Usipetes Usipetes or Usipii ( in Plutarch ' s Greek , Ousipai , and possibly the same as the Ouispoi of Claudius Ptolemy ) were an ancient tribe who moved into the area on the right bank ( the northern or eastern bank ) of the lower Rhine in the 1st century BC , putting them in contact with Gaul and the Roman empire . They are known first from the surviving works of ancient authors such as Julius Caesar and Tacitus . They appear to have moved position several times before disappearing from the historical record . While the Usipetes were referred to by the Romans as Germanic rather than Gauls , their recorded names are most reasonably explained as Celtic : " Usipetes " translates as " good riders " , and Caesar and others report them to have strong cavalry . Tencteri and Usipetes in the time of Julius Caesar . In his " Commentarii de Bello Gallico " , Caesar describes how two tribes , the Tencteri and Usipetes , had been driven from their traditional lands by the Germanic Suebi , whose military dominance had led to constant warfare and neglect of agriculture . This original homeland of the two tribes is not clear but must have been close to where the Suebi had settled by the time of Caesar , who he described as living in a very large wooded area to the east of the Ubii , who at this time lived on the east bank of the Rhine , on the opposite bank from where Cologne is today . It has been argued that the Tencteri and Usipetes specifically may have come from the area of the Weser river to the east of the Sigambri , because it is near to where the two tribes appeared on the Rhine , and Caesar reports the Suevi in this area . It would also explain the apparently friendly relations of the Tencteri and Usipetes with the Sigambri , who might have been their traditional neighbours . ( In later Roman times this area inhabited by Caesar ' s Suebi was inhabited by the Chatti . ) In the winter 55 BC , having failed to find new lands elsewhere in Germania , they came to the Rhine , into the territory of the Menapii , a Belgic tribe who had land on both sides of the river , and had not yet submitted to Roman rule . Alarmed by the scale of the incursion , the Menapii had withdrawn from their territories east of the Rhine and successfully resisted the Germani bid to cross it for some time . The Germani feigned a retreat , allowing the Menapii to return to their territories east of the Rhine . Their cavalry then returned and made a surprise night attack . They crossed the river and seized Menapian boats , occupied Menapian villages and towns , and spent the rest of the winter living on Menapian provisions . Caesar , fearing how the Gauls on the left bank might react , hurried to deal with this threat to his command of the region . He discovered that a number of Gaulish tribes had attempted to pay these Germani generously to leave , but the Tencteri and Usipetes had ranged further , coming to the frontiers of the Condrusi and Eburones , who were both under the protection of the Treveri to their south . Caesar convened a meeting of the Gaulish chiefs , and , pretending he did not know of their attempts at bribery , demanded cavalry and provisions for war against the Tencteri and Usipetes . The Tencteri and Usipetes sent ambassadors to Caesar as he advanced . While they boasted of their military strength , claiming that they could defeat anyone but the Suebi , they offered an alliance , requesting that Caesar assign them land . Caesar refused any alliance so long as the Tencteri and Usipetes remained in Gaul . He proposed settling them in the territory of the Ubii , another Germanic tribe who had sought his help against the aggression of the Suebi , there being no land available in Gaul . ( The Ubii were at this time on the east bank of the Rhine , but would later be settled on the left bank , where their capital became Cologne . ) The ambassadors requested a truce of three days , during which time neither side would advance towards the other , and they took Caesar ' s counter - proposal to their leaders for consideration . But Caesar would not accept this , believing the Germani were buying time for the return of their cavalry , who had crossed the Meuse to plunder the Ambivariti a few days previously . As Caesar continued to advance , further ambassadors requested a three - day truce for them to negotiate with the Ubii about his settlement proposal , but Caesar refused for the same reason . He offered a single day , during which he would advance no more than four miles , and ordered his officers to act defensively and not to provoke battle . The Germanic cavalry , although outnumbered by Caesar ' s Gallic horsemen , made the first attack , forcing the Romans to retreat . Caesar describes a characteristic battle - tactic they used , where a horsemen would leap down to their feet and stab enemy horses in the belly . Accusing them of violating the truce , Caesar refused to accept any more ambassadors , arresting some who came requesting a further truce , and led his full force against the Germanic camp . The Usipetes and Tencteri were thrown into disarray and forced to flee , pursued by Caesar ' s cavalry , to the confluence of the Rhine and Meuse . Many were killed attempting to cross the rivers . They found refuge on the other side of the Rhine amongst the Sicambri . Plutarch reports that back in Rome , Cato pronounced the opinion that they ought to deliver up Caesar to the Barbarians , thus purging away the violation of the truce in behalf of the city , and turning the curse therefor on the guilty man . Of those who had crossed the Rhine into Gaul four hundred thousand were cut to pieces , and the few who succeeded in making their way back were received by the Sugambri , a German nation . This action Caesar made a ground of complaint against the Sugambri , and besides , he coveted the fame of being the first man to cross the Rhine with an army . Later mentions . The Usipetes , or " Usipi " as they were named by most authors after Caesar , continued to move around although all the details are not clear . In 16 BC , the Tencteri , Usipetes and Sicambri once again crossed the Rhine and attacked Gaul . Marcus Lollius was defeated and the Germanic tribes took the standard of the 5th legion . In 12 BC and 11 BC at the time of Drusus , the Usipi are described as living between Nijmegen and the Sugambri , and neighboring the Tubantes , which means they were in the region of the present day Dutch - German border , north of the Rhine and Lippe rivers . In 14 AD the Usipetes still lived near north of the Lippe and joined the Bructeri and Tubantes in fighting Germanicus . Strabo describes the Usipi as being among the defeated tribes displayed in the triumphal procession of Germanicus in 17 AD . Tacitus also describes in his " Annales " how in 58 AD the Ampsivarii demanded to be allowed to use the reserved lands on Roman border at the Rhine which had recently belonged to the Usipii , but it is not clearly explained where or why the Usipii had moved . What is mentioned is that when the Ampsivarii retreated from the Romans , and apparently also away from the lands of the Bructeri and Tencteri ( who had already stood down ) , they moved towards the lands of the Tubantes and Usipii . So the Usipi seem to have settled for some time after Caesar on the north of the Rhine , but then later moved further north , away from the Roman frontier , to become neighbours of the Tubantes . Tacitus ' " Agricola " ( chapter 28 ) , recounts how a cohort drafted into the Roman army mutinied whilst on campaign in northern Britain ( presumably on the west coast ) with his father - in - law , the general Gnaeus Julius Agricola ( probably in AD 82 , although the chronology is disputed ) . They killed the centurion and regular Roman soldiers based with them for training purposes , then stole three ships and sailed round the northern end of Britain , their hardships including being driven to cannibalism by shortage of food . They finally made landfall in the territory of the Suebi , where some were captured by that tribe . Others were caught by the Frisii and a few survivors were sold into slavery to tell their tale . Tacitus in his " Germania " describes them as now living in 98 AD between the Chatti and the Rhine , near the Tencteri . This apparently indicates a significant movement south from the area near the Tubantes . Later , the difficult to interpret description given in Claudius Ptolemy ' s " Geography " describes the " Ouispoi " ( Uispi or Vispi ) living south of the Tencteri , between Rhine and Abnoba mountains , but north of the Agri Decumates . If these are the Usipi , then they had moved considerably . ( The same passage can also be interpreted as describing the Tencteri as having moved south . ) In the Peutinger map , the area across from Cologne and Bonn is inhabited by the " Burcturi " ( Bructeri ) , who may have included a mixture of several of the original Germanic tribes from over the Rhine , including the Tencteri and Usipetes . The Bructeri had also therefore apparently moved south . To their north are Franks and their south on the Rhine were Suevi , both of which represent new forces in the area .