Ariovistus (died 54 BC) was a leader of the Germanic Suebi tribe during the 1st century BC, and an early opponent of Roman general Julius Caesar during his Gallic Wars in the 50s BC.
Biography[]
Ariovistus was born to the Germanic Suebi tribe, and he became King of the Suebi during the mid-1st century BC; he also came to be fluent in the Gallic language. In 63 BC, the Gallic Sequani and Arverni tribes requested the aid of the Germanic ruler Ariovistus in their war with the Aedui, and Ariovistus led 15,000 Suebic warriors into Gaul and aided in the annihilation of the Aedui nobility at the Battle of Magetobriga. The Aedui requested the help of the Roman Republic against the Suebi, but Rome was distracted by a serious political crisis in the aftermath of the Catiline Conspiracy, and in 59 BC, the Roman Senate named Ariovistus a "Friend of the People of Rome" to pacify him and keep him in check. Ariovistus proceeded to demand that the Sequani grant the Suebi a third of their lands as payment for his aid, and he began moving more of his people across the Rhine to settle in Gaul. By 58 BC, 120,000 Suebi crossed the Rhine and settled in Gaul, and Ariovistus demanded more Sequani territory to settle an extra 24,000 Germans, taking hostages in order to keep the Sequani and Aedui obedient. That same year, the Roman general Julius Caesar was visited by Diviciacus and a council of Gallic leaders and diplomats, who persuaded Caesar to intercede against the expansionist Suebi, who threatened to establish a border with the Romans. Caesar invited Ariovistus to talks, but Ariovistus declined the offer. Caesar then sent a diplomat to request that Ariovistus return his Gallic hostages and cease hostilities with the Gauls in exchange for continued peace with Rome and Ariovistus keeping his seized lands. However, Ariovistus rejected these terms and said that, as the Romans enjoyed the right of conquest, so did the Suebi. The 24,000 Suebic settlers who recently arrived in Gaul razed and pillaged Gallic lands, justifying Caesar's intervention to protect Rome's Gallic allies. Ariovistus' army faced off against Caesar's smaller army near Vesontio (Besancon), and Ariovistus met with Caesar during the standoff; Ariovistus said that, if he were to kill Caesar, there were many in Rome who would be grateful, displaying his knowledge of Roman politics; negotiations then broke down and devolved into a brief cavalry skirmish. Ariovistus then set a trap for Caesar at a second meeting, but Caesar sent his translators instead, and Ariovistus took them prisoner. The two sides then met in a climactic battle, the Battle of Vesontio, and, after a hard-fought battle, the Romans slaughtered the Suebi. Both of Ariovistus' wives and one of his daughters were killed, and another daughter was captured. Ariovistus fled across the Rhine, and, while he drove the Usipetes and Tencteri from his ladns in 55 BC, he died in 54 BC, causing indignation among the Germanic peoples.