Motivated by financial woes, the two chieftains refused to pay an imposed tribute and led an army of Gallic debtors.

Florus killed himself to prevent capture after failing to elude pursuers and Sacrovir after being trapped in a house that was set on fire.

In many respects Tacitus follows convention in his descriptions of the rebellion, even using the exact phrasing as other historians of his time (as was the norm in official historiography among Roman writers).

His description of the death of Sacrovir on the battlefield uses a tone of respectability and he emphasizes the fact Florus would have been brought before the Senate as a Roman for treason had he not taken his own life, treatment not given to mere brigands.

[3] Tacitus lists the reasons for the revolt as: indebtedness, the vices of the Roman lifestyle, a desire for liberty, and the recent death of Germanicus (d. AD 19; heir of Tiberius).

He took the city of Augustodunum and made it into a base of operations for the cause, recruiting tribal youths, their families, and slaves who were being trained for gladiatorial combat.

The Sequani pledged their support, but a force of 2 legions from the Upper Rhine under Silius mobilized and laid waste to their lands before advancing on Augustodonum itself.