Cimbri
The Cimbri were a Germanic tribe originating from northern Jutland, an area now known as Himmerland in modern Denmark. In the late second century BC, the Cimbri, facing overpopulation and environmental changes, migrated southward alongside other tribes such as the Teutones and Ambrones. Their movements led them through regions of Europe, where they engaged in significant conflicts with Roman forces. Notable victories for the Cimbri included their battles in the Rhône valley and a decisive triumph at Arausio, where they inflicted heavy losses on Roman legions. However, their fortunes changed drastically when the Roman general Gaius Marius defeated the Teutones at Aquae Sextiae in 102 BC. The Cimbri continued their campaign into Italy, initially pushing back Roman forces at Tridentum before ultimately facing annihilation at the hands of Marius and the Roman general Quintus Lutatius Catulus at Campi Raudii in 101 BC. The Cimbri's migrations and military endeavors highlight the complex interactions between Germanic tribes and Rome during this tumultuous period in European history.
Subject Terms
Cimbri
A German tribe from north Jutland (where their name is still preserved by Himmerland [Aalborg])
Toward the end of the second century BC overpopulation and a shrinking coastline impelled them to emigrate southward, with the Teutones and Ambrones. After suffering a repulse from the tribe of the Scordisci near Singidunum (Belgrade) and gaining a victory over a Roman force at Noreia (near Klagenfurt; 113), their combined horde, numbering perhaps half a million persons, moved westward into Gaul, where they won further victories over Roman armies in the Rhodanus (Rhône) valley and near Tolosa (Toulouse (109, 107), and then again at Arausio (Orange) (105), where Quintus Servilius Caepio and Cnaeus Mallius Maximus lost 80,000 men.
Next, after an abortive detour into Spain, they returned to Gaul and split up again into their two main tribal groups, the Cimbri and Teutones. Gaius Marius destroyed the Teutones at Aquae Sextiae (Aix-en-Provence; 102), and in the following year the Cimbri, who had travelled eastward and entered Italy by the Brenner Pass, drove back Quintus Lutatius Catulus near Tridentum (Trento), but were annihilated by the combined forces of Marius and Catulus at Campi Raudii near Vercellae (Vercelli) in the valley of the Padus (Po).