1.
Avernus
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Avernus was an ancient name for a volcanic crater near Cumae, Italy, in the Region of Campania west of Naples. Part of the Phlegraean Fields of volcanoes, Avernus is approximately 3.2 kilometres in circumference, within the crater is Lake Avernus. Avernus was believed to be the entrance to the underworld, and is portrayed as such in the Aeneid of Virgil, the name comes from the Greek word aornos, meaning without birds, because according to tradition, all birds flying over the lake were destined to fall dead. This was likely due to the fumes that mouths of the crater gave off into the atmosphere. In later times, the word was simply a name for the underworld. On the shores of the lake is the grotto of the Cumaean Sybil and the entrance to a tunnel leading toward Cumae. There are also the remains of temples to Apollo and Jupiter, during the civil war between Octavian and Antony, Agrippa tried to turn the lake into a military port, the Portus Julius. A waterway was dug from Lake Lucrino to Avernus to this end, the ports remains may still be seen under the lakes surface. The term avernus was also used by ancient naturalists for certain lakes, grottos, the Cave of Dogs in Italy was a famous example. The most celebrated of these, however, is Lake Avernus, mephitis was the Roman goddess of noxious vapors, who protects against malaria. The adjective mephitic means foul-smelling or malodorous, ploutonion, grotto of Plouton, a Greek term for a mephitic sanctuary ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Avernus. ^ This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chambers, Ephraim. Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, james and John Knapton, et al. Lake Avernus with the Temple of Apollo and a Distant View of Cape Misenum, a very faint pencil sketch by Joseph Turner
2.
Gaul
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It covered an area of 190,800 sq mi. According to the testimony of Julius Caesar, Gaul was divided into three parts, Gallia Celtica, Belgica and Aquitania, during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, Gaul fell under Roman rule, Gallia Cisalpina was conquered in 203 BC and Gallia Narbonensis in 123 BC. Gaul was invaded after 120 BC by the Cimbri and the Teutons, Gallia remains a name of France in modern Greek and modern Latin. The Greek and Latin names Galatia, and Gallia are ultimately derived from a Celtic ethnic term or clan Gal-to-. Galli of Gallia Celtica were reported to refer to themselves as Celtae by Caesar. Hellenistic folk etymology connected the name of the Galatians to the supposedly milk-white skin of the Gauls, modern researchers say it is related to Welsh gallu, Cornish galloes, capacity, power, thus meaning powerful people. The English Gaul is from French Gaule and is unrelated to Latin Gallia, as adjectives, English has the two variants, Gaulish and Gallic. The two adjectives are used synonymously, as pertaining to Gaul or the Gauls, although the Celtic language or languages spoken in Gaul is predominantly known as Gaulish. The Germanic w- is regularly rendered as gu- / g- in French, also unrelated in spite of superficial similarity is the name Gael. The Irish word gall did originally mean a Gaul, i. e. an inhabitant of Gaul, but its meaning was later widened to foreigner, to describe the Vikings, and later still the Normans. The dichotomic words gael and gall are sometimes used together for contrast, by 500 BC, there is strong Hallstatt influence throughout most of France. By the late 5th century BC, La Tène influence spreads rapidly across the territory of Gaul. The La Tène culture developed and flourished during the late Iron Age in France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, southwest Germany, Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia, farther north extended the contemporary pre-Roman Iron Age culture of northern Germany and Scandinavia. By the 2nd century BC, the Romans described Gallia Transalpina as distinct from Gallia Cisalpina, while some scholars believe the Belgae south of the Somme were a mixture of Celtic and Germanic elements, their ethnic affiliations have not been definitively resolved. One of the reasons is political interference upon the French historical interpretation during the 19th century, in addition to the Gauls, there were other peoples living in Gaul, such as the Greeks and Phoenicians who had established outposts such as Massilia along the Mediterranean coast. Also, along the southeastern Mediterranean coast, the Ligures had merged with the Celts to form a Celto-Ligurian culture, the prosperity of Mediterranean Gaul encouraged Rome to respond to pleas for assistance from the inhabitants of Massilia, who were under attack by a coalition of Ligures and Gauls. The Romans intervened in Gaul in 154 BC and again in 125 BC, whereas on the first occasion they came and went, on the second they stayed. Massilia was allowed to keep its lands, but Rome added to its territories the lands of the conquered tribes. The direct result of conquests was that by now, Rome controlled an area extending from the Pyrenees to the lower Rhône river
3.
Auvergne
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Auvergne is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and it comprises four departments, Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. The administrative region of Auvergne is larger than the province of Auvergne. The Auvergne region is composed of the old provinces, Auvergne, departments of Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal, northwest of Haute-Loire. The province of Auvergne is entirely contained inside the Auvergne region Bourbonnais, a small part of Bourbonnais is also contained inside the Centre-Val de Loire region. Velay, centre and southeast of department of Haute-Loire, velay is entirely contained inside the Auvergne region. A small part of Gévaudan, extreme southwest of Haute-Loire, Gévaudan is essentially inside the Languedoc-Roussillon region. A small part of Vivarais, extreme southeast of Haute-Loire, Vivarais is essentially inside the Rhône-Alpes region. A small part of Forez, extreme northeast of Haute-Loire, Forez is essentially inside the Rhône-Alpes region. Velay, Gévaudan, and Vivarais are often considered to be sub-provinces of the old province of Languedoc, Forez is also often considered to be a sub-province of Lyonnais. Therefore, the region of Auvergne is composed of the provinces of Auvergne, major part of Bourbonnais. The region is home to a chain of volcanoes known collectively as the chaîne des Puys, the last confirmed eruption was around 4040 BCE. The volcanoes began forming some 70,000 years ago, and most have eroded, Auvergne has a surface area of 26,013 square kilometres equivalent to 4. 8% of Frances total surface area. Auvergne is one of the smallest regions in France, Auvergne is known for its mountain ranges and dormant volcanoes. Together the Monts Dore and the Chaîne des Puys include 80 volcanoes, the Puy de Dôme is the tallest volcano in the region, with an altitude of 1,465 metres. The Sancy Massif in the Monts Dore is the highest point in Auvergne, the northern region is covered in hills while the southern portion is mountainous and dotted with pastures. The Forest of Tronçais covers nearly 11,000 hectares and is the largest oak forest in Europe, the Loire runs through the southeast and borders the northeast, and the Allier runs from north to south down the center of Auvergne, with branches going east and west. Over many years the Allier river has created what are known as the Allier gorges, Auvergne has about 50 freshwater ponds and lakes
4.
Ancient Rome
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In its many centuries of existence, the Roman state evolved from a monarchy to a classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it came to dominate the Mediterranean region and then Western Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa and it is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world. Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern government, law, politics, engineering, art, literature, architecture, technology, warfare, religion, language and society. Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created a system of government called res publica, the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. By the end of the Republic, Rome had conquered the lands around the Mediterranean and beyond, its domain extended from the Atlantic to Arabia, the Roman Empire emerged with the end of the Republic and the dictatorship of Augustus Caesar. 721 years of Roman-Persian Wars started in 92 BC with their first war against Parthia and it would become the longest conflict in human history, and have major lasting effects and consequences for both empires. Under Trajan, the Empire reached its territorial peak, Republican mores and traditions started to decline during the imperial period, with civil wars becoming a prelude common to the rise of a new emperor. Splinter states, such as the Palmyrene Empire, would divide the Empire during the crisis of the 3rd century. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the part of the empire broke up into independent kingdoms in the 5th century. This splintering is a landmark historians use to divide the ancient period of history from the pre-medieval Dark Ages of Europe. King Numitor was deposed from his throne by his brother, Amulius, while Numitors daughter, Rhea Silvia, because Rhea Silvia was raped and impregnated by Mars, the Roman god of war, the twins were considered half-divine. The new king, Amulius, feared Romulus and Remus would take back the throne, a she-wolf saved and raised them, and when they were old enough, they returned the throne of Alba Longa to Numitor. Romulus became the source of the citys name, in order to attract people to the city, Rome became a sanctuary for the indigent, exiled, and unwanted. This caused a problem for Rome, which had a large workforce but was bereft of women, Romulus traveled to the neighboring towns and tribes and attempted to secure marriage rights, but as Rome was so full of undesirables they all refused. Legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins, after a long time in rough seas, they landed at the banks of the Tiber River. Not long after they landed, the men wanted to take to the sea again, one woman, named Roma, suggested that the women burn the ships out at sea to prevent them from leaving. At first, the men were angry with Roma, but they realized that they were in the ideal place to settle. They named the settlement after the woman who torched their ships, the Roman poet Virgil recounted this legend in his classical epic poem the Aeneid
5.
Battle of Gergovia
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The Battle of Gergovia took place in 52 BC in Gaul at Gergovia, the chief oppidum of the Arverni. The battle was fought between a Roman Republican army, led by proconsul Julius Caesar, and Gallic forces led by Vercingetorix, who was also the Arverni chieftain. The site is identified with Merdogne, now called Gergovie, a located on a hill within the town of La Roche-Blanche, near Clermont-Ferrand. Some walls and earthworks still survive from the pre-Roman Iron Age, the battle is well known in France, as exemplified in the popular French comic Asterix, where the battle is referenced, specifically in the book Asterix and the Class Act. As with much of the history of Gaul, the knowledge of the war comes principally from Julius Caesars Commentaries on the Gallic War. Vercingetorix had earlier expelled from Gergovia. In winter 53 BC, whilst Caesar was gathering his forces for a strike against the Gauls, leaving two legions and all his baggage train behind in Agedincum, Caesar led the remaining legions to Gergovias aid. His sieges of Vellaunodunum, Genabum and Noviodunum en route caused Vercingetorix to lift his siege and march to meet Caesar in open battle at Noviodunum, Caesar then besieged and captured Avaricum and resupplied there. Caesar then set out in the direction of Gergovia, which Vercingetorix was probably able to once he had divined his direction. The heights of Gergovia itself stand twelve hundred feet above the plain that they overlook and it is a plateau that is a mile and a half long by a third of a mile wide. It was a place to hold, as there was only one way in. It was a reasonably easy guess to make, realizing Vercingetorixs plan, Caesar resolved to trick him and cross under his very nose. Caesar one night camped near the town of Varennes, where there had previously been a bridge before Vercingetorix had destroyed it and that night, he divided his force into two parts, one part being 2/3rds of the force, the other being 1/3rd of the force. However, the force he ordered to march in 6 corps. He then ordered it to continue its march south, Vercingetorix, duped, took the bait and followed this part of the force. Caesar, with the two legions present at Varennes, speedily rebuilt the bridge that had been present there. He then sent for the force, which during that next day stole a march on Vercingetorix, and completed a junction with the original force. Realizing that he had been duped, Vercingetorix set out south, realizing its mountainous location made a frontal assault risky, he decided to rely on his superior siege tactics
6.
Clermont-Ferrand
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Clermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 141,569. Its metropolitan area had 467,178 inhabitants at the 2011 census and it is the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department. Olivier Bianchi is its current mayor, Clermont-Ferrand sits on the plain of Limagne in the Massif Central and is surrounded by a major industrial area. The city is famous for the chain of volcanoes, the Chaîne des Puys surrounding it, the famous dormant volcano Puy de Dôme is one of the highest of these and well known for the telecommunication antennas that sit on its top and are visible from far away. Clermont-Ferrands most famous square is Place de Jaude, on which stands a grand statue of Vercingetorix sitting imperiously on a horse. The inscription reads, Jai pris les armes pour la liberté de tous and this statue was sculpted by Frédéric Bartholdi, who also created the Statue of Liberty. Clermont-Ferrands first name was Augusta Nemetum and it was born on the central knoll where the cathedral is situated today, known then as Nemossos. It overlooked the capital of Gaulish Avernie, the fortified castle of Clarus Mons gave its name to the whole town in 848, to which the small episcopal town of Montferrand was attached in 1731, together taking the name of Clermont-Ferrand. The old part of Clermont is delimited by the route of the ramparts, the town of Clermont-Ferrand came about with the joining together of two separate towns, Clermont and Montferrand, which was decreed by Louis XIII and confirmed by Louis XV. Clermont ranks among the oldest cities of France, the first known mention was by the Greek geographer Strabo, who called it the metropolis of the Arverni. The city was at that time called Nemessos – a Gaulish word for a sacred forest and it was somewhere in the area around Nemossos that the Arverni chieftain Vercingetorix was born in around 72 BC. Also, Nemossos was situated not far from the plateau of Gergovia, after the Roman conquest, the city became known as Augustonemetum sometime in the 1st century, a name which combined its original Gallic name with that of the Emperor Augustus. Its population was estimated at 15, 000–30,000 in the 2nd century and it then became Arvernis in the 3rd century, and expanded until the mid 3rd century. The city became the seat of a bishop in the 5th century, at the time of the bishop Namatius or Saint Namace, who built a cathedral here described by Gregory of Tours. Clermont went through a period after the disappearance of the Roman Empire and during the whole High Middle Ages. Between 471 and 475, Auvergne was often the target of Visigothic expansion, a generation later, it became part of the Kingdom of the Franks. On 8 November 535 the first Council of Clermont opened at Arvernis, with fifteen bishops participating, including Caesarius of Arles, Nizier of Lyons and Saint Hilarius, bishop of Mende. Sixteen decrees were made there, notably the second canon that recalls that the granting of episcopal dignity must be according to the merits, in 570, Bishop Avitus offered the Jews of his town the alternatives of baptism or expulsion
7.
Aedui
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The Aedui, Haedui, or Hedui were a Gallic people of Gallia Lugdunensis, who inhabited the country between the Arar and Liger, in todays France. Their territory thus included the part of the modern departments of Saône-et-Loire, Côte-dOr. The country of the Aedui is defined by reports of them in ancient writings, the upper Loire formed their western border, separating them from the Bituriges. The Saône formed their eastern border, separating them from the Sequani, both statements are true, the first in the south, and the second to the north. Outside of the Roman province and prior to Roman rule, Independent Gaul was occupied by self-governing tribes divided into cantons, the Aedui, like other powerful tribes in the region, had replaced their monarchy with a council of magistrates called grand-judges. The grand-judges were under the authority of the senate, the senate was made up of the descendants of ancient royal families. Free men in the tribes were vassals to the heads of families in exchange for military. According to Livy, they part in the expedition of Bellovesus into Italy in the 6th century BC. Before Julius Caesars time, they had attached themselves to the Romans and were honoured with the title of brothers, on his arrival in Gaul, Caesar restored their independence. In spite of this, the Aedui joined the Gallic coalition against Caesar, augustus dismantled their native capital Bibracte on Mont Beuvray and substituted a new town with a half-Roman, half-Gaulish name, Augustodunum. In 21, during the reign of Tiberius, they revolted under Julius Sacrovir, and seized Augustodunum, the Aedui were the first of the Gauls to receive from the emperor Claudius the distinction of jus honorum, thus being the first Gauls permitted to become senators. The oration of Eumenius, in which he pleaded for the restoration of the schools of his native place Augustodunum, shows that the district was neglected. The chief magistrate of the Aedui in Caesars time was called Vergobretus, certain clientes, or small communities, were also dependent upon the Aedui. It is thought that other Celtic tribes, such as the Remi, list of peoples of Gaul Caesar, Julius. A. E. Desjardins, Geographie de la Gaule, ii, T. Rice Holmes, Caesars Conquest of Gaul
8.
Sequani
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Sequani is an exonym assigned by the Romans, most likely based on a similar-sounding endonym. The endonym is not known for certain, Sequani is like Sequana, Caesars name for the Seine, but the country of the Sequani is not in the Seines watershed. Strabo was originally responsible for the connection by supposing that the Sequana flowed through the country of the Sequani. The French name of the Saône, however, the forming the western border of the Sequani. The Romans called it the Arar, william Smith hypothesized that Sequani and Souconna were related. The country of the Sequani can be defined by the reports of the ancient writers, the Jura Mountains separated the Sequani from the Helvetii on the east, but the mountains belonged to the Sequani, as the narrow pass between the Rhone and Lake Geneva was Sequanian. They did not occupy the confluence of the Saône into the Rhone, extending a line westward from the Jura estimates the southern border at about Mâcon, but Mâcon belonged to the Aedui. Strabo says that the Arar separates the Sequani from the Aedui and the Lingones, on the northeast corner the country of the Sequani touched on the Rhine. Before the arrival of Julius Caesar in Gaul, the Sequani had taken the side of the Arverni against their rivals the Aedui and hired the Suebi under Ariovistus to cross the Rhine and help them. The Sequani then appealed to Caesar, who back the Germanic tribesmen. This so exasperated the Sequani that they joined in the revolt of Vercingetorix, under Augustus, the district known as Sequania formed part of Belgica. A triumphal arch at Vesontio, which in return for service was made a colony. Diocletian added Helvetia, and part of Germania Superior to Sequania, the southern reach of this territory was known as Sapaudia, which later developed into Savoy. Fifty years later, Gaul was overrun by the barbarians, under Julian, it recovered some of its importance as a fortified town, and was able to withstand the attacks of the Vandals. Later, when Rome was no able to afford protection to the inhabitants of Gaul. Vesontio Luxovium Loposagium Portus Abucini Segobudium Epamanduodurum Ariolica Magetobria / Admagetobria Pons Dubis Castro Vesulio Sigynnae Caesar, attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Sequani. Endnotes, T. Rice Holmes, Caesars Conquest of Gaul, mommsen, Hist. of Rome, bk. v. ch. vii. Dunod de Charnage, Hist. des Séquanois J. D. Schöpflin, Alsatia illustrata, i
9.
Allobroges
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The Allobroges were a Gallic tribe of ancient Gaul, located between the Rhône River and Lake Geneva in what later became Savoy, Dauphiné, and Vivarais. Their cities were in the areas of modern-day Annecy, Chambéry and Grenoble, the departement of Isère. The location of the Allobroges is deduced from mention of them in ancient writings, on the north, the Rhône divided the Helvetii from the Allobroges, i. e. the latter were on the south bank of the river and Lake Léman from which it flows. Caesar says the Allobroges were recently subdued, the first recorded reference to the Allobroges is from the Greek historian Polybius in 150-130 BC. He tells how they unsuccessfully resisted Hannibal when he crossed the Alps in 218 BC, in 123 BC, the Allobroges gave shelter to King Tutomotulus, of the tribe of the Salluvii which Rome had conquered, and refused to hand Tutomotulus over. Rome declared war and moved against the Allobroges, on August 8,121 BC the legions of Quintus Fabius Maximus defeated them and forced them to submit, Maximus earned the cognomen Allobrogicus for this feat. Crixus, the lieutenant of Spartacus during the Third Servile War was an Allobrogian Gaul. It was a plot by ostracized high political Roman elites and allied plebeian military connected to their cause, the conspirators made the mistake of attempting to recruit the Allobroges via their ambassadors delegation, who happened to be in Rome during the planning of the conspiracy. The conspiracy was revealed to the Allobroges, however their diplomatic envoys informed the current consul Cicero, Cicero instructed the Allobroges envoys to get tangible proof of the conspiracy. Thinking they were gaining allies, five of the leading conspirators wrote letters to the Allobroges so that the envoys could show their people that there was hope in a real conspiracy. However, Cicero had the letters intercepted as the envoys left Rome and read them before the Senate the following day, with the plot exposed, the ringleaders were rounded up or sacrificed themselves, mostly in unprepared pitched battles around Rome. However, they rebelled on their own shortly thereafter, in 61 BC chief Catugnatus revolted but Gaius Pomptinus defeated them at Solonium. Next, loyal once more, Allobrogian warriors joined Julius Caesar during his conquest of Gaul and these included two brothers, Roucillus and Egus, the sons of Adbucillus who had been chieftain of the Allobroges for many years. In The Civil War Caesar explains that these were men of outstanding courage and had been availed of their excellent, consequently, they had been greatly honoured by Caesar who had assigned to them the highest magistracies among their own people. Under the Roman Empire, Vienne grew and in 100 AD Tacitus described it as historic, archaeological excavations have revealed extensive warehouses. They collected tolls from traffic passing up Via Agrippa and various other Roman roads, from the Palace of Mirrors baths at Saint-Romain-en-Gal, across the river from modern Vienne, but part of ancient Vienne, comes a statue of the towns tutelary goddess. North-east of Vienne and north of Cularo, is a healing sanctuary at the modern town of Aix-les-Bains. This was dedicated to a southern Gaulish healing god Borvo, gauls Initial material derived from the public domain Lemprières Classical Dictionary of 1824
10.
Vercingetorix
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Vercingetorix was a king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe, he united the Gauls in a revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesars Gallic Wars. Vercingetorix came to power after his designation as chieftain of the Arverni at the oppidum Gergovia in 52 BC. He immediately established an alliance with other Gallic tribes, took command and combined all forces and he won the Battle of Gergovia against Julius Caesar in which several thousands Romans and allies died and Caesars Roman legions withdrew. However, Caesar had been able to exploit Gaulish internal division to easily subjugate the country, at the Battle of Alesia, the Romans besieged and defeated his forces. In order to save as many of his men as possible he gave himself to the Romans and he was held prisoner for five years. In 46 BC, as part of Caesars triumph, Vercingetorix was paraded through the streets of Rome, Vercingetorix is primarily known through Caesars Commentaries on the Gallic War. To this day, Vercingetorix is considered a hero in Auvergne. The generally accepted view is that Vercingetorix derives from the Gaulish ver-, cingeto-, in his Life of Caesar, Plutarch renders the name as Vergentorix. He made use of the factionalism among the Gallic elites, favoring certain noblemen over others with political support, the revolt that Vercingetorix came to lead began in early 52 BC while Caesar was raising troops in Cisalpine Gaul. Undeterred, Vercingetorix raised an army of the poor, took Gergovia and was hailed as king and he made alliances with other tribes, and having been unanimously given supreme command of their armies, imposed his authority through harsh discipline and the taking of hostages. He adopted the policy of retreating to natural fortifications, and undertook an early example of a scorched earth strategy by burning towns to prevent the Roman legions from living off the land. Vercingetorix scorched much of the land marching north with his army from Gergovia in an attempt to deprive Caesar of the resources and safe haven of the towns, however, the capital of the Bituriges, Avaricum, a Gallic settlement directly in Caesars path, was spared. Due to the strong protests, naturally defendable terrain, and apparently strong man-made reinforcing defenses. Upon reaching Avaricum however, the Romans laid siege and eventually captured the capital, the next major battle was at Gergovia, capital city of the Arverni and Vercingetorix. During that battle, Vercingetorix and his warriors crushed Caesars legions and allies, Vercingetorix then decided to follow Caesar but suffered heavy losses during a cavalry battle and he retreated and moved to another stronghold, Alesia. In the Battle of Alesia, Caesar built a fortification around the city to besiege it, the relief came in insufficient numbers, estimates range from 80,000 to 250,000 soldiers. Vercingetorix, the leader, was cut off from them on the inside. However, the attacks did reveal a point in the fortifications and the combined forces on the inside
11.
Gallia Narbonensis
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Gallia Narbonensis was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra, from its having been the first Roman province north of the Alps and it became a Roman province in the late 2nd century BC. Its boundaries were defined by the Mediterranean Sea to the south. The western region of Gallia Narbonensis was known as Septimania, the province of Gallia Transalpina was later renamed Gallia Narbonensis, after its newly established capital of Colonia Narbo Martius, a Roman colony founded on the coast in 118 BC. The Romans had called it Provincia Nostra or simply Provincia, the term has survived in the modern French and Occitan names of the eastern part of the area, now a région of France. By the mid-2nd century BC, Rome was trading heavily with the Greek colony of Massalia on the southern coast of Gaul, Massalia, founded by colonists from Phocaea, was by this point centuries old and quite prosperous. The Massalians, for their part, cared more for their economic prosperity than they did for territorial integrity, in this strip of land, the Romans founded the town of Narbonne in 118 BC. At the same time, they built the Via Domitia, the first Roman road in Gaul, connecting Gaul to Hispania, and the Via Aquitania, thus the Romans built a crossroads that made Narbonne an optimal trading center, and Narbonne became a major trading competitor to Massalia. From Narbonne, the Romans established the province of Transalpine Gaul, during this period, the Mediterranean settlements on the coast were threatened by the powerful Gallic tribes to the north, especially the tribes known as the Arverni and the Allobroges. In 123 BC, the Roman general Quintus Fabius Maximus campaigned in the area and defeated the Allobroges and this defeat substantially weakened the Arverni and ensured the further security of Gallia Narbonensis. It was from the capital of Narbonne that Julius Caesar began his Gallic Wars, the area became a Roman province in 121 BC, originally under the name Gallia Transalpina. The name distinguished it from Cisalpine Gaul on the side of the Alps to Rome. In 40 BC, during the Second Triumvirate, Lepidus was given responsibility for Narbonese Gaul, while Mark Antony was given the balance of Gaul. Emperor Diocletians administrative reorganization of the Empire in c. AD314 merged the provinces Gallia Narbonensis, the new dioceses name was later changed to Dioecesis Septem Provinciarum, indicating that Diocletian had demoted the word province to mean a smaller subdivision than in traditional usage. Galla Narbonensis and surrounding areas were incorporated into the Visigothic Kingdom between AD462 and 477, permanently ending Roman political control. After the Gothic takeover, the Visigothic dominions were to be known as Septimania. 210. ]us -- between 210 and 230 Tiberius Claudius Paulinus -- 216-217 Gaius Aemilius Berenicianus Maximus -- between 222 and 235 Iulianus -- between 222 and 235 William Smith, ed. Gallia Transalpina, dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography
12.
Roman province
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In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy, largest territorial and administrative unit of the empires territorial possessions outside of Italy. The word province in modern English has its origins in the used by the Romans. Provinces were generally governed by politicians of senatorial rank, usually former consuls or former praetors and this exception was unique, but not contrary to Roman law, as Egypt was considered Augustus personal property, following the tradition of earlier, Hellenistic kings. The territory of a people who were defeated in war might be brought under various forms of treaty, the formal annexation of a territory created a province in the modern sense of an administrative unit geographically defined. Republican provinces were administered in one-year terms by the consuls and praetors who had held office the previous year, Rome started expanding beyond Italy during the First Punic War. The first permanent provinces to be annexed were Sicily in 241 BC, militarized expansionism kept increasing the number of these administrative provinces, until there were no longer enough qualified individuals to fill the posts. The terms of provincial governors often had to be extended for multiple years,241 BC – Sicilia taken over from the Carthaginians and annexed at the end of the First Punic War. 237 BC – Corsica et Sardinia, these two islands were taken over from the Carthaginians and annexed soon after the Mercenary War, in 238 BC and 237 BC respectively. 197 BC – Hispania Citerior, along the east coast of the,197 BC - Hispania Ulterior, along the southern coast of the, part of the territories taken over from the Carthaginians in the Second Punic War. 147 BC – Macedonia, mainland Greece and it was annexed after a rebellion by the Achaean League. 146 BC – Africa, modern day Tunisia and western Libya, home territory of Carthage and it was annexed following attacks on the allied Greek city of Massalia. 67 BC – Creta et Cyrenae, Cyrenaica was bequeathed to Rome in 78 BC, however, it was not organised as a province. 58 BC – Cilicia et Cyprus, Cilicia was created as a province in the sense of area of command in 102 BC in a campaign against piracy. The Romans controlled only a small area, in 74 BC Lycia and Pamphylia were added to the smal Roman possessions in Cilicia. Cilicia came fully under Roman control towards the end of the Third Mithridatic War - 73-63 BC, the province was reorganised by Pompey in 63 BC. Gallia Cisalpina was a province in the sense of an area of military command, during Romes expansion in Italy the Romans assigned some areas as provinces in the sense of areas of military command assigned to consuls or praetors due to risks of rebellions or invasions. This was applied to Liguria because there was a series of rebellions, Bruttium, in the early days of Roman presence in Gallia Cisalpina the issue was rebellion. Later the issue was risk of invasions by warlike peoples east of Italy, the city of Aquileia was founded to protect northern Italy form invasions
13.
Provence
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The largest city of the region is Marseille. The Romans made the region into the first Roman province beyond the Alps and called it Provincia Romana and it was ruled by the Counts of Provence from their capital in Aix-en-Provence until 1481, when it became a province of the Kings of France. While it has been part of France for more than five hundred years, it retains a distinct cultural and linguistic identity. The coast of Provence has some of the earliest known sites of habitation in Europe. Primitive stone tools dated to 1 to 1.05 million years BC were found in the Grotte du Vallonnet near Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, tools dating to the Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic were discovered in the Observatory Cave, in the Jardin Exotique of Monaco. The Paleolithic period in Provence saw great changes in the climate, with the arrival, at the beginning of the Paleolithic period, the sea level in western Provence was 150 meters higher than it is today. By the end of the Paleolithic, it had dropped 100 to 150 metres lower than sea level. The cave dwellings of the inhabitants of Provence were regularly inundated by the rising sea or left far from the sea. The changes in the sea led to one of the most remarkable discoveries of signs of early man in Provence. In 1985, a diver named Henri Cosquer discovered the mouth of a submarine cave 37 metres below the surface of the Calanque de Morgiou near Marseille, the entrance led to a cave above sea level. Inside, the walls of the Cosquer Cave are decorated with drawings of bison, seals, auks, horses and outlines of human hands, dating to between 27,000 and 19,000 BC. The end of the Paleolithic and beginning of the Neolithic period saw the sea settle at its present level, a warming of the climate and the retreat of the forests. The disappearance of the forests and the deer and other easily hunted game meant that the inhabitants of Provence had to survive on rabbits, snails, since they were settled in one place they were able to develop new industries. Inspired by the pottery from the eastern Mediterranean, in about 6000 BC they created the first pottery to be made in France. Around 6000 BC, a wave of new settlers from the east and they were farmers and warriors, and gradually displaced the earlier pastoral people from their lands. They were followed in about 2500 BC by another wave of people, also farmers, known as the Courronniens, traces of these early civilisations can be found in many parts of Provence. A Neolithic site dating to about 6,000 BC was discovered in Marseille near the Saint-Charles railway station, and a dolmen from the Bronze Age can be found near Draguignan. Between the 10th and 4th century BC the Ligures were found in Provence from Massilia as far as modern day Liguria and they were of uncertain origin, they may have been the descendants of the indigenous neolithic peoples
14.
Posidonius
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Posidonius of Apameia or of Rhodes, was a Greek Stoic philosopher, politician, astronomer, geographer, historian and teacher native to Apamea, Syria. He was acclaimed as the greatest polymath of his age and his vast body of work exists today only in fragments. Writers such as Strabo and Seneca provide most of the information, from history, Posidonius, nicknamed the Athlete, was born to a Greek family in Apamea, a Hellenistic city on the river Orontes in northern Syria. Posidonius completed his education in Athens, where he was a student of the aged Panaetius. But soon he came in conflict with the Stoic doctrines and was involved in heated debates with many other Stoic philosophers of the school, the incidents concerning Posidoniuss conflict and final break up with the Stoics are mentioned by Galen in his book On the Doctrines of Plato and Hippocrates. He settled around 95 BCE in Rhodes, a state which had a reputation for scientific research. In Rhodes, Posidonius actively took part in life. He attained the highest public office as one of the Prytaneis of Rhodes and he served as an ambassador to Rome in 87–86 BCE, during the Marian and Sullan era. Along with other Greek intellectuals, Posidonius favored Rome as the power in a turbulent world. His connections to the Roman ruling class were for him not only politically important and his entry into government provided Posidonius with powerful connections to facilitate his travels to far away places, even beyond Roman control. After he had established himself in Rhodes, Posidonius made one or more journeys traveling throughout the Roman world and he traveled in Greece, Hispania, Italy, Sicily, Dalmatia, Gaul, Liguria, North Africa, and on the eastern shores of the Adriatic. In Hispania, on the Atlantic coast at Gades, Posidonius could observe tides much higher than in his native Mediterranean, in Gaul, he studied the Celts. He wrote a treatise on the lands of the Celts which has since been lost. Posidoniuss extensive writings and lectures gave him authority as a scholar and made him everywhere in the Graeco-Roman world. His grandson Jason, who was the son of his daughter and Menekrates of Nysa, followed in his footsteps, although little is known of the organization of his school, it is clear that Posidonius had a steady stream of Greek and Roman students. Posidonius was celebrated as a polymath throughout the Graeco-Roman world because he came near to mastering all the knowledge of his time, similar to Aristotle and Eratosthenes. He attempted to create a system for understanding the human intellect and the universe which would provide an explanation of. His studies were major investigations into their subjects, although not without errors, wilhelm Capelle, traced most of the doctrines of De Mundo, to Poseidonius, a popular philosophic treatise based on two works of Poseidonius
15.
Ambarri
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The Ambarri were a Gallic people, whom Julius Caesar calls close allies and kinsmen of the Aedui. If the reading Aedui Ambarri in the referred to is correct. They are not mentioned among the clientes of the Aedui and they occupied a tract in the valley of the Rhône, probably in the angle between the Saône and the Rhône, and their neighbors on the east were the Allobroges. They are mentioned by Livy with the Aedui among those Galli who were said to have crossed the Alps into Italy in the time of Tarquinius Priscus, several communes in todays Ain department of France derive their name from them, including, Ambérieu-en-Bugey, Ambérieux-en-Dombes, Ambutrix and Ambronay. They joined Bellovesusmigrations towards Italy, together with the Aeduii, Ambarri, Arverni and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Smith, William, ed. article name needed. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography
16.
Carnutes
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The Carnutes, a powerful Gaulish people in the heart of independent Gaul, dwelt in an extensive territory between the Sequana and the Liger rivers. Their lands were organized as the Catholic dioceses of Chartres, Orléans and Blois, that is. The territory of the Carnutes had the reputation among Roman observers of being the political, the chief fortified towns were Cenabum, the modern Orléans, where a bridge crossed the Loire, and Autricum. The great annual druidic assembly mentioned by Caesar took place in one or the other of these towns, livys history records the legendary tradition that the Carnutes had been one of the tribes that accompanied Bellovesus in his invasion of Italy during the reign of Tarquinius Priscus. In the 1st century BC, the Carnutes minted coins, usually struck with dies and their coinage turns up in hoards well outside their home territories, in some cases so widely distributed in the finds that the place of coinage is not secure. The iconography of their numismatics includes the motifs of heads with traditional Celtic torcs, a wolf with a star, a horse. Many coins show an eagle with the crescent, with a serpent, or with a wheel with six or four spokes, or a pentagrammatic star, or beneath a hand holding a branch with berries. The wheel with four forms a cross within a circle. Sometimes the circle is a ring of granules, among the Celts, the ring and spokes may represent the cycle of the year divided in its four seasons, rather than the sun, which is a common meaning among cultures. In the time of Caesar, the Carnutes were dependents of the Remi, in the winter of 58–57 BC, Caesar imposed a protectorate over the Carnutes and set up Tasgetius as his choice of king, picked from the ruling clan. Within three years, the Carnutes assassinated the puppet king, on 13 February 53 BC, the Carnutes of Cenabum massacred all the Roman merchants stationed in the town as well as one of Caesars commissariat officers. The uprising became a general one throughout Gaul, under the leadership of Vercingetorix, Caesar burned Cenabum, where he had the men killed and women and children sold as slaves. The booty was distributed among his soldiers, a way of financing the conquest of Gaul. During the war followed, the Carnutes sent 12,000 fighting men to relieve Alesia. Having attacked the Bituriges Cubi, who appealed to Caesar for assistance, Cenabum was left for years as a mass of ruins for example, with two Roman legions garrisoned there. After they had been pacified, though not Romanized, under Augustus and they retained their self-governing institutions, and minted coins, their only obligation was for the men to render military service to the emperor. Up to the 3rd century, Autricum was the capital, in 275 Aurelian refounded Cenabum, ordaining it no longer a vicus but a civitas, he named it Aurelianum or Aurelianensis urbs. See Livy, v.34, Julius Caesar, Belli Gall. v.25,29,5,31, Strabo Geographia iv.2 -3, Ptolemy Geographia, ii.8
17.
Senones
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The Senones were an ancient Celtic Gallic culture. They joined Bellovesus migrations towards Italy, together with the Aeduii, Ambarri, Arverni, Aulerci, in 391 BCE, under the chieftain Brennus, they invaded Etruria and besieged Clusium. The Clusines appealed to Rome, whose intervention, accompanied by a violation of the law of nations, led to war, the defeat of the Romans at the Battle of the Allia and the sacking of Rome. For more than 100 years the Senones were engaged in hostilities with the Romans, until they were subdued by P. Cornelius Dolabella. Nothing more is heard of them in Italy and it is possible that they formed part of the bands of Gauls who spread themselves over the countries by the Danube, Macedonia and Asia Minor. A Roman colony was established at Sena, called Sena Gallica to distinguish it from Sena Julia in Etruria, in 51 BCE, a Senonian named Drappes threatened the Provincia, but was captured and starved himself to death. From this time the Gallic Senones disappear from history, in later times they were included in Gallia Lugdunensis. Their chief towns were Agedincum, Metiosedum, and Vellaunodunum and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. article name needed. Harris, W. R. Talbert, T. Elliott, cS1 maint, Multiple names, authors list www. senones. fr
18.
Gallic Wars
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The Gallic Wars were a series of military campaigns waged by the Roman proconsul Julius Caesar against several Gallic tribes. The wars paved the way for Julius Caesar to become the ruler of the Roman Republic. Still, Gaul was of significant military importance to the Romans, conquering Gaul allowed Rome to secure the natural border of the river Rhine. The Gallic Wars are described by Julius Caesar in his book Commentarii de Bello Gallico, as a result of the financial burdens of his consulship in 59 BC, Caesar incurred significant debt. When the Governor of Transalpine Gaul, Metellus Celer, died unexpectedly, Caesars governorships were extended to a five-year period, a new idea at the time. Caesar had initially four veteran legions under his command, Legio VII, Legio VIII, Legio IX Hispana. As he had been Governor of Hispania Ulterior in 61 BC and had campaigned successfully with them against the Lusitanians, Caesar also had the legal authority to levy additional legions and auxiliary units as he saw fit. His ambition was to conquer and plunder some territories to get out of debt. It is more likely that he was planning a campaign against the Kingdom of Dacia, the countries of Gaul were civilized and wealthy. Most had contact with Roman merchants and some, particularly those that were governed by such as the Aedui. The Romans respected and feared the Gallic tribes, only fifty years before, in 109 BC, Italy had been invaded from the north and saved only after several bloody and costly battles by Gaius Marius. Around 62 BC, when a Roman client state, the Arverni, conspired with the Sequani and the Suebi nations east of the Rhine, to attack the Aedui, the Sequani and Arverni sought Ariovistus’ aid and defeated the Aedui in 63 BC at the Battle of Magetobriga. The Sequani rewarded Ariovistus with land following his victory, Ariovistus settled the land with 120,000 of his people. When 24,000 Harudes joined his cause, Ariovistus demanded that the Sequani give him land to accommodate the Harudes people. This demand concerned Rome because if the Sequani conceded, Ariovistus would be in a position to all of the Sequani land. They did not appear to be concerned about a conflict between non-client, client and allied states, by the end of the campaign, the non-client Suebi under the leadership of the belligerent Ariovistus, stood triumphant over both the Aedui and their coconspirators. Fearing another mass migration akin to the devastating Cimbrian War, Rome, the Helvetii was a confederation of about five related Gallic tribes that lived on the Swiss plateau, hemmed in by the mountains, and the Rhine and Rhone rivers. They began to come under increased pressure from German tribes to the north, by 58 BC, the Helvetii were well on their way in the planning and provisioning for a mass migration under the leadership of Orgetorix
19.
Julius Caesar
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Gaius Julius Caesar, known as Julius Caesar, was a Roman politician, general, and notable author of Latin prose. He played a role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic. In 60 BC, Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey formed an alliance that dominated Roman politics for several years. Their attempts to power as Populares were opposed by the Optimates within the Roman Senate. Caesars victories in the Gallic Wars, completed by 51 BC, extended Romes territory to the English Channel, Caesar became the first Roman general to cross both the Channel and the Rhine, when he built a bridge across the Rhine and crossed the Channel to invade Britain. These achievements granted him unmatched military power and threatened to eclipse the standing of Pompey, with the Gallic Wars concluded, the Senate ordered Caesar to step down from his military command and return to Rome. Caesar refused the order, and instead marked his defiance in 49 BC by crossing the Rubicon with the 13th Legion, leaving his province, Civil war resulted, and Caesars victory in the war put him in an unrivalled position of power and influence. After assuming control of government, Caesar began a programme of social and governmental reforms and he centralised the bureaucracy of the Republic and was eventually proclaimed dictator in perpetuity, giving him additional authority. But the underlying political conflicts had not been resolved, and on the Ides of March 44 BC, a new series of civil wars broke out, and the constitutional government of the Republic was never fully restored. Caesars adopted heir Octavian, later known as Augustus, rose to power after defeating his opponents in the civil war. Octavian set about solidifying his power, and the era of the Roman Empire began, much of Caesars life is known from his own accounts of his military campaigns, and from other contemporary sources, mainly the letters and speeches of Cicero and the historical writings of Sallust. The later biographies of Caesar by Suetonius and Plutarch are also major sources, Caesar is considered by many historians to be one of the greatest military commanders in history. Caesar was born into a family, the gens Julia. The cognomen Caesar originated, according to Pliny the Elder, with an ancestor who was born by Caesarean section. The Historia Augusta suggests three alternative explanations, that the first Caesar had a head of hair, that he had bright grey eyes. Caesar issued coins featuring images of elephants, suggesting that he favored this interpretation of his name, despite their ancient pedigree, the Julii Caesares were not especially politically influential, although they had enjoyed some revival of their political fortunes in the early 1st century BC. Caesars father, also called Gaius Julius Caesar, governed the province of Asia and his mother, Aurelia Cotta, came from an influential family. Little is recorded of Caesars childhood, in 85 BC, Caesars father died suddenly, so Caesar was the head of the family at 16
20.
Battle of Alesia
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The Battle of Alesia or Siege of Alesia was a military engagement in the Gallic Wars that took place in September,52 BC, around the Gallic oppidum of Alesia, a major centre of the Mandubii tribe. It was fought by the army of Julius Caesar against a confederation of Gallic tribes united under the leadership of Vercingetorix of the Arverni. It was the last major engagement between Gauls and Romans, and is considered one of Caesars greatest military achievements and an example of siege warfare. The battle of Alesia marked the end of Gallic independence in France, the battle site was probably atop Mont Auxois, above modern Alise-Sainte-Reine in France, but this location, some have argued, does not fit Caesars description of the battle. A number of alternatives have proposed over time, among which only Chaux-des-Crotenay remains a challenger today. At one point in the battle the Romans were outnumbered by the Gauls by four to one, the event is described by several contemporary authors, including Caesar himself in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico. After the Roman victory, Gaul was subdued and became a Roman province, the Roman senate granted a thanksgiving of 20 days for his victory in the Gallic War. In 58 BC, following his first consulship in 59 BC and these were Cisalpine Gaul, Illyricum and Gallia Narbonensis. Although the proconsular term of office was meant to be one year and he also had the command of four legions. Caesar engaged in the Gallic Wars, which led to his conquest of Gaul beyond Gallia Narbonensis. When the Helvetii, a federation of tribes from what is now Switzerland, planned a migration to the Atlantic coast through Gaul, Caesar went to Geneva and forbade the Helvetii to move into Gaul. While he went to Gallia Cisalpina to collect three other legions, the Helvetii attacked the territories of the Aedui, Ambarri, and Allobroges, Caesar and his Gallic allies defeated the Helvetii. The Gallic tribes then asked for Caesar to intervene against an invasion by the Suebi, in 57 BC he intervened in intra-Gallic conflicts and marched on the Belgae of northern Gaul. From then on he conquered the Gallic peoples one by one and his successes in Gaul brought Caesar political prestige in Rome and great wealth through the spoils of wars and the sale of war captives as slaves. After his initial successes Caesar had to confront a number of Gallic rebellions which threatened his control over Gaul, in the winter of 54–53 BC the Carnutes killed Tasgetius, a pro-Roman king who had been installed by Caesar. Caesar sent one legion to winter there, soon after, the previously pacified Eburones, commanded by Ambiorix, rebelled and destroyed the Legio XIV under the command of Quintus Titurius Sabinus in a carefully planned ambush. This was the first clear Roman defeat in Gaul and inspired widespread national sentiments, the Eburones, obtained the support of the Atuatuci, the Nervii and numerous minor tribes. They besieged the camp of Quintus Cicero, Cicero managed to inform Caesar about this by sending a Nervian noble to him with a letter
21.
Gregory of Tours
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Saint Gregory of Tours was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of Gaul. He was born Georgius Florentius and later added the name Gregorius in honour of his maternal great-grandfather and he is the primary contemporary source for Merovingian history. St. Martins tomb was a pilgrimage destination in the 6th century. Gregory was born in Clermont, in the Auvergne region of central Gaul, Gregory had several noted bishops and saints as close relatives, and, according to Gregory, he was connected to thirteen of the eighteen bishops of Tours preceding him by ties of kinship. Gregorys paternal grandmother, Leocadia, descended from Vettius Epagatus, the martyr of Lyons. His father evidently died while Gregory was young and his mother moved to Burgundy where she had property. Gregory went to live with his paternal uncle St. Gallus, Bishop of Clermont), under whom, Gregory also received the clerical tonsure from Gallus. Having contracted an illness, he made a visit of devotion to the tomb of St. Martin at Tours. Upon his recovery, he began to pursue a career and was ordained deacon by Avitus. Upon the death of St. Euphronius, he was chosen as Bishop by the clergy and people, who had been charmed with his piety, learning and he spent most of his career at Tours, although he assisted at the council of Paris in 577. The rough world he lived in was on the cusp of the world of Antiquity. Gregory lived also on the border between the Frankish culture of the Merovingians to the north and the Gallo-Roman culture of the south of Gaul, at Tours, Gregory could not have been better placed to hear everything and meet everyone of influence in Merovingian culture. Tours lay on the highway of the navigable Loire. Five Roman roads radiated from Tours, which lay on the thoroughfare between the Frankish north and Aquitania, with Spain beyond. At Tours the Frankish influences of the north and the Gallo-Roman influences of the south had their chief contact, Gregory struggled through personal relations with four Frankish kings, Sigebert I, Chilperic I, Guntram, and Childebert II and he personally knew most of the leading Franks. Gregory wrote in Late Latin which departed from classical usage frequently in syntax, the Historia Francorum is in ten books. At this date Gregory had been bishop of Tours for two years, the second part, books V and VI, closes with Chilperic Is death in 584. During the years that Chilperic held Tours, relations between him and Gregory were tense, after hearing rumours that the Bishop of Tours had slandered his wife, Fredegund, Chilperic had Gregory arrested and tried for treason—a charge which threatened both Gregorys bishopric and his life
22.
Auvergnat dialect
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Auvergnat has become known internationally through the folk song arrangements of Joseph Canteloube. A large fringe of eastern Limousin, in the département of Corrèze, near Ussel and this is a transition zone between Auvergnat and Limousin The communities of Noirétable and La Chamba in the western side of the département of Loire. There are strong oppositions between Pierre Bonnaud and for instance Roger Teulat,1, Latin pratus > pra vs. pré2, Latin nepos > nebot vs. neveu… Light blue area labelled fr is for French-Langue d’Oïl. Light purple area labelled frp is for Francoprovençal,0, No paroxyton in the north – defines the Marchois dialect, a name often given to the Occitan spoken in the Croissant area. The area labelled m is the one of the Marchois dialect,3, The ca/cha boundary separated Northern Occitan and Southern Occitan. It is part of the Auvergnat boundary, along with 7, area lm is for the Limousin dialect, va for Vivaro-Alpine, lg for Languedocien. 4, Feminines in –ada have lost intervocalic d and became –aa and these are not characteristic of Auvergnat as a whole but allow for defining a boundary,5 and 6, These match the Core Auvergnat, according to Pierre Bonnaud. They may be used for the boundary of Auvergnat. Area 5 has the pronunciation of èr, area 6 has the palatalisation of cl to or, note that most Occitanists use rather 7 than 8 to define the southern boundary. Note some of the definition boundaries allow defining an internal variation, the most traditional one between Lower or Northern Auvergnat and Upper or Southern Auvergnat is the mutation of s before, and. Lower Auvergnat, defined by Teulat, is the green area labelled 1 on the map. Upper Auvergnat, defined by Teulat, is the light brown-yellow area labelled 2 on the map, a broader area is generally defined. A Northwestern Auvergnat may be defined as well by 5 and 6, the Northeastern has, according to Bonnaud, a stronger influence from French phonetics. Auvergnat is most often categorized in the Northern Occitan dialect group, along with Limousin, there are two primary distinctions in Auvergnat, Northern Auvergnat in Puy-de-Dôme and Allier and Haute-Loire north of Brioude. In the south of Allier, the local nord-auvergnat has been influenced by French. This transition zone to French, called locally le Croissant, includes the northern fringe of Limousin, see also the article on Bourbonnais. Southern Auvergnat spoken in Cantal, Haute-Loire, the suggestion that Auvergnat is an independent language, distinct from Occitan, has found little resonance with linguists, especially Romance linguists. It is strongly defended by those who espouse the norme bonnaudienne a standardization of Auvergnat, an understanding of the vitality and overall usage of Auvergnat can be garnered from a survey carried out in 2006 in the Auvergne region
23.
Alba Fucens
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Alba Fucens was an ancient Italic town occupying a lofty location at the foot of the Monte Velino, c.6.5 km north of Avezzano, Abruzzo, central Italy. Its remains are today in the comune of Massa dAlbe and it was originally a town of the Aequi, though on the frontier of the Marsi, but was occupied by a Roman colony owing to its strategic importance. It lay on a hill just to the north of the Via Valeria, in the Second Punic War Alba at first remained faithful, but afterwards refused to send contingents and was punished. After this it became a place of detention for important state prisoners, such as Syphax of Numidia, Perseus of Macedonia, Bituitus. It was attacked by the allies in the Social War, but remained faithful to Rome and its prosperity, in the imperial period, can only be inferred from the number of inscriptions found there. The town was destroyed by the Saracens in the 10th century. It is chiefly remarkable for its finely preserved fortifications, the external walls, which have a circuit of about 3 km, are constructed of polygonal masonry, the blocks are carefully jointed, and the faces smoothed. With our present knowledge of such constructions their date cannot certainly be determined, a mile to the north of the city a huge mound with a ditch on each side of it may be traced, for a couple of miles. Within the walls there are hardly any buildings of a later date and it is the only monastic church in the Abruzzi in which the nave is separated from the aisles by ancient columns. The collegiate church of S. Nicola, in the village, contains a remarkable staurotheca of the 11th century, in the 20th century the Belgian academy at Rome carried out excavations at the site, under the direction of Joseph Mertens. This project led to a series of publications of the site, Alba Fucens 2 Rapports et études
24.
Ab urbe condita
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Ab urbe condita is a Latin phrase meaning from the founding of the City, traditionally dated to 753 BC. AUC is a system used by some ancient Roman historians to identify particular Roman years. Renaissance editors sometimes added AUC to Roman manuscripts they published, giving the impression that the Romans usually numbered their years using the AUC system. The dominant method of identifying Roman years in Roman times was to name the two consuls who held office that year, the regnal year of the emperor was also used to identify years, especially in the Byzantine Empire after 537 when Justinian required its use. The traditional date for the founding of Rome of 21 April 753 BC, was initiated by 1st century BC scholar Marcus Terentius Varro, the correctness of Varros calculation has not been confirmed but it is still used worldwide. From Emperor Claudius onwards, Varros calculation superseded other contemporary calculations, celebrating the anniversary of the city became part of imperial propaganda. Claudius was the first to hold magnificent celebrations in honour of the citys anniversary, hadrian and Antoninus Pius held similar celebrations, in 121 AD and 147/148 AD respectively. During 248 AD, Philip the Arab celebrated Romes first millennium, coins from his reign commemorate the celebrations. The Anno Domini year numbering was developed by a monk named Dionysius Exiguus in Rome during 525, in his Easter table the year 532 AD was equated with the regnal year 248 of Emperor Diocletian. It was later calculated that the year 1 AD corresponds to the Roman year 754 AUC, based on Varros epoch
25.
Gallia Belgica
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Gallia Belgica was a province of the Roman empire located in Belgium, in the northern and eastern parts of Roman Gaul. It began as one of the three provinces of Gaul described by its Roman conqueror Julius Caesar. An official Roman province was created by emperor Augustus in 22 BC. The province is named for the Belgae as the largest tribal confederation in the area, the southern border of Belgica, formed by the Marne and Seine rivers, was reported by Caesar as the original cultural boundary between the Belgae and the Gauls who he distinguished as Celts. The province was re-organized several times, first increased and later decreased in size, the capital of Belgica Prima, Trier, became an important late western Roman capital. In 57 BC, Julius Caesar led the conquest of northern Gaul and this definition became the basis of the later Roman province of Belgica. Indeed, the Belgian tribes closest to the Rhine he distinguished as the Germani cisrhenani, apart from the southern Remi, all the Belgic tribes allied against the Romans, angry at the Roman decision to garrison legions in their territory during the winter. At the beginning of the conflict, Caesar reported the combined strength at 288,000, led by the Suessione king. Due to the Belgic coalitions size and reputation for uncommon bravery, instead, he used cavalry to skirmish with smaller contingents of tribesmen. Only when Caesar managed to isolate one of the tribes did he risk conventional battle, the tribes fell in a piecemeal fashion and Caesar claimed to offer lenient terms to the defeated, including Roman protection from the threat of surrounding tribes. Most tribes agreed to the conditions, a series of uprisings followed the 57 BC conquest. The largest revolt was led by the Bellovaci in 52 BC, during this rebellion, it was the Belgae who avoided direct conflict. They harassed the Roman legions, led personally by Caesar, with cavalry detachments, the rebellion was put down after a Bellovaci ambush of the Romans failed. Following a census of the region in 27 BC, Augustus ordered a restructuring of the provinces in Gaul, the capital of this territory was Reims, according to the geographer Strabo, though later the capital moved to modern day Trier. The date of this move is uncertain, successive Roman emperors struck a balance between Romanizing the people of Gallia Belgica and allowing pre-existing culture to survive. The Romans allowed local governments to survive, typically in the form of cantons, Roman government was run by Concilia in Reims or Trier. Additionally, local notables from Gallia Belgica were required to participate in a festival in Lugdunum which typically celebrated or worshiped the emperor’s genius, the gradual adoption of Romanized names by local elites and the Romanization of laws under local authority demonstrate the effectiveness of this concilium Galliarum. With that said, the concept and community of Gallia Belgica did not predate the Roman province, during the 1st century AD, the provinces of Gaul were restructured
26.
Ambiani
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The Ambiani were a Belgic people of Celtic language, who were said to be able to muster 10,000 armed men, in 57 BC, the year of Julius Caesars Belgic campaign. Their country lay in the valley of the Samara, and their chief town Samarobriva, afterwards called Ambiani and they were among the people who took part in the great insurrection against the Romans, which is described in the seventh book of Caesars Gallic War. The Ambiani were consummate minters and Ambianic coinage has been throughout the territories of the Belgic tribes. There is some evidence from coins that bear a stag on one side, a few Ambiani coins have been found along the south coast of the West Country possibly as the result of trade across the English channel. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Smith, William. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography
27.
Aresaces
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The Aresaces were a Celtic people closely related to, and probably originally part of, the Treveri. They inhabited the left bank of the Rhine in the Mainz-Bingen area, the Aresaces are not mentioned by ancient writers, such as geographers or Julius Caesar, but are known from three inscriptions dating to the 1st and 2nd centuries CE. Two of these come from Rhenish Hesse, while the third is from Augusta Treverorum, another Celtic tribe in Rhenish Hesse, known from an inscription as well as ancient literature, was the Cairacates. According to current scholarship, the Aresaces would have organized as a pagus or sub-unit of the Treveri, settled in Rhenish Hesse in the area south. This area was sparsely settled during the late La Tène period. One possible cultural and administrative centre of the Aresaces might have been the oppidum on the Donnersberg, urbanization was only to increase noticeably at the time of, or shortly before, the Roman presence in the region. At the time of the Romans arrival in greater Mainz in 13–12 BCE, there is further evidence for settlement at Mainz-Finthen near the Königborn and Aubach. The Aresaces were likely to have organized as a separate civitas from the Treveri at this stage, if not earlier. Meanwhile, the city of Mainz—known in Latin as Mogontiacum—flourished as a headquarters for a number of Roman legions. The territory of the Aresaces was formerly thought to have belonged to the Vangiones, however, this interpretation is now considered superseded in light of archaeological discoveries
28.
Atrebates
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The Atrebates were a Belgic tribe of Gaul and Britain before the Roman conquests. However it is possible that the Atrebates were a family of rulers, cognate with Old Irish aittrebaid meaning inhabitant, Atrebates comes from proto-Celtic *ad-treb-a-t-es, inhabitants. The Celtic root is treb- building, home, which has linked to the root of English thorpe. Edith Wightman suggested that their name may be intended to mean the people of the earth to contrast with that of the neighbouring coastal Morini, the Gaulish Atrebates lived in or around modern Artois in northern France. Their capital, Nemetocenna, is now the city of Arras, the place-name Arras is the result of a phonetic evolution from Atrebates and replaced the original name in the Late Empire, according to a well-known tradition in Gaul. The name Artois is the result of a different phonetic evolution from Atrebates, in 57 BC, they were part of a Belgic military alliance in response to Julius Caesars conquests elsewhere in Gaul, contributing 15,000 men. Caesar took this build-up as a threat and marched against it, but the Belgae had the advantage of position, when no battle was forthcoming, the Belgic alliance broke up, determining to gather to defend whichever tribe Caesar attacked. Caesar subsequently marched against several tribes and achieved their submission, the Atrebates then joined with the Nervii and Viromandui and attacked Caesar at the battle of the Sabis, but were there defeated. After thus conquering the Atrebates, Caesar appointed one of their countrymen, Commius, Commius was involved in Caesars two expeditions to Britain in 55 and 54 BC and negotiated the surrender of Cassivellaunus. In return for his loyalty, he was given authority over the Morini. However, he turned against the Romans and joined in the revolt led by Vercingetorix in 52 BC. After Vercingetorixs defeat at the Siege of Alesia, Commius had further confrontations with the Romans, negotiated a truce with Mark Antony, and ended up fleeing to Britain with a group of followers. Ptolemys 2nd century Geography refers to the Atribati living on the coast of Belgic Gaul, near the river Sequana, Commius soon established himself as king of the British Atrebates, a kingdom he may have founded. Their territory comprised modern Hampshire, West Sussex and Berkshire, centred on the capital Calleva Atrebatum and they were bordered to the north by the Dobunni and Catuvellauni, to the east by the Regnenses, and to the south by the Belgae. The settlement of the Atrebates in Britain was not a population movement. Archaeologist Barry Cunliffe argues that they seem to have comprised a series of tribes, possibly with some intrusive Belgic element. After this time, the Atrebates were recognized as a client kingdom of Rome, coins stamped with Commiuss name were issued from Calleva from ca.30 BC to 20 BC. Three later kings of the British Atrebates name themselves on their coins as sons of Commius, Tincomarus, Eppillus, Tincomarus seems to have ruled jointly with his father from about 25 BC until Commiuss death in about 20 BC
29.
Atuatuci
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The Aduatuci or Atuatuci were, according to Caesar, a Germanic tribe who had been allowed to settle amongst the Germanic tribes living in east Belgium. They descended from the Cimbri and Teutones, who were thought to have originated in the area of Denmark. Much later, the Aduatuci sent troops to assist their Belgic neighbours, especially the Nervii, in the Battle of the Sabis and they were later defeated by the Romans after withdrawing to a fortified city. After their defeat by Caesar they disappear from the written record, before the Roman attack in 57 BC the oppidum of the Aduatuci were home to 57,000 including refugees fleeing the Romans. The oppidum of the Aduatuci were seized by the Romans and after the fall of the city with 4,000 dead the entire surviving population of 53,000 were sold as slaves. The Cimbri, the Teutones, and Ambrones were engaged by, and then defeated, several Roman armies at the battle of Noreia and at Arausio, where the Romans are said to have lost more than 80,000 men. After the Marian reforms of the legions, the Teutones and Ambrones were finally defeated by the Romans at Aquae Sextiae in 102 BC, the Cimbri were defeated by the Romans in northeast Italy in 101 BC. From the account of Caesar, the position of the Aduatuci is not clear. Edith Wightman states that they are supposed to have occupied the middle Meuse valley, perhaps rightly. Reoccupation of the fort of Hastedon is a possibility. Other candidates are not lacking, but they lie mostly in the Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse area, in 2012 a group of historians and archeologists came to the conclusion that the oppidium of the Aduatuci was placed south of the Hainaut city of Thuin. The following arguments for this identification were listed, the discovery of the remains of a fortified Iron Age settlement, enclosing 13 hectares. The fortification was felt to match the description given by Caesar, concentrations of Roman lead projectiles show that the fort was attacked by Roman forces. Three troves of gold had been buried near the fortification, all dating to years of the decade 50 BCE. The place lies in the general area. The Battle of Sabis took place in 57 BC between the Romans and the Nervians, although the Roman forces under Julius Caesar eventually defeated the Nervians, the Romans were almost overtaken by the surprisingly strong tribe. The Romans followed the Aduatuci and besieged their city, the Aduatuci successfully resisted the Romans initial attacks but surrendered after the Romans erected siege weapons and approached the city with them. Caesar promised mercy if the Aduatuci surrendered, so the Aduatuci opened their gates and this may have been an attempt to trick the Romans and catch them off guard in a later attack
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Caeroesi
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The Caeroesi were a tribe living in Belgic Gaul when Julius Caesars Roman forces entered the area in 57 BCE. They are known from his account of the Gallic War and they are generally also equated with the Cæracates mentioned briefly by Tacitus in his Histories. They were one of a group of tribes listed by his local informants as the Germani, along with the Eburones, Condrusi, Paemani, and Segni. These tribes are referred to as the Germani Cisrhenani, to them from Germani living on the east of the Rhine, outside of the Gaulish. He also said that the descendants of the original Germani in his time were the Tungri, the general area of the Belgian Germani was between the Scheldt and Rhine rivers, and north of Luxemburg and the Moselle, which is where the Treverii lived. In modern terms this area includes eastern Belgium, the parts of the Netherlands, and a part of Germany on the west of the Rhine. The Caeroesi appear to have lived in the south of this range, in the Eifel region, in the area which later because the Roman pagus of Carucum, later this became the Frankish pagus called Caroascus. A Roman era boundary marker has been found near Neidenbach bei Kyllburg marked FINIS PAGI CARV CVM and this was on the Roman road between Trier, the main Roman city of the Treverii, and Cologne. This was an area, forming a boundary between regions. To the east of Neidenbach, the Vinxtbach, a river flowing eastwards to the Rhine. The name Vinxtbach is in fact thought to derive from the Latin word finis, today the Vinxtbach is still a boundary between modern German dialects, with Ripuarian to the north, and Moselle Frankish to the south. Also nearby is the boundary of modern German Länder of Rheinland-Pfalz. Their name is believed to mean sheep people, and to be Celtic in origin
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Condrusi
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The Condrusi were a Germanic tribe of ancient Belgium, which takes its name from the political and ethnic group known to the Romans as the Belgae. The Condrusi were probably located in the now known as Condroz, named after them. The terrain is wooded hills on the edge of the Ardennes. The Belgae were distinguished from the Celts and apparently claimed to be of Germanic descent, in particular, the Condrusi were in the tribal group known as the Germani cisrhenani, who are amongst the Belgae most strongly associated with Germanic ancestry. We learn all we know about the Condrusi from Julius Caesar in Commentarii de Bello Gallico, in 2.4, Caesar states that the Belgian Germani had crossed the Rhine long ago to take control of the fertile land on the other side. He also said that the descendants of the original Germani in his time were the Tungri, in chapter 2.4 of Caesars commentaries the Condrusi are specifically listed amongst the Germani, along with the Eburones, the Caeroesi, and the Paemani. At that time, in 57 BCE, they were joining an alliance of Belgic tribes against Caesar, the alliance met with defeat at the Battle of the Sabis, but some, including many of the Germani, most notably the Eburones, renewed fighting in 54 BCE. In 4.6 Caesar reports that the Condrusi were under the protection of the Treveri along with the Eburones. In 6.32 the Condrusi are again mentioned as Germani on this side of the Rhine, both tribes were reported to live between the Eburones and the Treviri. After their defeat or capitulation, the Germani cisrhenani became part of the civitas Tungrorum in Roman province of Gallia Belgica, but this civitas was eventually split out to become part of Germania Inferior. An inscription in Scotland shows that soldiers from the pagus Condrustis served within the cohort of the Tungrian civitas. The name of the pagus Condrustis survived not only into Roman times but into the Carolingian era also, in this way, the name, like many medieval county names, has managed to survive down to the present day, at least as a geographical term
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Eburones
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Though living in Gaul, they were also described as being both Belgae, and Germani. The Eburones played a role in Julius Caesars account of his Gallic Wars, as the most important tribe within the Germani cisrhenani group of tribes. Germani living west of the Rhine amongst the Belgae, Caesar claimed that the name of the Eburones was wiped out after their failed revolt against his forces during the Gallic Wars. Whether any significant part of the population lived on in the area as Tungri, Caesar is the primary source for the location of the Eburones. In the early medieval church this evolved into the church province of Cologne. This large area included parts of what are now the southern Netherlands, eastern Belgium. At one point Caesar reported that the greatest part of the Eburones settled between the Mosa and the Rhine, and on this basis German scholars place them in the northern Eifel. More generally Caesars description of a narrow defile to its west, suitable for ambush, is a type of landscape less common as one goes north in this region, towards the low-lying Campine. In the same passage, Caesar describes the Segni and Condrusi as being south of the Eburones, between them and the Treviri, who lived near the Moselle. This is difficult to reconcile with a territory near the Eifel because the Condrusi are the origin of the name of the Condroz region in the Ardennes, south of the Meuse, and west of the Eifel. No cultural groupings can be isolated to suit the Eburones in the north Eifel according to Edith Mary Wightman, in contrast, she also writes that Belgian archaeologists identify them with the cultural group in northern Limburg and Kempen which showed such strong continuity in Urnfield times. This would certainly account for the propinquity of Eburones and Menapii mentioned by Caesar and this is also seen to indicate that at least part of the Eburones lived west of the Maas, closer to the river deltas. Neighbouring both the Nervii and the Eburones, possibly between them, were also the Aduatuci. Caesar reported that Ambiorix had been forced to pay tribute to them before the Romans came, and it was with these two tribes, that the Eburones could quickly form a military alliance against Caesars forces. Caesar also reports that during his conflict with them, the Eburones had some sort of alliance, organized via their allies the Treveri, linguist Maurits Gysseling proposed that placenames such as Avendoren, Averdoingt, Averbode, and Avernas may be derived from the Eburones. Caesars forces clashed with an alliance of Belgic tribes in 57 BCE in the Battle of the Sabis, before that battle, information from the Remi, a tribe allied with Rome, stated that the Germani had collectively promised, they thought, about 40,000 men. The whole force was led by Galba, king of the Suessiones, however, the alliance did not work. The Suessiones and Bellovaci surrendered after the Romans defended the Remi, and after this the Ambiani offered no further resistance and the Nervii, along with the Atrebates and Viromandui, formed the most important force on the day of the battle
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Leuci
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The Leuci were a Gallic tribe, recorded to have lived in the southern part of what is now Lorraine. They are mentioned by Julius Caesar as a people supplying wheat to the Roman army in 58 BC, along with the Lingones, strabo in his Geographica describes the Leuci and a part of the Lingones dwelling above the Mediomatrici, whose capital was at Metz. Hillforts in the region of the Leuci include some small ones in the Vosges, there is also a possible oppidum in Geneviève. Toul was the Roman capital civitas of the tribe, but Ptolemy listed Naix-aux-Forges also as a civitas of the Leuci, and it was probably larger. Celtic camp at Bure City of the Leuci
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Mediomatrici
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The Mediomatrici were an ancient Celtic people of Gaul, who belong to the division of Belgae. Julius Caesar shows their position in a way when he says that the Rhine flows along the territories of the Sequani, Mediomatrici, Triboci or Tribocci. Ptolemy places the Mediomatrici south of the Treviri, divodurum was the capital of the Mediomatrici. Besides Metz, settlements in France include the oppidum of Hérapel, other settlements and oppida in Germany were thought to be Saarbrücken, Speyer, Homburg, and Rodalben, although today the ascription of Speyer, Homburg und Rodalben is hotly disputed. The name Mediomatrici has been explained as the people between the Matrona and the Matra and this agrees with Strabo, who says that the Sequani and Mediomatrici inhabit the Rhine, among whom are settled the Triboci, a Germanic nation which had crossed over from their own country. Elements of the Mediomatrici may have settled near Novara, in northern Italy and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Smith, William, ed. Belgae. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography
35.
Menapii
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The Menapii were a Belgic tribe of northern Gaul in pre-Roman and Roman times. In later geographical terms this corresponds roughly to the modern coast of Flanders. It also extended into neighbouring France and the deltas of the southern Netherlands. Their civitas, or administrative capital, under the Roman empire was Cassel, both of these are near Thérouanne, which was the civitas of the neighbouring Morini tribe, and indeed in the Middle Ages Cassel became part of the Diocese of Thérouanne. Cassel was therefore in the extreme of the Menapii lands. A pattern of placing Roman tribal capitals in the south is found in the neighbouring Belgian tribal states, of the Nervii. The positions of such Roman tribal capitals frequently didnt correspond to the centre of a territory in pre-Roman political geography. To the north and east of the Menapii lay the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, in the time of Caesar, the Menapii had settlements throughout this region and over the Rhine into Germany. During Roman times these islands were under the province of Germania Inferior. Of these last three, the Marsaci appear to be mentioned in place by Pliny as having a presence on the coast south of the delta, neighbouring the Menapii. The Frisiavones are also mentioned within the listing for Belgian Gaul, in one inscription, from Bulla Regia, the Tungri, Batavians and Frisiavones are grouped together, apparently confirming that the Frisiavones lived inland. It is suggested that the Marsaci and the Sturii could be pagi belonging to the civitas of either the Frisiavones or the Menapii. South of the delta, east of the river Scheldt from the Menapii and it is known that the Toxandri were associated with the civitates of both the Nervii and the Tungri, so they presumably had a presence in both. Apparently following Caesar he said that they dwell amongst marshes and forests, not lofty and they are also referred to in Ptolemys 2nd century Geographia, situated above the Nervii, and near the Meuse river. In any case as mentioned above they bordered in Roman times upon the Toxandrians, south of the Menapii were the Atrebates in Artois, and south-west along the coast were the Morini. The boundary with the Morini in classical times appears to have been the River Aa, the civitas Menapiorum became the civitas Turnencensium. By medieval times, when these Roman districts evolved into medieval Roman Catholic dioceses, Cassel had in fact part of the diocese of Thérouanne. The Menapii were persistent opponents of Julius Caesars conquest of Gaul and they were part of the Belgic confederacy defeated by Caesar in 57 BC, contributing 9,000 men
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Morini
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The Morini were a Belgic tribe of northern Gaul. They were mentioned in classical works as the Commentarii de Bello Gallico written by Julius Caesar. They became a part of the Roman empire with the coastal parts of the present-day départment of Pas-de-Calais in northernmost France. A generation after their entry into the Roman Empire the writer Vergil described them poetically as the remotest of people, the tribes name Morini is thought to be Celtic meaning those of the sea. It is apparently derived from the suffix -no- and the Celtic word mori meaning sea, another derived word morici exists and is translated into Latin as marini sailors. The variation morici is found in Aremorici those who live in front of the sea, mori is a close relative of Welsh môr, Breton and Cornish mor, Irish muir. The Indo-European prototype was perhaps *móri that gave birth to Germanic *mari, English mere, German Meer, etc. Old Slavic morje. One of the most important cities of the Morini, was Gesoriacum, modern Boulogne-sur-Mer, called Bononia by Zosimus in late antiquity, Itius Portus or Portus Itius was also the name of a Morini port city, generally considered to be either Wissant or Boulogne. The administrative capital or civitas during the Roman Empire was Tarwanna or Tervanna, modern Thérouanne, today in France, to the south of the Morini and Atrebates were the Ambiani, whose civitas was at modern Amiens. Strabo in his Geographica, describes the country of the Morini as being on the sea, close to the Menapii, during the rainy season these proved secure hiding-places, but in times of drought they were easily taken. Caesar described the Belgae, including the Morini, as Gauls who had different language, customs and he also mentioned that he had heard that the Belgae had some Germanic ancestry from east of the Rhine. Pliny the Elder remarked that the Morini cultivated flax and used linen to make sails, the area was also known for exporting wool, geese, pork, salt, and garum. In late classical times Zosimus implied the Germanic character of the city, Caesar was very interested in that part of the Morini territory, which is where the crossing of the sea to Britannia was the shortest. The Morini had several harbours of which Portus Itius, was only one, the tribe counted some pagi, which, apparently, could make their own decisions. The Morini fled into or behind the marshes and became unreachable for the Roman army, in 56 BC, when autumn was very wet, this tactic worked. The year after, which was much dryer, it failed, the Morini participated together with other coastal people and tribes from Britain, in the uprising of the Veneti. Caesar wanted to induce fear in the northern Morini so that they wouldnt attack him, the territory of the Morini and Menapii was well protected by marshes and woodland and suited for guerrilla tactics. The dangers outweighed the benefits of subduing those economically less interesting regions, in 55 BC Labienus tightened the Roman grip upon the strategically more important western side of the Morini tribal areas
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Nervii
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The Nervii were one of the most powerful Belgic tribes, living in northern Gaul at the time of its conquest by Rome. Their territory corresponds to the part of modern Belgium, including Brussels. During their 1st century BC Roman military campaign, Caesars contacts among the Remi stated that the Nervii were the most warlike of the Belgae, in times of war, they were known to trek long distances to take part in battles. Being one of the distant northern Belgic tribes, with the Menapii to the west, the territory of the Nervii had its western and northwestern border on the Scheldt river and stretched in the south through Hainaut to the forests of Arrouaise and Thiérache. To the east, the boundaries are unclear but it is possible that they stretched as far as the Dyle river valley in the north, near Louvain, and the Meuse in the south in modern Wallonia, near Namur. An oppidum found near Asse may have belonged to them but it was isolated, a large population occupied the southern territories, near the river Sambre with the biggest being at Avesnelles, near Avesnes-sur-Helpe. Caesar also mentions smaller tribes who were expected to contribute troops to Nervian forces, Levaci, Pleumoxii, Geidumni, Ceutrones, the Nervii are counted as one of the northern Belgae, who are often proposed to have been in a transitional zone between Celtic languages and Germanic languages. Others included the Menapii and Morini, to the west of the Nervii on the English channel, Caesar reported hearing from the Remi that the Belgae generally had received immigration from Germanic people from east of the Rhine. The Romanized Greek Strabo wrote that the Nervii were of Germanic origin, the Romans were not precise in their ethnography of northern barbarians, by Germanic Caesar may simply have meant originating east of the Rhine with no distinction of language intended. During Caesars lifetime, Germanic languages east of the Rhine may have been no closer than the river Elbe. Julius Caesar considered the Nervii to be the most warlike of the Belgic tribes, and that the Belgic tribes were the bravest in Gaul. He says that their culture was a Spartan one, they would not partake of alcoholic beverages or any such luxury. He also says they disliked foreign trade and had no merchant class, archaeologists have sought to define the territories of the northern Belgic tribes by looking at the coins they used. The Nervii are associated with a type that uses a Greek epsilon. Remarkably, given the evidence of a Celtic La Tène culture having been present in the pre-Roman past. In fact they established hedges throughout their lands in order to them difficult for cavalry. The Nervii were part of the Belgic alliance that resisted Julius Caesar in 57 BC, after the alliance broke up and some tribes surrendered, the Nervii, under the command of Boduognatus and aided by the Atrebates and Viromandui, came very close to defeating Caesar. In 57 BC at the battle of the Sabis, they concealed themselves in the forests and their attack was so quick and unexpected that some of the Romans didnt have time to take the covers off their shields or even put on their helmets. The element of surprise briefly left the Romans exposed, however Caesar grabbed a shield, made his way to the front line, and quickly organised his forces, at the same time, the commander of the tenth legion, Titus Labienus, attacked the Nervian camp
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Suessiones
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The Suessiones were a Belgic tribe of western Gallia Belgica in the 1st century BC, inhabiting the region between the Oise and the Marne, around the present-day city of Soissons. They were conquered in 57 BC by Julius Caesar, pliny the Elder apparently gives their name as Suaeuconi. Coinage minted by Belgic Gauls first appeared in Britain in the mid-2nd century BC with the coinage now categorized as the Gallo-Belgic A type, coins associated with King Diviciacus of the Suessiones, issued near or between 90 and 60 BC, have been categorized as Gallo-Belgic C. Finds of this issue of coin extend from Sussex to the Wash, a later issue of coin, Gallo-Belgic F, has concentrated finds near Paris, throughout the lands of the Suessiones, and the southern, coastal areas of Britain. These finds lead scholars to suggest that the Suessiones had significant trade and migration into Britain during the 2nd, Caesar mentions that their capital was Noviodunum, the present-day city of Soissons. Soissons was the city of the Merovingian Kingdom of Soissons from 511 to 613. Soissons was the birthplace of the Frankish Prince Charlemagne in the year 747, son of King Pippin the Short and it is today the capital of the département of the Aisne, in the northern part of Champagne. The region is commonly referred to as the Soissonnais and people of the region are called Soissonaires. List of peoples of Gaul List of Celtic tribes
