Nervii

The Nervii were a Belgic Celtic tribe that inhabited the region along the Sambre river in northern Gaul, in what is now Belgium (roughly in present-day western Hainaut and eastern Brabant). They were one of the most powerful Belgic tribes and formed part of the Belgic confederation described by Caesar.

In 57 BCE, during Julius Caesar's Gallic War, the Nervii, allied with other Belgic tribes, attacked the Roman legion camp near the Sabis (Sambre) in a surprise assault, inflicting heavy casualties. Caesar arrived with reinforcements and defeated them, with many Nervii killed or enslaved; the remainder submitted, and their territory was subjugated and incorporated into the Roman province of Gallia Belgica.

In the centuries that followed, references to the Nervii fade from major sources; the tribe ceased to exist as a distinct political entity in written records, though their territory remained under Roman administration and later medieval polities formed in the region. Archaeology and toponymy provide limited evidence, and Caesar's account remains the principal historical source.

Culturally, the Nervii, like other Belgic tribes, were described by Romans as a warrior people with a tradition of resistance. Details of their social structure, economy, and religion are poorly attested, and much of what is known derives from hostile sources in Roman literature.