Sicambri
The West Germanic tribe of the
Sigambrer (var.
Sicambri, Sicambres, Sigambrer, Sugumbrer, Sugambri) appear in history around
55 BC, during the time of conquests of
Gaul by
Gaius Julius Caesar at begin of the
Roman Empire, on the right bank of the
Rhine between the rivers
Ruhr and
Sieg, in an area that is today part of the German state of
North Rhine-Westphalia. The river Sieg, as well as the city of
Siegen, were said to be named for this tribe.
In
16 BC they defeated a Roman army under the command of Marcus Lollius, which sparked a reaction from the Roman Empire and helped start the series of
Germanic Wars lasting from 16 BC to
16 AD.
In
11 BC, they were forced by
Nero Claudius Drusus to move to the left side of the
Rhine, where they evidently formed a central component of the confederacy of
Franks. Their new homeland was located in what is now the region of
Gelderland in the
Netherlands, on the lower Rhine river.
The
Merovingian kings claimed their descent from the Sicambri, who they believed were originally a
Scythian or
Cimmerian tribe once inhabiting the mouth of the river
Danube, that had changed their name to "
Franks" in 11 BC under the leadership of a certain chieftain called "Franko". The Merovingians traced their Sicambrian origins from
Marcomir I (supposedly died
412 BC), and ultimately to the kings of
Troy, but this list of rulers is not accepted as historical. According to some records, a chieftain
Marcomer preceded the Merovingian dynasty around
400 AD.
Gregory of Tours states that the Frankish leader
Clovis, on the occasion of his baptism into the
Catholic faith in
496, was referred to as
Sicamber by the officiating
bishop of Rheims -- recalling again the link between the Sugambri and Clovis' ancestors, the
Merovingian royal house of the Franks.
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Roman Conquest of Germania
