Tencteri and Usipetes
The Tencteri and Usipetes were Germanic tribes that originally may have been located on the eastern bank of the lower rhine.
Both tribes were encountered and defeated by Julius Caesar in 55 BCE.[1] They were referred to by the Romans as Germanic rather than Gallic. Caesar's account states that the Tencteri and Usipetes were expelled from their homelands by the Suebians and arrived at the other side of the Rhine, in the area inhabited by the Menapii, who, on encountering these invaders, fled and fortified defensively.[2] After Caesar defeated these peoples, their cavalry fled north over the Rhine and found asylum with the Sicambri.[3]
Caesar utilized Tencteri as warriors as they were well known for excellent horsemanship.[citation needed] Their warriors were used in Caesar's invasion of Gaul.
The Usipetes are not mentioned in Tacitus' Germania but are recorded in Caesar's Gallic War (IV,1; 4; 16; 18; VI,35), as having invaded Gaul. As well, Tacitus records that a cohort of Usipi (who may have been synonymous with the Usipetes) took part as auxiliaries in the military campaigns of the general Agricola in Britannia.
References
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