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The Chauci ((ドイツ語:Chauken), and identical or similar in other regional modern languages) were an ancient Germanic tribe living in the low-lying region between the Rivers Ems and Elbe, on both sides of the Weser and ranging as far inland as the upper Weser. Along the coast they lived on artificial hills called ''terpen'', built high enough to remain dry during the highest tide. A dense population of Chauci lived further inland, and they are presumed to have lived in a manner similar to the lives of the other Germanic peoples of the region. Their ultimate origins are not well understood. In the Germanic pre-Migration Period (i.e., before c. 300 AD) the Chauci and the related Frisians, Saxons, and Angles inhabited the Continental European coast from the Zuyder Zee to south Jutland.〔, ''Dark Age Naval Power''. Haywood uses the term 'North German' to distinguish them from the 'Rhine Germans' (the Caninnefates, Batavians, and "Frankish" tribes).〕 All of these peoples shared a common material culture, and so cannot be defined archaeologically.〔, ''Dark Age Naval Power''. Haywood cites Todd's ''The Northern Barbarians 100 BC–AD 300'' (1987) for this conclusion.〕 The Chauci originally centered on the Weser and Elbe, but in c. AD 58 they expanded westward to the River Ems by expelling the neighboring Ampsivarii,〔, ''The Annals'', Bk XIII, Ch 55. Events of AD 54–58. The Germans under Arminius had wiped out 3 Roman legions under Varus at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. The Ampsivarii had not supported the German cause and had been ostracised as a result. Many years later, c. AD 58, the Chauci then took the opportunity to expel them and occupy their land at the mouth of the River Ems.〕〔, ''Dark Age Naval Power''. Haywood cites Tacitus as well as a number of other sources.〕 whereby they gained a border with the Frisians to the west. The Romans referred to the Chauci living between the Weser and Elbe as the 'Greater Chauci' and those living between the Ems and Weser as the 'Lesser Chauci'.〔, ''The Annals'', Translator's note on Bk XI, Ch 19.〕 The Chauci entered the historical record in descriptions of them by classical Roman sources late in the 1st century BC in the context of Roman military campaigns and sea raiding. For the next 200 years the Chauci provided Roman auxiliaries through treaty obligations, but they also appear in their own right in concert with other Germanic tribes, opposing the Romans. Accounts of wars therefore mention the Chauci on both sides of the conflict, though the actions of troops under treaty obligation were separate from the policies of the tribe. The Chauci lost their separate identity in the 3rd century when they merged with the Saxons,〔, ''Dark Age Naval Power''.〕 after which time they were considered to be Saxons. The circumstances of the merger are an unsettled issue of scholarly research. ==Society and life== The Germans of the region were not strongly hierarchical. This had been noted by Tacitus, for example when he mentioned the names of two kings of the 1st century Frisians and added that they were kings "as far as the Germans are under kings".〔, ''The Annals'', Bk XIII, Ch 54. Events of AD 54–58.〕 Haywood (''Dark Age Naval Power'', 1999) says the Chauci were originally neither highly centralised nor highly stratified, though they became more so after 100 AD.〔, ''Dark Age Naval Power''. The referenced footnote notes that the Chauci heartland between the Elbe and Weser contained huge cremation cemeteries with a uniform range of poor quality grave goods. In the 2nd century aristocratic cemeteries with rich grave goods appear.〕 Yorke (''The Conversion of Britain c.600–800'', 2006), speaking of the 5th century, describes the 'Continental Saxons' (which then included the Chauci) as having powerful local families and a dominant military leader. Writing in AD 79, Pliny the Elder said that the Germanic tribes were members of separate groups of people, suggesting a distinction among them. He said that the Chauci, Cimbri and Teutoni—the people from the River Ems through Jutland and for some distance inland—were members of a group called Ingaevones (a "Cimbri" people were also given as members of a different group, and this is likely a different people).〔, ''Natural History'', Bk IV, Ch 28: Germany. A footnote suggests that the two references to the Cimbri in two different groups were not references to the same people.〕 Tacitus, writing in AD 98, described the inland, non-coastal Chauci homeland as immense, densely populated, and well-stocked with horses. He was effusive in his praise of their character as a people, saying that they were the noblest of the Germans, preferring justice to violence, being neither aggressive nor predatory, but militarily capable and always prepared for war if the need arose.〔, ''The Germany'', XXXV.〕 Pliny (AD 23–79) had visited the coastal region and described the Chauci who lived there. He said that they were "wretched natives" living on a barren coast in small cottages (or huts) on hilltops, or on mounds of turf built high enough to stay dry during the highest tide (i.e., ''terpen''). They fished for food, and unlike their neighbors (i.e., those living inland, away from the coast) they had no cattle, and had nothing to drink except rainwater caught in ditches. They used a type of dried mud (i.e., "surface peat") as fuel for cooking and heating. He also mentioned their spirit of independence, saying that even though they had nothing of value, they would deeply resent any attempt to conquer them.〔, ''Natural History'', Bk XVI, Ch I: Countries that have no trees. Pliny also notes that the Chauci lived between the Rivers Ems and Elbe.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Chauci」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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