Ambiorix

Ambiorix (c. 54/53 BCE) was the co-ruler of the Eburone tribe of Gallia Belgica (north-eastern Gaul, modern-day Belgium) who led an insurrection against Caesar's occupying forces in Gaul in the winter of 54/53 BCE. Nothing is known of his youth or rise to power; he enters and leaves history in the pages of Caesar's Gallic Wars which later historians then drew on for their own accounts of the uprising. Even his name is unknown as “Ambiorix” is a title meaning “Rich King” or an epithet meaning “King in All Directions”. However he came by that title, he actually shared the Eburone kingship with an elder leader named Cativolcus who seems to have been pressured into supporting Ambiorix's revolt and later regretted the decision. Ambiorix gained lasting fame for his clever deceit of the Roman garrison in Gaul under the command of Quintus Titurius Sabinus (died 54/53 CE) and Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta (died 54/53 CE) and the subsequent ambush which destroyed a Roman legion.