Commius: By about 30 BC Commius had established himself as king of the Atrebates in Britain, and was issuing coins from Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester). It is possible that Commius and his followers founded this kingdom, although the fact that, when Caesar was unable to bring his cavalry to Britain in 55 BC, Commius was able to provide a small detachment of horsemen from his people, suggests that there were already Atrebates in Britain at this time. Coins marked with his name continued to be issued until about 20 BC, and some have suggested, based on the length of his floruit, that there may have been two kings, father and son, of the same name. However, if Commius was a young man when appointed by Caesar he could very well have lived until 20 BC. Some coins of this period are stamped "COM COMMIOS", which, if interpreted as "Commius son of Commius", would seem to support the two kings theory.[13] Three later kings, Tincomarus, Eppillus and Verica, are named on their coins as sons of Commius. From about 25 BC Commius appears to have ruled in collaboration with Tincomarus. After his death Tincomarus appears to have ruled the northern part of the kingdom from Calleva, while Eppillus ruled the southern part from Noviomagus (Chichester). Eppillus became sole ruler ca. AD 7. Verica succeeded him about 15.

Open main menu

4

Commius

Article Talk

• Language
• Watch
• History
• Edit

For the genus of shield bugs, see Commius (bug).

Commius (Commios, Comius, Comnios) was a king of the Belgic nation of the Atrebates, initially in Gaul, then in Britain, in the 1st century BC.

The Winchester Hoard (c. 50 BC). This jewellery might have been a diplomatic gift to a Chieftain ruling in southern Britain, possibly related to Commius of the Atrebates.

Ally of CaesarEdit

When Julius Caesar conquered the Atrebates in Gaul in 57 BC,^[1] as recounted in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico, he appointed Commius as king of the tribe. Before Caesar's first expedition to Britain in 55 BC, Commius was sent as Caesar's envoy to persuade the Britons not to resist him, as Caesar believed he would have influence on the island.^[2] However he was arrested as soon as he arrived. When the Britons failed to prevent Caesar from landing, Commius was handed over as part of the negotiations.^[3] Commius was able to provide a small detachment of cavalry from his tribe to help Caesar defeat further British attacks.^[4] During Caesar's second expedition to Britain Commius negotiated the surrender of the British leader Cassivellaunus.^[5] He remained Caesar's loyal client through the Gaulish revolts of 54 BC, and in return Caesar allowed the Atrebates to remain independent and exempt from tax, and in addition appointed Commius to rule the Morini.^[6]

However this loyalty was not to last, as related by Aulus Hirtius in the final book of the De Bello Gallico, written after Caesar's death. While Caesar was in Cisalpine Gaul in the winter of 53, the legate Titus Labienus believed that Commius had been conspiring against the Romans with other Gaulish tribes. Labienus sent a tribune, Gaius Volusenus Quadratus, and some centurions to summon Commius to a sham meeting at which they would execute him for his treachery, but Commius escaped with a severe head wound. He vowed never again to associate with Romans.^[7]

Enemy of Caesar

King in BritainEdit

By about 30 BC Commius had established himself as king of the Atrebates in Britain, and was issuing coins from Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester). It is possible that Commius and his followers founded this kingdom, although the fact that, when Caesar was unable to bring his cavalry to Britain in 55 BC, Commius was able to provide a small detachment of horsemen from his people, suggests that there were already Atrebates in Britain at this time. Coins marked with his name continued to be issued until about 20 BC, and some have suggested, based on the length of his floruit, that there may have been two kings, father and son, of the same name. However, if Commius was a young man when appointed by Caesar he could very well have lived until 20 BC. Some coins of this period are stamped "COM COMMIOS", which, if interpreted as "Commius son of Commius", would seem to support the two kings theory.^[13]

Three later kings, Tincomarus, Eppillus and Verica, are named on their coins as sons of Commius. From about 25 BC Commius appears to have ruled in collaboration with Tincomarus. After his death Tincomarus appears to have ruled the northern part of the kingdom from Calleva, while Eppillus ruled the southern part from Noviomagus (Chichester). Eppillus became sole ruler ca. AD 7. Verica succeeded him about 15, and ruled until shortly before the Roman conquest of 43.^[14]

NameEdit

The name Commius (British *Combios 'cutter, smiter, killer') is thought to derive from the Celtic verb *kom·binati 'to cut, smite, kill' (Welsh cymynu, Old Irish com·ben)^[15].

Popular culture and fictionEdit

French Nobel laureate Anatole France wrote a lengthy short story about the Romanization of Belgic Gaul from the point of view of Commius, whose name he recasts in Germanic form as Komm. The story, "Komm of the Atrebates," appears in France's historical fiction collection Clio and can be read in English translation online.

Commius appeared in the 2001 French movie Vercingétorix.

Caesar (Masters of Rome #5) by Colleen McCullough. A minor character in the series but portrayed accurately to history within a historical fiction novel.

References

Last edited 2 years ago by Krakkos

RELATED ARTICLES

• Atrebates

  Belgic tribe of Gaul and Britain before the Roman conquests
• Tincomarus

  King of the Atrebates in southern central Britain
• Eppillus

  Roman client king of the Atrebates tribe of the British Iron Age

Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted.

• Terms of Use
• Privacy
• Desktop