classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

, the Triboci or Tribocci were a

Germanic people The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...

of eastern

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

, inhabiting much of what is now

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

Name

Besides the forms Triboci and Tribocci, Schneider has the form “Triboces” in the accusative plural.

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

has Tribochi, and Strabo . In the passage of Caesar, it is said that all manuscripts have “Tribucorum”. "Three

beeches Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

" (Celtic ''tri'', Germanic ''boc'') has been suggested as an

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

, as has Germanic ''dribòn'' ("drivers f cattle, livestock).

Geography

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...

places the Tribocci in Germania Superior, but he incorrectly places the

Vangiones The Vangiones appear first in history as an ancient Germanic tribe of unknown provenance. They threw in their lot with Ariovistus in his bid of 58 BC to invade Gaul through the Doubs river valley and lost to Julius Caesar in a battle probably near ...

between the

Nemetes The Nemetes (occasionally ''Nemeti'') were a tribe settled along the Upper Rhine by Ariovistus in the 1st century BC. Their capital, ''Noviomagus Nemeton'' (or ''Civitas Nemetum''), was close to the site of medieval Speyer. Their area of settlem ...

and the Tribocci, for the Nemetes bordered on the Tribocci. However he places the Tribocci next to the

Rauraci The Rauraci or Raurici were a small Gallic tribe dwelling in the Upper Rhine region, around the present-day city of Basel, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Rauracis'' and ''Rauracorum'' by Caesar (mid-1st c. ...

, and he names Breucomagus (Brocomagus, today's Brumath) and Elcebus (Helcebus) as the two towns of the Tribocci, making Argentoratum ( Strasbourg) a city of the Vangiones. D'Anville supposes that the territory of the Tribocci corresponded to the mediaeval

diocese of Strasbourg The Archdiocese of Strasbourg ( la, Archidioecesis Argentoratensis o Argentinensis; french: Archidiocèse de Strasbourg; german: Erzbistum Straßburg; gsw-FR, Ärzbischofsìtz Strossburi(g)) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdi ...

. Consequently, a Tribocci burial ground was excavated in Diersheim on the right bank of the Rhine in today's Germany.http://dl.ub.uni-freiburg.de/diglit/ortenau1977/0011/ocr?sid=9959984406c34fcd88a0a3f26001cbdf Saletio (

Seltz Seltz (; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department of the Grand Est region in north-eastern France. It is located on the Sauer river near its confluence with the Rhine, opposite the German town of Rastatt. History The former Celtic settlemen ...

), we may suppose, belonged to the Nemetes, as in modern times it belonged to the

diocese of Speyer The Diocese of Speyer (lat. Dioecesis Spirensis) is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. The diocese is located in the South of the Rhineland-Palatinate and comprises also the Saarpfalz district in the east of the Saarland. The bishop's ...

; and it is near the northern limits of the diocese of Strasbourg. On the south towards the Rauraci, a place named Marckolsheim, on the southern limit of the diocese of Strasbourg and bordering on that of Basel, indicates a boundary by a Teutonic name (''mark''), as ''fines'' does in those parts of Gaul where the Roman tongue prevailed. The name of the Tribocci does not appear in the '' Notitia provinciarum Galliae'', though the names of the Nemetes and Vangiones are there; but instead of the Tribocci we have ''Civitas

Argentoratum Argentoratum or Argentorate was the ancient name of the city of Strasbourg. The name was first mentioned in 12 BC, when it was a Roman military outpost established by Nero Claudius Drusus. From 90 AD the Legio VIII Augusta was permanently stati ...

'' (Strasbourg), the chief place of the Tribocci.

Political and military history

The Triboci were in the army of the Germanic king Ariovistus in the great battle in which

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

defeated him; and though Caesar does not say directly that they were Germans, his narrative shows that he considered them to be Germans. In another passage Caesar places the Triboci on the Rhine between the

Mediomatrici The Mediomatrici (Gaulish: ''*Medio-māteres'') were according to Caesar a Gaulish tribe at the frontier to the Belgicae dwelling in the present-day regions Lorraine, Upper Moselle during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are ment ...

and the

Treviri The Trēverī (Gaulish: *''Trēueroi'') were a Celtic tribe of the Belgae group who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle from around 150 BCE, if not earlier, until their displacement by the Franks. Their domain lay within the southern fring ...

, and he means to place them on the left or Gallic side of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

. Strabo, after mentioning the

Sequani The Sequani were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper river basin of the Arar river (Saône), the valley of the Doubs and the Jura Mountains during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Sequanos'' by Caesar (mi ...

and Mediomatrici as extending to the Rhine, says, “Among them a German people has settled, the Tribocchi, who have passed over from their native land.”

and

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

say that the Tribocci are Germans. The true conclusion from Caesar is that he supposed the Tribocci to be settled in Gallia before 58 BCE.

Nero Claudius Drusus Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus (38–9 BC), also called Drusus the Elder, was a Roman politician and military commander. He was a patrician Claudian on his birth father's side but his maternal grandmother was from a plebeian family. He was the ...

established a military camp at Argentorate ( Strasbourg) in 12 BCE, near which there had already been a civilian La Tène settlement since around 100 BCE. The Triboci joined the revolt of Civilis in 70 CE, sending reinforcements to the Treveran rebel commander Julius Tutor along with the

Caeracates The Caeracates (Gaulish: *''Caeracatis'', 'the shepherds' or 'sheep-folk') were small tribe dwelling in Gallia Belgica during the Roman period. Like the Aresaces, they were probably a sub-tribe (''pagus'') of the larger Treveri, since they were to ...

, Vangiones and dissident Romans. This combined force defeated a Roman cohort, but at the approach of the main body of the Roman army, these new reinforcements, including the Triboci, defected to the Roman side.

Cornelius Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

. ''History'' IV.70. The city of Argentorate was rebuilt in 97 under

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

after a fire.Jean-Jacques Hatt (1952). ''Comptes-rendus des séances de l'Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres'' 96:1
p.97-100.
Retrieved on 2010-02-27.

References

* {{Germanic peoples Early Germanic peoples Tribes of pre-Roman Gaul

Name

Geography

Political and military history

See also

References