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Het verhaal van Vlaanderen - Season 1 - Episode 2 - The Romans arrive
Our Celtic ancestors in Gaul (roughly Benelux and France) lived in small farmer villages, loosely grouped in tribal units. Without a state level, they were a walkover for the flawless, well-equipped Roman war machine, which built a Mediterranean empire since centuries, when ambitious general Julius Caesar decided to gather fame, fortune and future by conquering Gaul. Itw as bloody, food confiscation worse then the fights. Crafty war chief Ambiorix, co-king of the Eburones tribe (roughly modern Limburg), put up a surprising fight wiping out a legion and a half, but that only brought utter vengeance. The Romans brought order, roads, superior technology and countless innovations, as in diet. The local elites gradually adopted the Roman villa lifestyle. The army offered unlimited career possibilities: Marcus Aurelius Carausius from the Menapians (roughly present West and East Flanders provinces) reached command of the North Sea "classis" (military fleet) but kept the riches confiscated from pirates and declared himself breakaway emperor in Britannia, attested by coins, till his deputy murdered him even years later. Only when the the empire weakened and started disintegrating, Germanic neighboring tribes would no longer copy and raid but conquer.
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