's conquests elsewhere in Gaul, contributing 15,000 men. Caesar took this build-up as a threat and marched against it, but the Belgae had the advantage ...
The Arverni were a Gallic tribe that inhabited the present-day region of Lyons, France. They gave their name to the French region of Auvergne.
The Arveni were a very powerful tribe living in the Auvergne, with their most important stronghold being Gergovia (somewhere near Clermont-Ferrand). They had been the most powerful Gallic tribe in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC under their king, Luernios, but when his son Bituitus was defeated by the Romans in 123BC and the Roman ‘Provincia’ (that is the origin of the French word "Provence") established, the ...
List of sieges - Ancient.
Siege of Megiddo (c. 1457 BCE)
Siege of Dapur (c. 1296 BCE)
Siege of Troy (c. 1200 BCE)
Siege of Hermopolis (c. 715 BCE)
Siege of Jerusalem (701 BCE) - the Assyrian siege of Sennacherib
Siege of Syracuse (415 BCE) - the Athenian siege
Siege of Tyre (332 BCE) by Alexander the Great
Siege of Rhodes (305 BCE) by Demetrius Poliorcetes
Siege of Agrigentum (261 BCE) (First Punic War between the Roman Republic and Car ...
In 52 BC the Atrebates joined the pan-Gaulish revolt led by Vercingetorix, and Commius was one of the leaders of the army that attempted to relieve Vercingetorix at the Siege of Alesia. After Vercingetorix was defeated Commius joined a revolt by the Bellovaci and persuaded some 500 Germans to support them, but this too was defeated and Commius sought refuge with his German allies.
In 51 BC he returned to his homeland with a small mounted war-band for a campaign of agitation and guerrilla warfare. That winter Mark Antony, a legionary l ...
Commius soon established himself as king of the British Atrebates, a kingdom he may have founded. Their territory comprised modern Hampshire, West Sussex and Surrey, centred on the capital Calleva Atrebatum (modern Silchester).
The settlement of the Atrebates in Britain was not a mass population movement. Archaeologist Barry Cunliffe argues that they "seem to have comprised a series of indigenous tribes, possibly with some intrusive Belgic element, given initial coherence by Commius". It is possible that the name "Atrebates", as with ...
When Julius Caesar conquered the Atrebates in Gaul in 57 BC, as recounted in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico, he appointed Commius as king of the tribe. Before Caesar's first expedition to Britain in 55 BC, Commius was sent as Caesar's envoy to persuade the Britons not to resist him, as Caesar believed he would have influence on the island. However he was arrested as soon as he arrived. When the Britons failed to prevent Caesar from landing, Commius was handed over as part of the negotiations. Commius was able to provide a small deta ...
By about 30 BC Commius had established himself as king of the Atrebates in Britain, and was issuing coins from Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester). It is possible that Commius and his followers founded this kingdom, although the fact that, when Caesar was unable to bring his cavalry to Britain in 55 BC, Commius was able to provide a small detachment of horsemen from his people, suggests that there were ...
The Gaulish Atrebates lived in or around modern Artois in northern France. Their capital, Nemetocenna, is now the city of Arras.
In 57 BC they were part of a Belgic military alliance in response to Julius Caesar's conquests elsewhere in Gaul, contributing 15,000 men. Caesar took this build-up as a threat and marched against it, but the Belgae had the advantage of position and the result was a stand-off. When no battle was forthcoming the Belgic alliance broke up, determining to gather to defend whichever tribe Caesar attacked. Caesar subsequently marched ag ...
