TheVangiones appear first in history as an ancientGermanic tribe of unknown provenance. They threw in their lot withAriovistus in his bid of 58 BC to invadeGaul through theDoubs river valley and lost toJulius Caesar in a battle probably nearBelfort. After some Celts evacuated the region in fear of theSuebi, the Vangiones, who had made a Roman peace, were allowed to settle among theMediomatrici in northernAlsace. (Metz however is now inLorraine). They gradually assumed control of the Celtic city of Burbetomagus, laterWorms.
The emperorAugustus cultivated them as allies, intending to invade Germany through the region between the Rhine and the Danube. He hadDrusus place two forts among the Vangiones,castrum Moguntiacum (13 BC, laterMainz) and one of unknown name (14 BC) atWorms.[1] From there troops of the Vangiones were inducted into the Roman army. When he changed his mind after theBattle of Teutoburg Forest, the Vangiones were used for garrison duty on the far-flung northern frontier of the province ofBritannia,Hadrian's Wall.
The Vangiones ofGermania Superior held their position as a bulwark of civilized might as long as Germania Superior existed. Under the Roman Republic they were not among theBelgae, an alliance of Celticised Germanic tribes in northeastern France. In the early empire this name was extended by the Romans to all the Celticised Germans in northern France (the forerunners of theFranks), among whom were now the Vangiones.
In the late empire what was left of Germania Superior was divided into "First Germany" and "Second Germany", the first comprising the Vangiones, Worms and Mainz. The identity disappeared nearly altogether when the region was overrun by theAlemanni and becameAlisatia.[2] The Vangiones then merged into the Alemanni. Only names local to Worms remembered the presence of the Vangiones, such as the Bishop of the Vangiones. The fate of the Vangionic troops in Britain is uncertain. Some may have remained as a Scottish tribe (see underMoguns), but that hypothesis is more speculative than not.
The Vangiones are mentioned in Caesar'sDe Bello Gallico as a unit among thecopiae ("forces") ofAriovistus.[3] According to Caesar's Celtic informants, Ariovistus had appeared as a leader ofGermani who had settled in the land of theAedui (upperLoire) following the assistance of a vanguard of 15,000 at theBattle of Admagetobriga in 61 BC. The Germans had been initially invited by the Celts to participate in the resolution of their issues. They continued to cross the Rhine until, in 58 BC, 120,000 of them (Caesar's numbers) were in Gaul.
Caesar does not say that the Vangiones were among the 120,000, but the text does imply it. He also does not state that they specifically were Germanic, but the 120,000 are stated to be so, and Caesar consistently refers to thecopiae of Ariovistus asGermani. Caesar gives no indication of the homeland of any of the Germani other than the other side of the Rhine. Moreover, he omits mention of what happened to the Vangiones and other tribes that had crossed the Rhine (if they did) after the defeat of Ariovistus.
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Pliny the Elder'sNaturalis Historia includes a geography that relies onVarro, a citizen of the late Republic and contemporary of Caesar, andAgrippa, who lived in the next generation after Caesar. Through him they give us considerable information on Gaul and the Germanic tribes living in it.
Caesar describes pre-Roman Gaul and some of the modifications he made to it. TheBelgae (from whichBelgium) of his time lived on the left bank of the lower Rhine and were consideredCelts ofGermanic origin. In Pliny[4] Roman Belgae extends along theRhine from theScheldt to the upperSeine; that is, upstream toSwitzerland, and includes many more tribes than are listed in Caesar, some of them still Germanic. For the region of Alsace he gives a double list, one Celtic and one Germanic.
Two known end points are theTreveri who we know lived in the vicinity ofTrier (which was named after them) and theHelvetii who we know lived in Switzerland. The Celtic list between those points isLingones,Remi,Mediomatrici,Sequani andRaurici. The Germanic list, whom Pliny describes as
isNemetes,Triboci and Vangiones.
As the Remi were more to the west, near theArdennes, and the Lingones also to the west, nearLangres (named after them), the Vangiones are believed to have been in the country of the Mediomatrici, but how did they arrive there? The three tribes were among the forces ofAriovistus. Apparently, Caesar did not destroy all the Germanic warriors who failed to escape across the Rhine. He probably only pursued the remnants of theSuebi. He does state that some tribes curried favor by attacking the Suebi on their own initiative. Very likely, they received favor and were allowed to remain on the left bank of the Rhine among the Mediomatrici.[original research?] They were still identifiably Germanic.[dubious –discuss]
TheGeography ofStrabo, dated to the early empire, mentions the defeat ofVarus at theBattle of Teutoburg Forest but makes no mention of the Vangiones. Of the two sections that cover the Alsace region, the one on Germania makes no mention of any Germanic tribes there except theSuebi. Alsace-Lorraine is covered mainly in the section onGaul[5] and describes the region as it must have been beforeAriovistus led his expedition across the Rhine.
Between theHelvetii and theTreveri aroundTrier, Strabo lists theSequani,Mediomatrici (aroundMetz), theLeuci and theLingones. In the country of the Mediomatrici are theTribocchi, who are Germani and had crossed the Rhine from their homeland. Why the Vangiones and Nemetes are not present remains unknown. Perhaps Strabo was relying on an earlier account, which depicts Alsace before Ariovistus, and yet he knew of the defeat of Varus. The Vangiones are not in Germania either.
Marcus Annaeus Lucanus was a poet of the early empire who chose to immortalize the civil wars in verse, beginningPharsalia with a famous first line calling them the "uncivil wars" (bella ... plus quam civilia, "wars beyond civil"). In Book I he enumerates poetically all the barbarians who will no longer be troubled by Roman troops because they have been recalled to fight the uncivil wars, among whom are those
Lucan did not regard the Vangiones asnostri, "one of us". He saw a Sarmatian resemblance in the loose trousers, but whether those were the same as the Gallicbracae is hard to say. The connection is tantalizing because the *wagniones have a name similar to an earlier Sarmatian tribe, the "wagon-dwellers" known toHerodotus. Whether there was one must wait for evidence.
The Vangiones appear solidly in the works ofTacitus, a writer of the 1st century AD of some authenticity and credibility, having been a Roman of fairly high office himself. InGermania[6] he states that the Gauls were once more powerful than the Germani. At that time theHelvetii were on the right bank of the Rhine south of theMain, with theBoii further down the Danube.
On the left bank of Tacitus' time, theTreviri (Trier) andNervii claimed Germanic descent, theUbii (Cologne) were proud of it, and the Vangiones,Triboci andNemetes were of undoubted Germanic origin. Tacitus does not say that any of them were currently Germanic or spoke Germanic, only that they were careful to distinguish themselves from the cowardly Gauls. Apparently the Celtic tribes were no longer in theAgri Decumates (right bank of Rhine) because Tacitus characterizes its population as rabble and penniless adventurers.
HisAnnales contains brief mention of the Vangiones in connection with capturing bands of plunderers from theChatti across the Rhine to the north (Hesse) in AD 50.[7] The Chatti must have been overconfident to send such small numbers intoAlsace, which was tenanted by both Celtic and Germanic tribes loyal to Rome and was protected by bases at Mainz and Worms. The Roman commanderPublius Pomponius Secundus used cavalry from the Vangiones and theNemetes as well as regular Roman cavalry to attack the sleeping Chatti in their open camps by night. They are said to have set free some ofVarus's men who had been slaves for 40 years.[citation needed]
HisHistories describes a year of crisis for the young empire in 69,[8] when for the first time the system established by theJulio-Claudian dynasty as a solution to civil war was severely tested by the question of succession.Nero was assassinated to rid Rome of his bad management. The Romans could not agree on a successor, inadvertently involving the provinces in their internal politics, with a nearly ruinous result.
After the death ofVitellius despair prevailed along thelimes regarding the continued ability of the empire to rule and enforce peace. The lag in communication allowed the peoples along the Rhine to believe that the empire had in fact disintegrated. A revolt gradually spread along the Rhine, initiated by theBatavi and other tribes of theBelgae among the Germans, and theTreviri andLingones among the Celts (see underBatavian rebellion). They convinced the Roman legions atMoguntiacum and other bases to defect to an ad hoc Gallic government put up atTrier. The last to defect were the Vangiones, theCaeracates and theTriboci.
Meanwhile, government at Rome stabilized underVespasian, who sent some 8 legions from various parts of the empire underQuintus Petillius Cerialis, a fortunate choice, to deal with the confusion on the Rhine frontier. On the approach of Cerealis the legions who had defected now deserted the government at Trier and sought refuge among theMediomatrici, who, we learn, were still in place and had remained loyal to Rome. The three Belgic tribes among them, including the Vangiones, followed their tradition and changed loyalty back to the Romans.
Cerealis poured oil on troubled waters. He forgave the tribes involved, of either nationality. Moguntiacum was reoccupied and restored. The legions who had defected hid in their tents and could not look their loyal comrades in the face. Cerealis instructed the others not to be scornful. Meanwhile, Gaul had repudiated Trier as a government. Cerealis offered it terms, which eventually it was forced to take, as were the Batavi. The frontier was restored, with the exception that now the Batavi had to accept a garrison of Roman troops. Cerealis rose to high rank, as he justly deserved to do, serving as a counterbalance to the headstrongDomitian, who had replaced Vespasian.
Ptolemy, writing in the 2nd century AD, gives only brief mention of the Vangiones in his lists of towns and peoples.[9] Lower Germany comprises from theBatavi at the mouth of the Rhine toMocontiacum, or Mainz. Just after it is theObruncus orObrincus river, which is unknown, except that it ought to be theMain, and then the towns of Upper Germany. For the VangionesBorbetomagus (Worms) andArgentoratum (Strasbourg) are mentioned. TheMediomatrices are not in either Germania but are listed to the south ofTrier. Their town isDividurum (Metz).
Ammianus Marcellinus, 4th century soldier and historian (Res Gestae), after pointing out that the Rhine had previously been governed by twoiurisdictiones,[10] describes the provincial division of his times. However, the regional names "upper" and "lower Germany" are still in general use. In the jurisdiction ofPrima Germania ("First or Upper Germany") are Mogontiacus (Mainz), Vangiones (Worms), Nemetae (Speyer), Argentoratus (Strasbourg) and "alia municipia."[11]Metz andTrier however are inPrima Belgica.
For the year 356 Ammianus records the problems of the emperorJulian with Germanic tribes on the Rhine frontier.[12] In 355 theFranks had destroyedCologne (Agrippina), making it a desert of ruins, and theAlamanni had occupied the countryside ofAlsace, isolating but not occupying the cities there. A list is given (in theaccusative case), presumably including the "alia municipia" of "Prima Germania": Argentoratum (Strasbourg), Brotomagum (Brumath), Tabernas (Saverne), Salisonem (Selz), Nemetas (Speyer), Vangionas (Worms) and Mogontiacum (Mainz).[13] In 356 Julian moved to the relief of the cities, driving out theAlamanni, and reoccupiedCologne, forcing the Franks to the peace table. He went into winter quarters atSens and was besieged there by theAlamanni but they became discouraged and departed before the campaign season began.
The 5th centuryNotitia Dignitatum records eleven prefectures[14] in the domain (sub dispositione...) of the "Duke of Mainz" (Dux Mogontiacensis). Ruling over one of them from thecastellum Vangionis (locative case of either Vangionis or Vangio) is thePraefectus militum Secundae Flaviae, Vangiones; that is, the prefect of a district called Secunda Flavia among the Vangiones. This domain includes 11 prefectures in the Rhineland and northern Alsace.
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