In 57 BC, Julius Caesar conquered parts of Gaul and Belgica. Today this is Belgium, Northern France, Luxembourg, part of Netherlands below the Rhine River; and the north-western portion of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany.
Ambiorix
Ambiorix is a Belgian national hero. He rebelled against the Romans.
Why do we know plenty about Vercingetorix but very little about Ambiorix?
In his book ‘De Bello Gallico’ Caesar wrote about the Belgae, saying that "Of these [three regions], the Belgae are the bravest." ("... Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae ...").
Within Belgica, there were several tribes who regularly fought together. One of these tribes, the Eburones, came from the area very close to Hannut. The leader of the Eburones was Ambiorix.
In 54BC, Caesar’s troups needed more food and they ordered the local tribes to give up part of their harvest to feed the Roman soldiers. The harvest had been bad that year, and the starving Belgae did not want to give up their food.
Caesar ordered camps to be built near the Eburones settlements and ordered Centurions to ensure that the harvest was handed over.
Cassius Dio also writes about Ambiorix. From him we learn that the Treverians asked the Eburones to attack the Fourteenth Legion.
When Ambiorix was questioned by the Roman Generals about the attack, he told them that he had been forced to attack them and he warned the Romans of a greater attack that was coming from Germania.
The Romans believed Ambiorix and fled, but they were attacked by waiting Eburones who completely massacred the Fourteenth Legion.
When Caesar learned of this deception, he in turn ordered a massacre of the Eburones, but before punishing the Eburones, he first received reinforcements.
By 53 BC, he possessed no less than 10 Legions, almost 50 000 heavily armed soldiers.
Caesar wanted Ambiorix, dead or alive. Alerted by the deception and the cooperation of the Gallic tribes, he first attacked Ambiorix’ allies. Nervians, Treverians and Menapians were all slaughtered before he finally turned on the Eburones.
A reconstruction of Celts in Battle with the Romans.
Women and children were carried off as slaves, men were slaughtered through the Meuse and Scheldt valleys. Some historians have even considered Caesar’s actions to be comparable with genocide.
We know little about Ambiorix. The Celts could not write and had in any case met a terrible fate. It is believed he managed to escape to Germania but was never heard of again.
We can be almost certain that if Caesar did catch him, he did not know he had. In comparison with Vercigetorix, and the defeat of Alesia, no celebratory coins were made about Ambiorix.
The only archeological proof we have of this story is a stash of coins found close to Maastricht. It is probable that they were made in a hurry as payment for soldiers joining Ambiorix’s rebellion.
When Belgium became a country in 1830, the government looked for a national hero. They erected a statue of Ambiorix on the market square of Tongeren, the town that Caesar referred to as Atuatuca Tongurum.
http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.be/2016/04/gaul-chieftain-ambiorix.html
http://forums.acgmag.com/showthread.php?p=1628503