Caesar conquered the Belgae, beginning in 57 BC. He writes
that the Belgae were conspiring and arming themselves in response to his earlier
conquests, and in response to this threat he raised two new legions and ordered
his Gallic allies the Aedui to invade the territory of the Bellovaci. Caesar
next marched into the territory of the Suessiones and besieged the town of Noviodunum
(Soissons). They Suessiones surrendered before the siege engines, and Caesar turned
his attention to the Bellovaci, who had retreated into the fortress of Bratuspantium
(between modern Amiens and Beauvais). They quickly surrendered, as did the
Ambiani.
The Nervii, along with the Atrebates and Viromandui,
decided to fight (the Atuatuci had also agreed to join them but had not yet arrived).
They concealed themselves in the forests and attacked the approaching Roman column
at the river Sambre. Their attack was so quick and unexpected that some of the
Romans didn't have time to take the covers off their shields or even put on their
helmets. The element of surprise briefly left the Romans exposed. However Caesar
grabbed a shield, made his way to the front line, and quickly organised his forces.
The two legions who had been guarding the baggage train at the rear arrived and
helped to turn the tide of the battle. Caesar says the Nervii were almost anihilated
in the battle, and is effusive in his tribute to their bravery, calling them "heroes".
The Atuatuci, who were marching to their aid, turned back on hearing
of the defeat and retreated to one stronghold, were put under siege, and soon
surrendered and handed over their arms. However the surrender was a ploy, and
the Atuatuci, armed with weapons they had hidden, tried to break out during the
night. The Romans had the advantage of position and killed four thousand. The
rest, about fifty-three thousand, were sold into slavery.
In 53
BC the Eburones, led by Ambiorix, along with the Nervii, Menapii and Morinii,
revolted again and wiped out 15 cohorts, only to be put down by Caesar. The Belgae
fought in the uprising of Vercingetorix in 52 BC. Caesar says one tribe, the
Atuatuci, were descended from the Germanic Cimbri and Teutones, and describes
four others, as German tribes (although Ambiorix, a later leader of the Eburones,
has a Celtic name).
After their final subjugation, Caesar combined the three
parts of Gaul, the territory of the Belgae, Celtae and Aquitani, into a single
unwieldy province ( Gallia Comata, "long-haired Gaul") that was
reorganized by Augustus Caesar into its traditional cultural divisions. The province
of Gallia Belgica was bounded on its east by the Rhine and extended all the way
from the North Sea to Lake Constance ( Lacus Brigantinus), including parts
of what is now western Switzerland, with its capital at the city of the Remi (Reims).
Forming part of the diocese of Gaul under Diocletian,
- Belgica
Prima (capital, Augusta Trevirorum, Trier)
- Belgica Secunda (capital
Reims)
The Belgae outside of Gaul had made their way across the
English Channel into southern England in Caesar's time ( Bello Gallica
ii:4 and v:12), and settled in some of the southern counties where among their
towns were Magnus Portus (Portsmouth) and Venta Belgarum (Winchester). Commius
of the Atrebates, Caesar's former ally, fled to Britain after participating in
Vercingetorix's rebellion and either joined or established a British branch of
his tribe. It is possible that a branch of the Belgae also settled in Ireland
(Co. Mayo), represented by the historical Builg and the mythological Fir Bolg.
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