TheBaetasii (orBetasii) were aGermanic tribal grouping within theRoman province ofGermania Inferior (which later became Germania Secunda). Their exact location is still unknown, although two proposals are, first, that it might be the source of the name of the Belgian village ofGeetbets, and second, that it might be further east, nearer to theSunuci with whom they interacted in theBatavian revolt, and to theCugerni who lived atXanten. The area ofGennep,Goch andGeldern has been proposed for example.^[1]

The nameBaetasii could stem from theProto-Celtic root*baidos ('wild boar'; compare withWelshbaedd).^[2] The suffix-asio- is rather common in the Gaulish language, whereas it has hardly any connection with Germanic.^[3]

As with many of the tribal groups of Germania Inferior, such as theToxandrians, andTungrii, the origins of the tribe are unknown, but it is likely that their ancestry included a mixture of older populations and Germanic immigrants from the east of the Rhine who had been arriving for generations. Germania Inferior was on the west of theRhine and had been described byJulius Caesar, at the time of Roman conquest of the area, as part ofBelgic Gaul. Many of the tribal names and personal names which he reported from this area, are considered to beCeltic, not Germanic. However already long before his time there appears to have been an influx of people coming from the east of the Rhine, including, in the particular area where the Betasii lived, the tribal grouping whichTacitus later claimed to be the original tribal group which had been called "Germani", the so-called "Germani Cisrhenani".^[4] Whether these originalGermani had all spoken a Germanic language is unknown. Caesar and Tacitus were more interested in the fact that tribes from the east of the Rhine, who all eventually came to be referred to asGermani, were less softened by civilization, and therefore difficult to defeat in battle or incorporate into the Roman empire.

Some specific tribes who entered the empire later, such as theUbii who lived on the west bank of the Rhine, are understood to be speakers of Germanic languages, and records exist concerning their immigration and settlement. However for the Betasii, there is no such clear record and it is their position which generally leads to them being understood as being a group settled during imperial times, and Germanic in the modern sense of speaking a Germanic language. It has been proposed that like their neighbours the Cugerni, they descend from theSicambri, who were already actively jumping to this side of the Rhine in Caesar's time, and whoStrabo records as living in this area.^[1] On the other hand there have been suggestions that they might represent the descendants, at least partly, of theGermani tribes described by Caesar as having been in this region since at least the 2nd century BCE when theCimbri moved through the area.

In theNaturalis Historia ofPliny the Elder places the Betasi in his list of tribes in this region in between theFrisiabones and theLeuci, but this may not indicate position in any meaningful way. They contributed troops to the Roman military, including some who are known to have been stationed in Britain.Tacitus also mentioned the Betasii, as a people of this region during theBatavian revolt. Some of them joinedClaudius Labeo, who held a bridge over the Meuse, with a force of Betasii,Tungri andNervii.^[5] For this reason, it is often thought that the Betasii lived close to the Tungri and Nervii, and possibly near the riverMeuse (DutchMaas, LatinMosa).

Amongst evidence of Betasii from inscriptions made concerning soldiers, the Betasii are often mentioned as "Traianenses Baetasii", which has been taken as evidence that the Betasii, like the Cugerni (or Cuberni) lived in the northeastern "Civitas Traiana" with its capital near modern Xanten.^[1][6] Xanten itself was the area where the Cugerni lived and was on the Rhine border, so this would put the Betasii one step away from the Rhine. Geetbets, in contrast, would have been in theCivitas Tungrorum. Joining the military was eventually a way to become a Roman citizen, and by early 2nd century CE the inscriptions show that the soldiers referred to their origin as "Traianenses Baetasii", replacing their exclusive tribal affiliation with a new Roman identity.^[6]

Like other peoples in the northern part of Germania Inferior, what happened to them in the later part of the Roman era is uncertain. Archaeological and other evidence agrees that the area was largely de-populated apart from military positions along the Rhine. It became the home of new groups who crossed the Rhine, especially theSallii. These became part of the amalgamation of tribes known as theFranks. They united under kings, and became dominant in northern Germania Inferior, giving it an older name,Toxandria. They later became semi-independent within the empire, started moving into more populated Romanized areas to their south, and then proceeded to conquer a large part ofWestern Europe which became theHoly Roman Empire. If any of the Betasii remained in the area, they became part of this development.

Votive stones dedicated to the deityHercules Magusanus were found on the territory of the Baetasii.^[7]

• Neumann, Günter (1999)."Germani cisrhenani — die Aussage der Namen". In Beck, H.; Geuenich, D.; Steuer, H. (eds.).Germanenprobleme in heutiger Sicht. Walter de Gruyter.ISBN 978-3110164381.
• Sergent, Bernard (1991)."Ethnozoonymes indo-européens".Dialogues d'histoire ancienne.17 (2):9–55.doi:10.3406/dha.1991.1932.
• von Petrikovits, Harald (1999)."Germani Cisrhenani". In Beck, H.; Geuenich, D.; Steuer, H. (eds.).Germanenprobleme in heutiger Sicht. Walter de Gruyter.ISBN 978-3110164381.

• Early Germanic peoples
• Tribes in pre-Roman Gaul
• Germania Inferior

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata