Belgae

Belgae were a collection of Celtic-speaking tribes in northwestern Gaul during the late Iron Age and into the early Roman period. They inhabited the area roughly corresponding to present-day Belgium and parts of northern France and the southern Netherlands. The name Belgae is primarily known from Julius Caesar’s account in the Commentarii de Bello Gallico, where he describes them as among the strongest Gaulish peoples and notes their resistance to Roman expansion. The region they occupied was later organized by the Romans as the province of Gallia Belgica.

Caesar lists a number of Belgae tribes, and later sources describe a loose federation rather than a single polity. Notable Belgae included the Nervii, Menapii, Morini, Ambiani, Atrebates, Suessionnes and Remi, among others, with settlements along the coast at the Menapian and the Sambre-Meuse valleys and inland at the Ardennes and around Reims and Trier. The Belgae were known for their martial skill; the Nervii, in particular, fought Caesar at the Battle of the Sabis.

Conquest by Rome in the late 50s BCE led to the incorporation of Belgic tribes into the province of Gallia Belgica. Roman rule brought urbanization, Roman roads, and the Latin language, contributing to the Romanization of the region over centuries. The Belgae and their territory left a lasting legacy in European geography and the historical name for the region; the term Belgica, and its modern form Belgium, reflect the medieval and early modern memory of the Belgae as a distinct Gaulish group.