1.
Noricum
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Noricum is the Latin name for a Celtic kingdom, or federation of tribes, that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire and its borders were the Danube to the north, Raetia and Vindelicia to the west, Pannonia to the east and southeast, and Italia to the south. The kingdom was founded around 400 BC, and had its capital at the residence at Virunum on the Magdalensberg. Its area corresponded to the part of modern Styria and Carinthia, Upper/Lower Austria west of Vienna, Salzburg, a part of Bavaria. The famous Noric steel was used in the making of Roman weapons. Gold and salt were found in considerable quantities, the plant called saliunca grew in abundance and was used as a perfume according to Pliny the Elder. Noric steel was famous for its quality and hardness, in Noricum, almost all those Celtic invaders are mentioned. The Hallstatt graves contained weapons and ornaments from the Bronze age, through the period of transition, up to the Hallstatt culture, william Ridgeway made a strong case for the theory that the cradle of the Homeric Achaeans was in Noricum and neighbouring areas. The kingdom of Noricum was a provider of weaponry for the Roman armies from the mid-Republic onwards. Especially the Roman swords were made was made of the best-quality steel then available, the strength of iron is determined by its carbon content. The wrought iron produced in the Greco-Roman world generally contained only traces of carbon and was too soft for tools. It thus needed to be carburised to at least 1. 5% carbon content. The main Roman method of achieving this was to heat the wrought iron to a temperature of over 800 C and hammer it in a charcoal fire. This technique had been developed empirically, as there is no evidence that ancient iron producers understood the chemistry involved, the rudimentary methods of carburisation used rendered the quality of the iron ore critical to the production of good steel. The ore needed to be rich in manganese, but also to very little, or preferably zero, phosphorus. The ore mined in Carinthia fulfills both criteria to an unusual degree, the Celtic peoples of Noricum empirically discovered that their ore made superior steel around 500 BC and established a major steel-making industry around it. At Magdalensberg, a production and trading centre was established. The finished products were mostly exported southwards, to Aquileia, a Roman colony founded in 180 BC, Noricum became a key ally of the Roman Republic, providing a reliable supply of high-quality weapons and tools in return for Roman military protection
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.
Roman Republic
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It was during this period that Romes control expanded from the citys immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world. During the first two centuries of its existence, the Roman Republic expanded through a combination of conquest and alliance, by the following century, it included North Africa, most of the Iberian Peninsula, and what is now southern France. Two centuries after that, towards the end of the 1st century BC, it included the rest of modern France, Greece, and much of the eastern Mediterranean. By this time, internal tensions led to a series of wars, culminating with the assassination of Julius Caesar. The exact date of transition can be a matter of interpretation, Roman government was headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and advised by a senate composed of appointed magistrates. Over time, the laws that gave exclusive rights to Romes highest offices were repealed or weakened. The leaders of the Republic developed a tradition and morality requiring public service and patronage in peace and war, making military. Many of Romes legal and legislative structures can still be observed throughout Europe and much of the world in modern nation states, the exact causes and motivations for Romes military conflicts and expansions during the republic are subject to wide debate. While they can be seen as motivated by outright aggression and imperialism and they argue that Romes expansion was driven by short-term defensive and inter-state factors, and the new contingencies that these decisions created. In its early history, as Rome successfully defended itself against foreign threats in central and then northern Italy, with some important exceptions, successful wars in early republican Rome generally led not to annexation or military occupation, but to the restoration of the way things were. But the defeated city would be weakened and thus able to resist Romanizing influences. It was also able to defend itself against its non-Roman enemies. It was, therefore, more likely to seek an alliance of protection with Rome and this growing coalition expanded the potential enemies that Rome might face, and moved Rome closer to confrontation with major powers. The result was more alliance-seeking, on the part of both the Roman confederacy and city-states seeking membership within that confederacy. While there were exceptions to this, it was not until after the Second Punic War that these alliances started to harden into something more like an empire and this shift mainly took place in parts of the west, such as the southern Italian towns that sided with Hannibal. In contrast, Roman expansion into Spain and Gaul occurred as a mix of alliance-seeking, in the 2nd century BC, Roman involvement in the Greek east remained a matter of alliance-seeking, but this time in the face of major powers that could rival Rome. This had some important similarities to the events in Italy centuries earlier, with some major exceptions of outright military rule, the Roman Republic remained an alliance of independent city-states and kingdoms until it transitioned into the Roman Empire. It was not until the time of the Roman Empire that the entire Roman world was organized into provinces under explicit Roman control
4.
Cimbri
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The Cimbri were an ancient people, either Germanic or Celtic who, together with the Teutones and the Ambrones, fought the Roman Republic between 113 and 101 BC. The Cimbri were initially successful, particularly at the Battle of Arausio, in which a large Roman army was routed, after which they raided areas in Gaul. In 101 BC, during an invasion of Italy, the Cimbri were decisively defeated by Gaius Marius. Some of the captives are reported to have been among the rebelling Gladiators in the Third Servile War. Roman sources such as Strabo and Tacitus identify these Cimbri with a living in Jutland. Archaeologists have not found any clear indications of a migration from Jutland in the early Iron Age. Advocates for a northern point to Greek and Roman sources that associate the Cimbri with the peninsula of Jutland. On the map of Ptolemy, the Kimbroi are placed on the northernmost part of the peninsula of Jutland, I. e. in the modern landscape of Himmerland south of Limfjorden. Himmerland is generally thought to preserve their name, in a form without Grimms law. Alternatively, Latin c- represents an attempt to render the unfamiliar Proto-Germanic h =, the origin of the name Cimbri is unknown. One etymology is PIE *tḱim-ro- inhabitant, from home, itself a derivation from tḱei- live, then. Because of the similarity of the names, the Cimbri have been at times associated with Cymry, however, this word is derived from Brittonic *Kombrogi, meaning “compatriots”, and is unrelated to Cimbri. The name has also related to the word kimme meaning “rim”. Finally, since Antiquity, the name has been related to that of the Cimmerians, moreover, an assumption exists that the Cimbri as the Cimmerians too were an Iranian people. Some time before 100 BC many of the Cimbri, as well as the Teutons, after several unsuccessful battles with the Boii and other Celtic tribes, they appeared ca 113 BC in Noricum, where they invaded the lands of one of Romes allies, the Taurisci. Only a storm, which separated the combatants, saved the Roman forces from complete annihilation, now the road to Italy was open, but they turned west towards Gaul. They came into frequent conflict with the Romans, who came out the losers. In Commentarii de Bello Gallico the Aduaticii—Belgians of Cimbrian origin—repeatedly sided with Romes enemies, in 109 BC, they defeated a Roman army under the consul Marcus Junius Silanus, who was the commander of Gallia Narbonensis
5.
Teutons
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The Teutons were a Germanic tribe or Celtic tribe mentioned by Greek and Roman authors, notably Strabo and Marcus Velleius Paterculus. The Teutones and Cimbri were recorded as passing west through Gaul before attacking Roman Italy, the defeat of the Teutones occurred at the Battle of Aquae Sextiae. Some of the captives were reported to have been among the rebelling Gladiators in the Third Servile War. The linguistic affinities of the Teutones are a matter of dispute amongst historians, if the Teutones really came from the same quarter as the Cimbri, it is possible that their name may have been preserved in the Thyland or Thythsyssel regions, found in the far north-west of Jutland. According to the writings of Valerius Maximus and Florus, the king of the Teutones, under the conditions of the surrender, three hundred married women were to be handed over as Roman slaves. When the matrons of the Teutones heard of this stipulation, they begged the consul that they instead be allowed to minister in the temples of Ceres. When their request was denied, the Teutonic women slew their own children, the next morning, all the women were found dead in each others arms, having strangled each other during the night. This act passed into Roman legends of Teutonic fury, furor Teutonicus Teutonic Theodisca Fick, August, Alf Torp and Hjalmar Falk, Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der Indogermanischen Sprachen. Part 3, Wortschatz der Germanischen Spracheinheit and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Teutoni. Chicago, F. E. Compton and Co
6.
Ambrones
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The Ambrones were an ancient tribe, believed by the Romans to have come from Jutland, that appeared briefly in the Roman sources relating to the 2nd century BC. The Ambrones and the Teutons, led by Teutobod, were defeated at the Battle of Aquae Sextiae in 102 BC. Some of the captives are reported to have been among the rebelling Gladiators in the Third Servile War. The three neighbors began their career in Roman history as an alliance determined to emigrate to the lands of the south, the Ambrones were part of the fleeing multitude. Plutarch gives the numbers advancing on Italy as 300,000 armed fighting men and it was the Battle of Arausio in 105 in which the Romans were defeated under Servilius Caepio and Gnaeus Mallius. The Teutones and Ambrones assaulted the camp of Marius and were repulsed and they decided to go on and streamed around the camp, giving the Roman soldiers messages for the wives they should encounter as domestics when enslaved. Marius followed swiftly and again encamped next to them at Aquae Sextiae at the foot of the Alps, the battle began as a chance encounter but the Romans turned it into a victory. Roman camp followers attempting to water from a nearby river were attacked by the Ambrones. The Ligurians acting as Roman auxiliaries came to their rescue and were repulsed across the river, the opportunity was not lost on Marius. The Romans quickly formed ranks and caught the Ambrones trying to recross the river, the Ambrones lost the main part of their force. Two days later Marius repulsed an attack on the camp and caught the enemy force between his own force in the front and an ambush of 3,000 men in the enemy rear. Plutarch reported that Marius took 100,000 prisoners, though this is likely exaggerated, some of which are reported to have been among the rebelling Gladiators in the Third Servile War. Although Caesar mentions that the remnants of the Cimbri and Teutones formed a new tribe in Belgic Gaul, the exact location of the homeland of the Ambrones is unknown. Their name has connected to the islands of Fehmarn, old name Imbria. If so they may be the Ymbers of Widsith, however the inundation of the Wadden Sea region during this period suggests that they lived west of Jutland, not east of Jutland. As to their ethnicity there is no agreement, while the Teutones were likely Germanic there is evidence that the Ambrones may have been a different or amalgamated people, while the Cimbri came from Germanic territory. Later in their brief and sanguinary course across Europe, the Cimbri were ruled by Boiorix, the Ambrones followed a custom observed amongst Celts in the shouting the name of their tribe going into battle. However they apparently came from a Germanic area and this was also a time when the Germanic tribes were influenced by Celtic culture, Amrum in Nordfriesland Zuider Zee Ligures
7.
Tigurini
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The Tigurini were a clan or tribe forming one out of four pagi of the Helvetii. Their name has a meaning of lords, rulers, the other Helvetian tribes included the Verbigeni and the Tougeni, besides one tribe that has remained unnamed. The name of the Tigurini is first recorded in the context of their alliance with the Cimbri in the Cimbrian War of 113–101 BCE. They crossed the Rhine to invade Gaul in 109 BCE, moved south to the Roman region of Provence in 107 BCE, the Tigurini followed the Cimbri in their campaign across the Alps, but they did not enter Italy, instead remaining at the Brenner Pass. After the end of the war, they returned to their homes, settling in the western Swiss plateau. In 58 BCE the Helvetii encountered the armies of Caesar, and were defeated and massacred in the battles of the Aar and these battles were the initial events in the Gallic Wars, fought between 58 and 49 BCE. After the Roman conquest, the Helvetii participated in the uprising of Vercingetorix in 52 BC, as a means of ascertaining control over the military access routes to Gaul, the Romans established the Colonia Iulia Equestris at the site of the Helvetian settlement of Noviodunum. The Helvetii seem to have retained their division into four pagi, and they supported Galba in the civil war following the death of Nero in AD68. Their forces were routed at Bözberg Pass in AD69, after this, the population was quickly romanized, losing its former tribal identities. Sometime around the beginning of the 1st century BC, Celts of the Tigurini tribe broke the ground of the Lindenhof in Zurich to establish an Oppidum. This potin coin is of the so-called Zurich type, bearing a stylization of mercurys wand on the obverse, a rare Zurich ducat dating from the year 1646 is owned by The Sunflower Foundation. It depicts two standing lions each holding the Zurich shield, one lion holds a sword, the other, facing the observer, holds a palm frond in its paw. The text on the reverse of the runs, DUCATUS NOVUS REIPUBL. 1646, which means New ducat of the republic of Zurich 1646, the first mention of a settlement called Turicum dates from the 2nd century AD, the name is written on a Roman gravestone found on the Lindenhof hill. Turicum is of Celtic origin, however, and goes back to the tribe of the Tigurini that settled there. In the 16th century, humanist scholars introduced the additional name Tigurum, in their desire to tie up to classical culture, until the 18th century, Tigurum was the name used by scholars for Zurich. On coins, the place of minting is given sometimes as Tigurum, sometimes as Turicensis, campaign history of the Roman military Turicum Mormont
8.
Gaius Marius
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Gaius Marius was a Roman general and statesman. He held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career, Marius defeated the invading Germanic tribes, for which he was called the third founder of Rome. His life and career were significant in Romes transformation from Republic to Empire, Marius was born in 157 BC in the town of Arpinum in southern Latium. The town had been conquered by the Romans in the late 4th century BC and was given Roman citizenship without voting rights, only in 188 BC did the town receive full citizenship. The problems he faced in his career in Rome show the difficulties that faced a new man. Since eagles were considered sacred animals of Jupiter, the god of the Romans. Later, as consul, he decreed that the eagle would be the symbol of the Senate, in 134 BC, he was serving with the army at Numantia and his good services brought him to the attention of Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus. Whether he arrived with Scipio Aemilianus or was already serving in the army that Scipio Aemilianus took over at Numantia is not clear. According to Plutarch, during a conversation after dinner, when the conversation turned to generals, Aemilianus then gently tapped on Marius shoulder, saying, Perhaps this is the man. It would seem that even at this stage in his army career. He ran for election as one of the special military tribunes of the first four legions who were elected. Sallust tells us that he was unknown by sight to the electors but was returned by all the tribes on the basis of his accomplishments, next, he ran for the quaestorship after losing an election for local office in Arpinum. The military tribunate shows that he was interested in Roman politics before the quaestorship. Perhaps he simply ran for office as a means of gaining support back home. Nothing is known of his actions while quaestor, in 120 BC, Marius was returned as plebeian tribune for the following year. He won with the support of Quintus Caecilius Metellus, who was an inherited patronus, the Metelli, though neither ancient nor patrician, were one of the most powerful families in Rome at this time. During his tribunate, Marius pursued a populares line and he passed a law that restricted the interference of the wealthy in elections. In the 130s voting by ballot had been introduced in elections for choosing magistrates, passing laws and deciding legal cases, in the passage of this law, Marius alienated the Metelli, who opposed it
9.
Prisoner of war
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A prisoner of war is a person, whether combatant or non-combatant, who is held in custody by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the prisoner of war dates to 1660. The first Roman gladiators were prisoners of war and were named according to their ethnic roots such as Samnite, Thracian, typically, little distinction was made between enemy combatants and enemy civilians, although women and children were more likely to be spared. Sometimes, the purpose of a battle, if not a war, was to capture women, a known as raptio. Typically women had no rights, and were legally as chattel. For this he was eventually canonized, during Childerics siege and blockade of Paris in 464, the nun Geneviève pleaded with the Frankish king for the welfare of prisoners of war and met with a favourable response. Later, Clovis I liberated captives after Genevieve urged him to do so, many French prisoners of war were killed during the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. In the later Middle Ages, a number of religious wars aimed to not only defeat, in Christian Europe, the extermination of heretics was considered desirable. Examples include the 13th century Albigensian Crusade and the Northern Crusades, likewise, the inhabitants of conquered cities were frequently massacred during the Crusades against the Muslims in the 11th and 12th centuries. Noblemen could hope to be ransomed, their families would have to send to their captors large sums of wealth commensurate with the status of the captive. In feudal Japan there was no custom of ransoming prisoners of war, in Termez, on the Oxus, all the people, both men and women, were driven out onto the plain, and divided in accordance with their usual custom, then they were all slain. The Aztecs were constantly at war with neighbouring tribes and groups, for the re-consecration of Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, between 10,000 and 80,400 persons were sacrificed. During the early Muslim conquests, Muslims routinely captured large number of prisoners, aside from those who converted, most were ransomed or enslaved. Christians who were captured during the Crusades, were either killed or sold into slavery if they could not pay a ransom. The freeing of prisoners was highly recommended as a charitable act, there also evolved the right of parole, French for discourse, in which a captured officer surrendered his sword and gave his word as a gentleman in exchange for privileges. If he swore not to escape, he could gain better accommodations, if he swore to cease hostilities against the nation who held him captive, he could be repatriated or exchanged but could not serve against his former captors in a military capacity. Early historical narratives of captured colonial Europeans, including perspectives of literate women captured by the peoples of North America. The writings of Mary Rowlandson, captured in the fighting of King Philips War, are an example
10.
Teutobod
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Teutobod was a King of the Teutons, who together with the Cimbri invaded the Roman Republic in the Cimbrian War, winning a spectacular victory at the Battle of Arausio in 105 BC. He was captured at the Battle of Aquae Sextiae in 102 BC, in the late 2nd century BC, together with their neighbours, allies and possible relatives, the Cimbri, the Teutons attacked south into the Danube valley, southern Gaul and northern Italy. Here they began to intrude upon the lands of Rome, the inevitable conflict which followed is called the Cimbrian War. The Cimbri and the Teutons, won the battles of this war, defeating tribes allied with the Romans. But Rome regrouped and reorganized under Consul Gaius Marius, in 104 BC the Cimbri left the Rhône valley to raid Spain, while the Teutons remained in Gaul, still strong but not powerful enough to march on Rome on their own. This gave Marius time to build a new army and in 102 BC he moved against the Teutons, at the Battle of Aquae Sextiae the Teutons were virtually annihilated and Teutobod along with, reportedly,20,000 of his people was captured. After this he and his tribe drop out from history and he most likely was sent to Rome for a triumphal procession to celebrate his defeat, then ritually executed afterwards. The following year, the Cimbri would suffer a fate at the Battle of Vercellae, where their leaders Caesorix and Claodicus were captured
11.
Battle of Noreia
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The Battle of Noreia in 112 BC, was the opening battle of the Cimbrian War fought between the Roman Republic and the migrating Proto-Germanic tribes, the Cimbri and the Teutons. It ended in defeat, and near disaster, for the Romans, the Cimbri and Teutones left their home lands around the Baltic sea in the Jutland peninsula and Southern Scandinavia. They travelled southeast and encountered the Scordisci with whom they fought, following their victory over the latter, they arrived at the Danube in Noricum which was home to the Taurisci, allies with Rome. Unable to repel these new invaders, the Taurisci appealed to Rome for assistance, the consul Gnaeus Papirius Carbo responded the following year, leading the legions into Noricum, where he took up a position on the heights near Aquileia. Carbo ordered them to vacate the territory of the Taurisci at once, the Cimbri had heard many stories from other tribes about the fearsome power of Rome, and after seeing the size of the Roman army and the strength of its position, they complied. However, Carbo was not going to allow enemies of Rome to escape and he had sent guides, to escort the Cimbri and Teutones to the frontier, however, they were actually going to lead them into an ambush the consul had prepared. Carbo managed to escape with his life and the remnants of his army and he was disgraced and impeached as consul by the senate, but was not exiled. Rome prepared for the worst, but instead of invading Italy the Cimbri and Teutones headed west, there, in 105 BC, at the Battle of Arausio, the Cimbri and Teutones would decisively defeat a Roman army
12.
Battle of Burdigala
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The Battle of Burdigala was a battle of the Cimbrian War that occurred in the year 107 BC. Longinus and Caesoninus were killed in the action and the resulted in a victory for the Tigurini tribes. In 112 BC, the Germanic tribes of the Cimbri and the Teutons invaded Roman territory defeating an army under the command of Gnaeus Papirius Carbo in Italy at the Battle of Noreia, the Germanic tribes demanded to be given the right to settle in Roman territory. When denied, the Germanic force marched all the way to Gallia Narbonensis where they defeated another Roman army under the command of Marcus Junius Silanus at an unknown location. It was thereafter that the Germans forged an alliance with the Tigurini tribe, in 107 BC, the Roman Senate launched another campaign under Lucius Cassius Longinus, Lucius Caesoninus and Lucius Caesoninus, son of Gaius Popillius Laenas, to defend one of their allied tribes. The Tigurinis were able to ambush the Romans and the consul Longinus was killed in the action along with most of his troops. When news of the Roman defeat reached the Gallic countryside, several towns rose in revolt including Toulouse, the following year, another consul, Quintus Servilius Caepio, marched on the rebellious Gallic forces and captured Toulouse, capturing The Gold of Tolosa amongst other spoils. Much of these spoils vanished whilst being transferred to Massilia, in 105 BC, the Germanic forces and the Tigurini won a further victory against the Romans at the Battle of Arausio. Commentaries on the Gallic Wars Book I, ch.7, archived from the original on 4 January 2010
13.
Battle of Arausio
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The Battle of Arausio took place on 6 October 105 BC, at a site between the town of Arausio and the Rhône River. Ranged against the tribes of the Cimbri under Boiorix and the Teutoni were two Roman armies, commanded by the proconsul Quintus Servilius Caepio and consul Gnaeus Mallius Maximus. However, bitter differences between the commanders prevented the Roman armies from cooperating, with devastating results, the terrible defeat gave Gaius Marius the opportunity to come to the fore and radically reform the organization and recruitment of Roman legions. Roman losses are described as being up to 80,000 troops, as well as another 40,000 auxiliary troops and servants, in numbers of losses, this battle is regarded as the worst defeat in the history of ancient Rome. The migrations of the Cimbri tribe through Gaul and adjacent territories had disturbed the balance of power and incited or provoked other tribes, such as the Helvetii, into conflict with the Romans. An ambush of Roman troops and the rebellion of the town of Tolosa caused Roman troops to mobilize in the area. Having regained Tolosa, the proconsul Quintus Servilius Caepio adopted a defensive strategy, in October 105 BC, they did. Even before battle was joined, the Romans were in trouble, two of the major Roman forces available were camped out on the Rhone River, near Arausio, one led by Mallius Maximus, and the other by the proconsul Quintus Servilius Caepio. As the consul of the year, Maximus out-ranked Caepio and therefore should by law have been the commander of the combined armies. The initial contact between the two occurred when a detached picketing group under the legate Marcus Aurelius Scaurus met an advance party of the Cimbri. The Roman force was overwhelmed and the legate was captured. Scaurus was not humbled by his capture and advised Boiorix to turn back before his people were destroyed by the Roman forces, the king of the Cimbri was indignant at this impudence and had Scaurus executed. Meanwhile, Maximus had managed to convince Caepio to move his force to the side of the river, but Caepio still insisted on a different camp. The sight of two Roman armies gave Boiorix pause for thought, and he entertained negotiations with Maximus, however, Caepios force was annihilated because of the hasty nature of the assault and the tenacity of Cimbri defence. The Cimbri were also able to ransack Caepios own camp, which had been left practically undefended, Caepio himself escaped from the battle unhurt. With a great boost in confidence from a victory, the Cimbri then proceeded to destroy the force commanded by Maximus. Already at a low ebb due to the infighting of the commanders, in other circumstances the army might have fled, but the poor positioning of the camp left them with their backs to the river. Many tried to escape in that direction, but legionaries of the time were not known for their prowess at swimming, certainly, the number of Romans who managed to escape were very few
14.
Battle of Vercellae
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Much credit for this victory has been given to the actions of Proconsul Quintus Lutatius Catuluss legate, Lucius Cornelius Sulla who led the Roman and allied Italian cavalry. The Cimbri were virtually wiped out, with the Romans claiming to have killed 140,000 and captured 60,000, some of the surviving captives are reported to have been among the rebelling slaves in the Third Servile War. Traditionally most historians locate the settlement of the battle in or near the modern Vercelli, Piedmont, some historians think that vercellae is not a proper name and may refer to any mining area at the confluence of two rivers. At Borgo Vercelli, near the river Sesia,5 km from Vercelli, another suggested location is the hamlet of Roddi, in what is now the province of Cuneo, Piedmont. The 13,000 strong Cimbric cavalry rode onto the battlefield, behind them came the 197,000 strong infantry. According to Plutarch, Marius made a sacrifice to the gods. Marius washed his hands, and lifting them up to heaven, the Romans got into position first, therefore the sun would be reflecting off the Romans armor. The Cimbri thought the sky was on fire, sensing their sudden anxiety, the Romans attacked. The Cimbri cavalry were completely by surprise by the Roman cavalry. The Roman legionaries then engaged the Cimbri infantry, the Cimbri were very unnerved by this. Plutarch writes that the Romans now were able to slaughter the enemy with ease, boiorix and his noblemen made a last stand in which they were all killed. The Romans had won a complete and stunning victory, the victory of Vercellae, following close on the heels of Marius destruction of the Teutones at the Battle of Aquae Sextiae the previous year, put an end to Germanic plans to invade Rome. The Cimbri were virtually wiped out, with the Romans claiming to have killed 140,000 and captured 60,000, children of the surviving captives may have been among the rebelling gladiators in the Third Servile War. Politically, this battle had great implications for Rome as well and it marked a continuation in the rivalry between Marius and Sulla, which would eventually lead to the first of Romes great civil wars. As a reward for their gallant service, Marius granted Roman citizenship to his Italian allied soldiers, when some senators questioned this action, he would claim that in the heat of battle he could not distinguish the voice of Roman from ally from the voice of the law. Henceforth all Italian legions would be Roman legions, and Julius Caesar, when ordered by the Senate to lay down his command and return to Rome to face misconduct charges, would instead lead one of his legions across the Rubicon in 49 BC. This would mark the start of the war between himself and senatorial forces under Pompey which would effectively end the Roman Republic. Battle of Aquae Sextiae Sources Mommsen, Theodor, History of Rome, Book IV The Revolution, florus, Epitome rerum Romanarum, III, IV, partim Todd, Malcolm, The Barbarians, Goths, Franks and Vandals, pp 121–122
15.
Celts
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The history of pre-Celtic Europe remains very uncertain. According to one theory, the root of the Celtic languages, the Proto-Celtic language, arose in the Late Bronze Age Urnfield culture of Central Europe. Thus this area is called the Celtic homeland. The earliest undisputed examples of a Celtic language are the Lepontic inscriptions beginning in the 6th century BC. Continental Celtic languages are attested almost exclusively through inscriptions and place-names, Insular Celtic languages are attested beginning around the 4th century in Ogham inscriptions, although it was clearly being spoken much earlier. Celtic literary tradition begins with Old Irish texts around the 8th century, coherent texts of Early Irish literature, such as the Táin Bó Cúailnge, survive in 12th century recensions. Between the 5th and 8th centuries, the Celtic-speaking communities in these Atlantic regions emerged as a cohesive cultural entity. They had a linguistic, religious and artistic heritage that distinguished them from the culture of the surrounding polities. By the 6th century, however, the Continental Celtic languages were no longer in wide use, Insular Celtic culture diversified into that of the Gaels and the Celtic Britons of the medieval and modern periods. A modern Celtic identity was constructed as part of the Romanticist Celtic Revival in Great Britain, Ireland, today, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, and Breton are still spoken in parts of their historical territories, and Cornish and Manx are undergoing a revival. The first recorded use of the name of Celts – as Κελτοί – to refer to a group was by Hecataeus of Miletus, the Greek geographer, in 517 BC. In the fifth century BC Herodotus referred to Keltoi living around the head of the Danube, the etymology of the term Keltoi is unclear. Possible roots include Indo-European *kʲel ‘to hide’, IE *kʲel ‘to heat’ or *kel ‘to impel’, several authors have supposed it to be Celtic in origin, while others view it as a name coined by Greeks. Linguist Patrizia De Bernardo Stempel falls in the group. Yet he reports Celtic peoples in Iberia, and also uses the ethnic names Celtiberi and Celtici for peoples there, as distinct from Lusitani, pliny the Elder cited the use of Celtici in Lusitania as a tribal surname, which epigraphic findings have confirmed. Latin Gallus might stem from a Celtic ethnic or tribal name originally and its root may be the Proto-Celtic *galno, meaning “power, strength”, hence Old Irish gal “boldness, ferocity” and Welsh gallu “to be able, power”. The tribal names of Gallaeci and the Greek Γαλάται most probably have the same origin, the suffix -atai might be an Ancient Greek inflection. Proto-Germanic *walha is derived ultimately from the name of the Volcae and this means that English Gaul, despite its superficial similarity, is not actually derived from Latin Gallia, though it does refer to the same ancient region
16.
Germanic peoples
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The Germanic peoples are an ethno-linguistic Indo-European group of Northern European origin. They are identified by their use of Germanic languages, which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age, the term Germanic originated in classical times when groups of tribes living in Lower, Upper, and Greater Germania were referred to using this label by Roman scribes. Tribes referred to as Germanic by Roman authors generally lived to the north, in about 222 BCE, the first use of the Latin term Germani appears in the Fasti Capitolini inscription de Galleis Insvbribvs et Germ. This may simply be referring to Gaul or related people, the term Germani shows up again, allegedly written by Poseidonios, but is merely a quotation inserted by the author Athenaios who wrote much later. Somewhat later, the first surviving detailed discussions of Germani and Germania are those of Julius Caesar, from Caesars perspective, Germania was a geographical area of land on the east bank of the Rhine opposite Gaul, which Caesar left outside direct Roman control. This usage of the word is the origin of the concept of Germanic languages. In other classical authors the concept sometimes included regions of Sarmatia, also, at least in the south there were Celtic peoples still living east of the Rhine and north of the Alps. Caesar, Tacitus and others noted differences of culture which could be found on the east of the Rhine, but the theme of all these cultural references was that this was a wild and dangerous region, less civilised than Gaul, a place that required additional military vigilance. Caesar used the term Germani for a specific tribal grouping in northeastern Belgic Gaul, west of the Rhine. He made clear that he was using the name in the local sense and these are the so-called Germani Cisrhenani, whom Caesar believed to be closely related to the peoples east of the Rhine, and descended from immigrants into Gaul. Caesar described this group of both as Belgic Gauls and as Germani. Gauls are associated with Celtic languages, and the term Germani is associated with Germanic languages, but Caesar did not discuss languages in detail. It has been claimed, for example by Maurits Gysseling, that the names of this region show evidence of an early presence of Germanic languages. The etymology of the word Germani is uncertain, the likeliest theory so far proposed is that it comes from a Gaulish compound of *ger near + *mani men, comparable to Welsh ger near, Old Irish gair neighbor, Irish gar- near, garach neighborly. Another Celtic possibility is that the name meant noisy, cf. Breton/Cornish garm shout, however, here the vowel does not match, nor does the vowel length ). Others have proposed a Germanic etymology *gēr-manni, spear men, cf. Middle Dutch ghere, Old High German Ger, Old Norse geirr. However, the form gēr seems far too advanced phonetically for the 1st century, has a vowel where a short one is expected. The term Germani, therefore, probably applied to a group of tribes in northeastern Gaul who may or may not have spoken a Germanic language
17.
Jutland
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Jutland, also known as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula, is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and the northern portion of Germany. The names are derived from the Jutes and the Cimbri, respectively, jutlands terrain is relatively flat, with open lands, heaths, plains and peat bogs in the west and a more elevated and slightly hilly terrain in the east. Jutland is a peninsula bounded by the North Sea to the west, the Skagerrak to the north, geographically and historically, Jutland comprises the regions of South Jutland, West Jutland, East Jutland and North Jutland. There are several subdivisions and regional names, some of which are still occasionally encountered today. They include Nørrejyllland, Sydvestjylland, Nordvestjylland and Slesvig, historically, Jutland was regulated by the Law Code of Jutland. This civic code covered the Jutland Peninsula from the north of the River Eider to Funen as well as the North Jutlandic Island. The Danish part of Jutland is currently divided into three regions, North Denmark Region, Central Denmark Region and Region of Southern Denmark. These three regions have an area of 29,775 km2, a population of 2,599,104. The northernmost part of Jutland is separated from the mainland by the Limfjord and this area is called the North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy or simply Jutland north of the Limfjord, it is only partly co-terminous with the North Jutland region. Inhabitants of Als would agree to be South Jutlanders, but not necessarily Jutlanders, the Danish Wadden Sea Islands and the German North Frisian Islands stretch along the southwest coast of Jutland in the German Bight. Jutland has historically been one of the three lands of Denmark, the two being Scania and Zealand. Before that, according to Ptolemy, Jutland or the Cimbric Chersonese was the home of Teutons, Cimbri, many Angles, Saxons and Jutes migrated from Continental Europe to Great Britain starting in c.450 AD. The Angles themselves gave their name to the new emerging kingdoms called England and this is thought by some to be related to the invasion of Europe by the Huns from Asia. Saxons and Frisii migrated to the region in the part of the Christian era. Old Saxony was later on referred to as Holstein, during the First World War, the Battle of Jutland in the North Sea west of Jutland was one of the largest naval battles in history. In this pitched battle, the British Royal Navy engaged the Imperial German Navy, the British fleet sustained greater losses, but remained in control of the North Sea, so in strategic terms, most historians regard Jutland either as a British victory or as indecisive. The distinctive Jutish dialects differ substantially from standard Danish, especially West Jutlandic, dialect usage, although in decline, is better preserved in Jutland than in eastern Denmark, and Jutlander speech remains a stereotype among many Copenhageners and eastern Danes. Administratively, Danish Jutland comprises three of Denmarks five regions, namely the Region Nordjylland, Region Midtjylland and the half of Region of Southern Denmark
18.
Second Punic War
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The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and the War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic and its allied Italic socii, with the crucial participation of Numidian-Berber armies and tribes on both sides. The two states three major wars with each other over the course of their existence. They are called the Punic Wars because Romes name for Carthaginians was Poeni, derived from Poenici, in the following year, Hannibals army defeated the Romans again, this time in southern Italy at Cannae. In consequence of these defeats, many Roman allies went over to Carthage, against Hannibals skill on the battlefield, the Romans deployed the Fabian strategy. A sideshow of this war was the indecisive First Macedonian War in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Second Punic War was fought between Carthage and Rome and was ignited by the dispute over the hegemony of Saguntum, a Hellenized Iberian coastal city with diplomatic contacts with Rome. After great tension within the city government, culminating in the assassination of the supporters of Carthage, the city called for Roman aid, but the pleas fell on deaf ears. Following a prolonged siege and a struggle, in which Hannibal himself was wounded and the army practically destroyed. Many of the Saguntians chose to commit suicide rather than face subjugation by the Carthaginians, before the war, Rome and Hasdrubal the Fair had made a treaty. Livy reports that it was agreed that the Iber should be the boundary between the two empires and that the liberty of the Saguntines should be preserved, Hannibal departed with this army from New Carthage northwards along the coast in late spring of 218 BC. At the Ebro, he split the army into three columns and subdued the tribes there to the Pyrenees within weeks, but with severe losses. At the Pyrenees, he left a detachment of 11,000 Iberian troops, Hannibal reportedly entered Gaul with 50,000 infantry and 9,000 cavalry. He took his army by a route, avoiding the Roman allies along the coast. In the meantime, a Roman fleet with a force was underway to northern Iberia. A scouting party of 300 cavalry was sent to discover the whereabouts of the enemy and these eventually defeated a Carthaginian scouting troop of 500 mounted Numidians and chased them back to their main camp. Thus, with knowledge of the location of the enemy, the Romans marched upstream, Hannibal evaded this force and by an unknown route reached the Isère or the Durance at the foot of the Alps in autumn. He also received messengers from his Gallic allies in Italy that urged him to come to their aid, before setting out to cross the Alps, he was re-supplied by a native tribe, some of whose hereditary disputes he had helped solve. Their other commander, Publius Cornelius Scipio, returned to Rome, realizing the danger of an invasion of Italy where the tribes of the Boii, after 217 BC, he moved to Iberia
19.
Roman Italy
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Roman Italy was created officially by the Roman emperor Augustus with the Latin name Italia. It was the first time in history that the Italian Peninsula was united under the same name, in the year 292, the three islands of Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily were added to Roman Italy by Diocletian. Roman Italy remained united until the sixth century, when it was divided between the Byzantine Empire and territories of the Germanic peoples, since then, Italia remained divided for nearly thirteen centuries until 1861 when it was reunited in a similar way in the modern Kingdom of Italy. Italy was the name of the division of the Italian Peninsula during the Roman era. It was not a province, but became the territory of the city of Rome, following the end of the Social War, Rome had allowed its Italian allies full rights in Roman society and granted the Roman citizenship to all the Italic peoples. Although not founded as a city in 330, Constantinople gained in importance. It finally gained the rank of capital when given an urban prefect in 359. In 402, the capital was moved to Ravenna from Milan, the name Italia covered an area whose borders evolved over time. Under Augustus, the peoples of todays Aosta Valley and of the western and northern Alps were subjugated, and the Italian eastern border was brought to the Arsia in Istria. Finally, in the late 3rd century, Italy came to include the islands of Corsica and Sardinia and Sicily, as well as Raetia, the city of Emona was the easternmost town of Italy. At the beginning of the era, Italy was a collection of territories with different political statuses. Some cities, called municipia, had independence from Rome, while others. The Italian economy flourished, agriculture, handicraft and industry had a sensible growth, the Italian population may have grown as well, three census were ordered by Augustus, to record the number of Roman citizens throughout the empire. The surviving totals were 4,063,000 in 28 BC,4,233,000 in 8 BC, and 4,937,000 in AD14, but it is still debated whether these counted all citizens, all adult male citizens, or citizens sui iuris. During the Crisis of the Third Century the Roman Empire nearly collapsed under the pressures of invasions, military anarchy and civil wars. In 284, emperor Diocletian restored political stability and he carried out thorough administrative reforms to maintain order. He created the so-called Tetrarchy whereby the empire was ruled by four co-emperors and he decreased the size of the Roman provinces by doubling their number to reduce the power of the provincial governors. He grouped the provinces into several dioceses and put them under the supervision of the imperial vicarius, during the Crisis of the Third Century the importance of Rome declined because she was far from the troubled frontiers
20.
Rome
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Rome is a special comune and the capital of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region, with 2,873,598 residents in 1,285 km2, it is also the countrys largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the center of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents, the city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio, along the shores of the Tiber. Romes history spans more than 2,500 years, while Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The citys early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and it was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called the Caput Mundi, due to that, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, and then the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, in 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic. Rome has the status of a global city, Rome ranked in 2014 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the worlds most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations Food, however, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. As early as the 4th century, there have been alternate theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. There is archaeological evidence of occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago. Evidence of stone tools, pottery and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence, several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the age and the beginning of the Iron age. However, none of them had yet an urban quality, nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city was gradually born through the aggregation of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. All these happenings, which according to the excavations took place more or less around the mid of the 8th century BC. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome has been indeed founded with an act of will as the legend suggests in the middle of the 8th century BC remains a fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth
21.
Consul
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Consul was the title of one of the chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently a somewhat significant title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other city states and also revived in modern states. The relating adjective is consular, from the consularis, in modern terminology, a consul is a type of diplomat. The American Heritage Dictionary defines consul as an appointed by a government to reside in a foreign country. Throughout most of southern France, a consul was an equivalent to the échevins of the north. The most prominent were those of Bordeaux and Toulouse, which came to be known as jurats and capitouls, the capitouls of Toulouse were granted transmittable nobility. In many other towns the first consul, was the equivalent of a mayor today, assisted by a variable number of secondary consuls. His main task was to levy and collect tax, the Dukes of Gaeta often used also the title of consul in its Greek form Hypatos. The city-state of Genoa, unlike ancient Rome, bestowed the title of consul on various state officials, among these were Genoese officials stationed in various Mediterranean ports, whose role included helping Genoese merchants and sailors in difficulties with the local authorities. This institution, with its name, was emulated by other powers and is reflected in the modern usage of the word. In reality, the first consul, Bonaparte, dominated his two colleagues and held power, soon making himself consul for life and eventually, in 1804. Chief magistrate, an office held for four months by one of the consuls. As noted above, Bologna already had consuls at some parts of its Medieval history, while many cities had a double-headed chief magistracy, often another title was used, such as Duumvir or native styles such as Meddix, but consul was used in some. It was not uncommon for an organization under Roman private law to copy the terminology of state, the founding statute, or contract, of such an organisation was called lex, law. The people elected each year were patricians, members of the upper class. org, see each present country
22.
Jugurthine War
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The Jugurthine War took place in 112–106 BC, between Rome and Jugurtha of Numidia, a kingdom on the north African coast approximating to modern Algeria. Jugurtha was the nephew and adopted son of Micipsa, King of Numidia, whom he succeeded on the throne, overcoming his rivals through assassination, war, and bribery. The war constituted an important phase in the Roman subjugation of Northern Africa, following Jugurthas usurpation of the throne of Numidia, a loyal ally of Rome since the Punic Wars, Rome felt compelled to intervene. Numidia was a located in North Africa not far from Romes arch enemy. King Micipsa died in 118 BC and he was survived by two natural sons, Adherbal and Hiempsal, and his adopted nephew, Jugurtha. It was Micipsas wish that all three would share his kingdom after his death, after King Micipsas death, Jugurtha proved to be a ruthless and unscrupulous man who would do anything to achieve what he wanted, including murder, bribery, treachery, and assassination. Jugurtha learned Roman ways and military tactics while commanding the Numidian army under Scipio Aemilianus at the Siege of Numantia, after Micipsa died, Jugurtha ordered Hiempsal assassinated and Adherbal fled to Rome for assistance against his half-brother. A Roman commission was sent to Numidia in 116 BC to make peace, however, Jugurtha bribed the Roman officials in the commission and the best regions of Numidia were given to Jugurtha. Nevertheless, it was accepted and peace was made, shortly after, in 113 BC, Jugurtha provoked a war with his brother and cornered Adherbal in Adherbals capital city of Cirta. Adherbal along with the Italians living there resisted, a second Roman commission was sent and, after being bribed, allowed Jugurtha to take the city. Jugurtha then executed his brother, Adherbal, along many of the Italians who helped Adherbal defend Cirta. This execution of Italians and Romans moved the Roman Senate to declare war on Numidia in 112 BC, the Roman consul Lucius Calpurnius Bestia led an army against Jugurtha but Jugurtha surrendered and was given unusually favorable terms. It appears that Bestia was bribed, so favorable were Jugurthas terms of surrender that it led to an investigation in Rome. Upon his arrival in Rome, Jugurtha bribed two Roman Tribunes of the Plebs who in turn protected him and prevented him from testifying, Jugurtha then attempted to arrange for the assassination of a potential rival and was expelled from the city. In late 110 or early 109 Jugurtha defeated a Roman army led by the praetor Aulus Postumius Albinus Magnus, brother of the consul of that year, apparently by using bribery, treachery and he then demanded to be recognized as the rightful ruler of Numidia. The consul Quintus Caecilius Metellus was sent to North Africa to defeat Jugurtha, for his efforts Metellus was later given the title Numidicus. Quintus Caecilius Metellus was honest and able as a commander but was buying time in order to maximize his glory when he did actually defeat them and his successful war plan was to destroy Jugurthas supply lines and this forced Jugurtha to guerilla tactics. An internal Roman struggle developed between Metellus and his commander, Gaius Marius
23.
Marian reforms
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The Marian reforms of 107 BC were a group of military reforms initiated by Gaius Marius, a statesman and general of the Roman Republic. He had to own property worth 3500 sesterces in value and he had to supply his own armaments. They were not expected or equipped to any portion of the battle line. Hastati - 4th class citizens who could afford basic armor, a small shield, Principes - 3rd class citizens, who could afford a full set of high-quality armor, a large shield and a bronze helmet in addition to their sword. Considered the core of the legion, the principes were the pre-Marian unit that most closely resembled the standardized legionary that the Marian reforms would eventually produce. They stood directly behind the hastati and relieved them in the front line if they were unable to break the formation by themselves. Allowing the enemy to wear out on the lighter hastati before facing the principes usually proved to be a decisively successful strategy. Triarii - The final infantry unit, the triarii, was restricted to experienced veterans of the principes, the Roman idiom ad triarios redisse was used to refer to a final, mighty attempt to salvage a desperate situation. Equites - rich citizens of the order who could afford a horse. They usually advanced along the flanks of the line and were intended to break up enemy skirmisher and missile units. They were also the primary reconnaissance force. When war threatened, the consuls of the day would be charged with the duty of recruiting an army from the citizenry of the Republic. As a rule, one of the consuls would lead this mainly volunteer army into battle, as it can be imagined, not all elected consuls were adept at leading an army. For example, in 113 BC, the consul Gnaeus Papirius Carbo was defeated at the Battle of Noreia by invading tribes of the Cimbri and that was followed by a protracted war in Africa against King Jugurtha of Numidia. Consul Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus was sent to defeat Jugurtha, Metellus never lost any armies and won some battles but after two years, he had not achieved total victory. Gaius Marius, one of his legates, requested Metellus to release him from his duties so he could return to Rome, when Marius became junior consul in 107 BC and was appointed the task of concluding the war with Jugurtha, he had no army. The army Metellus had commanded in Africa was assigned to the consul, Lucius Cassius Longinus, to expel the Cimbri. To overcome that problem, he introduced a number of reforms, the foremost of the Marian reforms was the inclusion of the Roman landless masses, the capite censi, men who had no property to be assessed in the census
24.
Roman legion
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A Roman legion was the largest unit of the Roman army involving from 3000 men in early times to over 5200 men in imperial times, consisting of centuries as the basic units. Until the middle of the first century,10 cohorts made up a Roman Legion and this was later changed to nine cohorts of standard size and one cohort, the first cohort, of double strength. In the early Roman Kingdom the legion may have meant the entire Roman army but sources on this period are few, Legions also included a small ala or cavalry unit. By the third century AD, the legion was a smaller unit of about 1,000 to 1,500 men. In the fourth century AD, East Roman border guard legions may have even smaller. The Roman army, for most of the Imperial period, consisted mostly of auxiliaries rather than legions, because legions were not permanent units until the Marian reforms, and were instead created, used, and disbanded again, several hundred legions were named and numbered throughout Roman history. To date, about 50 have been identified, toward the end of the 2nd Century BC, Rome started to experience manpower shortages brought about by property and financial qualifications to join the army. In the time of Augustus, there were nearly 50 upon his succession but this was reduced to about 25–35 permanent standing legions, a legion consisted of several cohorts of heavy infantry known as legionaries. The recruitment of non-citizens was rare but appears to have occurred in times of great need, For example, Caesar appears to have recruited the Legio V Alaudae mostly from non-citizen Gauls. In the period before the raising of the legio and the years of the Roman Kingdom. These centuries were grouped together as required and answered to the leader who had hired or raised them, the roles of century leader, second in command and standard bearer are referenced in this early period. Much Roman history of the era is shrouded in legend, but it is believed that during the reign of Servius Tullius, the census was introduced. Joining the army was both a duty and a mark of Roman citizenship, during the entire pre-Marian period the wealthiest land owners performed the most years of military service. These individuals would have had the most to lose should the state have fallen. The first and wealthiest common class was armed in the fashion of the hoplite with spear, sword, helmet, breast plate and round shield, there were 82 centuries of these, Roman soldiers had to purchase their own equipment. The second and third class also acted as spearmen but were heavily armoured and carried a larger oval or rectangular shield. The fourth class could afford no armour, perhaps bearing a shield and armed with spear. All three of the latter made up about 26 centuries
25.
Gladiator
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A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their lives and their legal and social standing by appearing in the arena, most were despised as slaves, schooled under harsh conditions, socially marginalized, and segregated even in death. Irrespective of their origin, gladiators offered spectators an example of Romes martial ethics and, in fighting or dying well, they could inspire admiration and popular acclaim. They were celebrated in high and low art, and their value as entertainers was commemorated in precious, the origin of gladiatorial combat is open to debate. There is evidence of it in funeral rites during the Punic Wars of the 3rd century BC and its popularity led to its use in ever more lavish and costly games. The gladiator games lasted for nearly a thousand years, reaching their peak between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century AD. The games finally declined during the early 5th century after the adoption of Christianity as state church of the Roman Empire in 380, early literary sources seldom agree on the origins of gladiators and the gladiator games. In the late 1st century BC, Nicolaus of Damascus believed they were Etruscan, a generation later, Livy wrote that they were first held in 310 BC by the Campanians in celebration of their victory over the Samnites. This was accepted and repeated in most early modern, standard histories of the games, reappraisal of pictorial evidence supports a Campanian origin, or at least a borrowing, for the games and gladiators. Campania hosted the earliest known gladiator schools, tomb frescoes from the Campanian city of Paestum show paired fighters, with helmets, spears and shields, in a propitiatory funeral blood-rite that anticipates early Roman gladiator games. Compared to these images, supporting evidence from Etruscan tomb-paintings is tentative, the Paestum frescoes may represent the continuation of a much older tradition, acquired or inherited from Greek colonists of the 8th century BC. This is described as a munus, a duty owed the manes of a dead ancestor by his descendants. The war in Samnium, immediately afterwards, was attended with equal danger, the enemy, besides their other warlike preparation, had made their battle-line to glitter with new and splendid arms. There were two corps, the shields of the one were inlaid with gold, of the other with silver, the Dictator, as decreed by the senate, celebrated a triumph, in which by far the finest show was afforded by the captured armour. His plain Romans virtuously dedicate the magnificent spoils of war to the Gods and their Campanian allies stage a dinner entertainment using gladiators who may not be Samnites, but play the Samnite role. Other groups and tribes would join the cast list as Roman territories expanded, most gladiators were armed and armoured in the manner of the enemies of Rome. The munus became a morally instructive form of historic enactment in which the only option for the gladiator was to fight well. In 216 BC, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, late consul and augur, was honoured by his sons with three days of gladiatora munera in the Forum Romanum, using pairs of gladiators
26.
Third Servile War
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The concentrated military effort of a single commander, Marcus Licinius Crassus, finally crushed the rebellion, though the war continued to have indirect effects on Roman politics for years to come. The Third Servile War had significance in the history of ancient Rome in its effect on the careers of Pompey. Their actions as Consuls greatly furthered the subversion of Roman political institutions, to varying degrees throughout Roman history, the existence of a pool of inexpensive labor in the form of slaves was an important factor in the economy. Slaves were acquired for the Roman workforce through a variety of means, including purchase from foreign merchants and the enslavement of foreign populations through military conquest. While there was limited use for slaves as servants, craftsmen, for the most part, slaves were treated harshly and oppressively during the Roman republican period. Under Republican law, a slave was not considered a person, owners could abuse, injure or even kill their own slaves without legal consequence. While there were many grades and types of slaves, the lowest—and most numerous—grades who worked in the fields and this high concentration and oppressive treatment of the slave population led to rebellions. While these were considered serious civil disturbances by the Roman Senate, taking years and direct intervention to quell. The Roman heartland had never seen a slave uprising, nor had ever been seen as a potential threat to the city of Rome. This would all change with the Third Servile War, in the Roman Republic of the 1st century, gladiatorial games were one of the more popular forms of entertainment. In order to supply gladiators for the contests, several training schools, in these schools, prisoners of war and condemned criminals—who were considered slaves—were taught the skills required to fight in gladiatorial games. In 73 BC, a group of some 200 gladiators in the Capuan school owned by Lentulus Batiatus plotted an escape. When their plot was betrayed, a force of about 70 men seized kitchen implements, fought their way free from the school, and seized several wagons of gladiatorial weapons and armor. These escaped slaves were able to defeat a force of troops sent after them from Capua. They initially viewed the revolt as more a major crime wave than an armed rebellion, however, later that year, Rome dispatched a military force under praetorian authority to put down the rebellion. Glabers forces besieged the slaves on Mount Vesuvius, blocking the only way down the mountain. With the slaves thus contained, Glaber was content to wait until starvation forced the slaves to surrender and they moved around the base of Vesuvius, outflanked the army, and annihilated Glabers men. A second expedition, under the praetor Publius Varinius, was dispatched against Spartacus
27.
Archaeology of Northern Europe
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The region entered the Mesolithic around the 7th millennium BCE. The transition to the Neolithic is characterized by the Funnelbeaker culture in the 4th millennium BCE, the Chalcolithic is marked by the arrival of the Corded Ware culture, possibly the first influence in the region of Indo-European expansion. The Nordic Bronze Age proper begins roughly one millennium later, around 1500 BCE, Northern Europe enters the protohistorical period in the early centuries CE, with the adoption of writing and ethnographic accounts by Roman authors. The following is a listing of Northern European archaeological periods, expanded from the basic three-age system with finer subdivisions. During the 6th millennium BCE, the climate of Scandinavia was generally warmer, the bearers of the Nøstvet and Lihult cultures and the Kongemose culture were mesolithic hunter-gatherers. The Kongemose culture was replaced by the Ertebølle culture, adapting to the changes and gradually adopting the Neolithic Revolution. During the 4th millennium BCE, the Funnelbeaker culture expanded into Sweden up to Uppland, the Nøstvet and Lihult cultures were succeeded by the Pitted Ware culture Early Indo-European presence likely dates to the late 3rd millennium BCE, introducing the Nordic Bronze Age. The tripartite division of the Nordic Iron Age into Pre-Roman Iron Age, Roman Iron Age, the Pre-Roman Iron Age was the earliest part of the Iron Age in Scandinavia and North European Plain. Succeeding the Nordic Bronze Age, the Iron Age developed in contact with the Hallstatt culture in Central Europe, the Iron Age in northern Europe is markedly distinct from the Celtic La Tène culture south of it. Iron was extracted from bog iron in peat bogs and the first iron objects to be fabricated were needles and edged tools such as swords, Iron products were also known in Scandinavia during the Bronze Age, but they were a scarce imported material. Similarly, imported bronze continued to be used during the Iron Age in Scandinavia, funerary practices continued the Bronze Age tradition of burning corpses and placing the remains in urns, a characteristic of the Urnfield culture. Archaeologists have found swords, shield bosses, spearheads, scissors, sickles, pincers, knives, needles, buckles, kettles, Bronze continued to be used for torcs and kettles, the style of which were continuous from the Bronze Age. Some of the most prominent finds from the pre-Roman Iron Age in northern Europe are the Gundestrup cauldron, in Scandinavia, this period is often called the Findless Age due to the lack of archaeological finds. While the archaeological record from Scandinavia are consistent with a decline in population, the southern parts of the culture. It consequently appears that the climate played a important role in this southward expansion into continental Europe. The current view in the Netherlands hold that Iron Age innovations, starting with Hallstatt, did not involve intrusions, another Iron Age nucleus considered to represent a local development is the Wessenstedt culture. The bearers of this northern Iron Age culture were likely speakers of Germanic languages, the stage of development of this Germanic is not known, although Proto-Germanic has been proposed. The Roman Iron Age is the name gave to a part of the Iron Age
28.
Baltic Sea
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The Baltic Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, enclosed by Scandinavia, Finland, the Baltic countries, and the North European Plain. It includes the Gulf of Bothnia, the Bay of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland, the Gulf of Riga, the sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 10°E to 30°E longitude. The Baltic Sea is connected by waterways to the White Sea via the White Sea Canal. Traffic history Historically, the Kingdom of Denmark collected Sound Dues from ships at the border between the ocean and the land-locked Baltic Sea and they were collected in the Øresund at Kronborg castle near Helsingør, in the Great Belt at Nyborg. In the Little Belt, the site of intake was moved to Fredericia, the narrowest part of Little Belt is the Middelfart Sund near Middelfart. Oceanography Geographers widely agree that the physical border of the Baltic is a line drawn through the southern Danish islands, Drogden-Sill. The Drogden Sill is situated north of Køge Bugt and connects Dragør in the south of Copenhagen to Malmö, it is used by the Øresund Bridge, including the Drogden Tunnel. By this definition, the Danish Straits are part of the entrance, but the Bay of Mecklenburg, another usual border is the line between Falsterbo, Sweden and Stevns Klint, Denmark, as this is the southern border of Øresund. Its also the border between the shallow southern Øresund and notably deeper water, hydrography and biology Drogden Sill sets a limit to Øresund and Darss Sill, and a limit to the Belt Sea. The shallow sills are obstacles to the flow of salt water from the Kattegat into the basins around Bornholm. The Kattegat and the southwestern Baltic Sea are well oxygenated and have a rich biology, the remainder of the Sea is brackish, poor in oxygen and in species. While Tacitus called it Mare Suebicum after the Germanic people called the Suebi, the origin of the latter name is speculative. Adam of Bremen himself compared the sea with a belt, stating that it is so named because it stretches through the land as a belt and he might also have been influenced by the name of a legendary island mentioned in the Natural History of Pliny the Elder. Pliny mentions an island named Baltia with reference to accounts of Pytheas and it is possible that Pliny refers to an island named Basilia in On the Ocean by Pytheas. Baltia also might be derived from belt and mean near belt of sea, meanwhile, others have suggested that the name of the island originates from the Proto-Indo-European root *bhel meaning white, fair. This root and its meaning were retained in both Lithuanian and Latvian. On this basis, a related hypothesis holds that the name originated from this Indo-European root via a Baltic language such as Lithuanian, yet another explanation is that the name originally meant enclosed sea, bay as opposed to open sea. Some Swedish historians believe the name derives from the god Balder of Nordic mythology, in the Middle Ages the sea was known by variety of names
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Scandinavia
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Scandinavia /ˌskændᵻˈneɪviə/ is a historical and cultural region in Northern Europe characterized by a common ethnocultural North Germanic heritage and mutually intelligible North Germanic languages. The term Scandinavia always includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the remote Norwegian islands of Svalbard and Jan Mayen are usually not seen as a part of Scandinavia, nor is Greenland, an overseas territory of Denmark. This looser definition almost equates to that of the Nordic countries, in Nordic languages, only Denmark, Norway and Sweden are commonly included in the definition of Scandinavia. In English usage, Scandinavia sometimes refers to the geographical area, the name Scandinavia originally referred vaguely to the formerly Danish, now Swedish, region Scania. Icelanders and the Faroese are to a significant extent descended from the Norse, Finland is mainly populated by Finns, with a minority of approximately 5% of Swedish speakers. A small minority of Sami people live in the north of Scandinavia. The Danish, Norwegian and Swedish languages form a continuum and are known as the Scandinavian languages—all of which are considered mutually intelligible with one another. Faroese and Icelandic, sometimes referred to as insular Scandinavian languages, are intelligible in continental Scandinavian languages only to a limited extent, Finnish and Meänkieli are closely related to each other and more distantly to the Sami languages, but are entirely unrelated to the Scandinavian languages. Apart from these, German, Yiddish and Romani are recognized minority languages in Scandinavia, the southern and by far most populous regions of Scandinavia have a temperate climate. Scandinavia extends north of the Arctic Circle, but has mild weather for its latitude due to the Gulf Stream. Much of the Scandinavian mountains have a tundra climate. There are many lakes and moraines, legacies of the last glacial period, Scandinavia usually refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Some sources argue for the inclusion of the Faroe Islands, Finland and Iceland, though that broader region is known by the countries concerned as Norden. Before this time, the term Scandinavia was familiar mainly to classical scholars through Pliny the Elders writings, and was used vaguely for Scania, as a political term, Scandinavia was first used by students agitating for Pan-Scandinavianism in the 1830s. After a visit to Sweden, Andersen became a supporter of early political Scandinavism, the term is often defined according to the conventions of the cultures that lay claim to the term in their own use. More precisely, and subject to no dispute, is that Finland is included in the broader term Nordic countries, various promotional agencies of the Nordic countries in the United States serve to promote market and tourism interests in the region. The official tourist boards of Scandinavia sometimes cooperate under one umbrella, Norways government entered one year later. All five Nordic governments participate in the joint promotional efforts in the United States through the Scandinavian Tourist Board of North America, Scandinavia can thus be considered a subset of the Nordic countries
30.
Scordisci
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The Scordisci were a Gallic Iron Age tribe centered in the territory of present-day Serbia, at the confluence of the Savus, Dravus and Danube rivers. They were historically notable from the beginning of the third century BC until the turn of the common era, the Scordisci consolidated into a tribal state. At their zenith, their territory stretched over regions comprising parts of present-day Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania. After the Roman conquest in the 1st century AD, their territories were included into the Roman provinces of Pannonia, Moesia and Dacia. The Scordisci was a Celtic tribe formed after the Gallic invasion of the Balkans and their tribal name may be connected to the Scordus, the Šar mountain. The personal names are noted to have been subsequently Illyricized, having South Pannonian–North Dalmatian influence, according to onomastic evidence, Scordiscan settlements to the east of the Morava river were Thracianized. In parts of Moesia the Scordisci and Thracians lived beside each other, the Scordisci were found during different timelines in Illyria, Thrace and Dacia, sometimes splitting into more than one group like the Scordisci Major and the Scordisci Minor. Extensive La Tène type finds, of production, are noted in Pannonia as well as northern Moesia Superior, attesting to the concentration of Celtic settlements. However, such finds south of the Sava river are scarce, the Scordisci were centered in the territory of present-day Serbia, at the confluence of the Sava, Drava and Danube rivers. The Scordisci consolidated into a tribal state, at their zenith, their core territory stretched over regions comprising parts of present-day Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania, while their influence spread even further. The Romans reported that they had the custom of drinking blood, Celtic expansion reached the Carpathians in the beginning of the 4th century BC. According to a Livy, perhaps based on Celtic legend, the Celts that migrated to Italy, the Celts established themselves in Pannonia, subjugating the Pannonians, and in the end of the 4th century they renewed raids into the Balkans. By the early 3rd century BC, Pannonia had been Celtiziced, the Celts, retreating from Delphi, settled on the mouth of the Sava and called themselves Scordisci. The Scordisci established control to the north of the Dardani, there is no mention of the Scordisci until the reign of Philip V of Macedon, when they emerge as Macedon allies against the Dardani and Rome. The Scordisci, having conquered the important Sava valley, the route to Italy, in the second half of the 3rd century BC. They subjugated a number of tribes in Moesia, including the Dardani, several west Thracian tribes, the Scordisci most likely subdued the Dardani in the mid-2nd century BC, after which there are for long no mention of the Dardani. From 141 BC, the Scordisci were constantly involved in battles against Roman held Macedonia and they were defeated in 135 BC. by Cosconius in Thrace. In 118 BC, according to a stone discovered near Thessalonica, Sextus Pompeius
31.
Boii
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The Boii were a Gallic tribe of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul, Pannonia, parts of Bavaria, in and around Bohemia, and Gallia Narbonensis. In addition the archaeological evidence indicates that in the 2nd century BC Celts expanded from Bohemia through the Kłodzko Valley into Silesia, now part of Poland and the Czech Republic. They first appear in history in connection with the Gallic invasion of north Italy,390 BC, after a series of wars they were decisively beaten by the Romans in a battle near Mutina and their territory became part of the Roman province of Cisalpine Gaul. Around 60 BC, a group of Boii joined the Helvetiis ill-fated attempt to land in western Gaul and were defeated by Julius Caesar, along with their allies. Caesar settled the remnants of that group in Gorgobina, from where they sent two thousand to Vercingetorixs aid at the battle of Alesia six years later, the eastern Boii on the Danube were incorporated into the Roman Empire in 8 AD. From all the different names of the same Celtic people in literature and inscriptions it is possible to abstract a continental Celtic segment, There are two major derivations of this segment, both presupposing that it belongs to the family of Indo-European languages, from cow and from warrior. The Boii would thus be either the people or the warrior people. The cow derivation depends most immediately on the Old Irish legal term for outsider, ambue, from Proto-Celtic *ambouios, not a cattle owner. The latter were presumably the *ambouii, as opposed to the man of status, who was *bouios, an owner, and the *bouii were originally a class. Boii would be from the o-grade of *bhei-, which is *bhoi-, such a connection is possible if the original form of Boii belonged to a tribe of Proto-Indo-European speakers long before the time of the historic Boii. If that is the case, then the Celtic tribe of central Europe must have been a final population of a linguistically diversifying ancestor tribe. Indo-European reconstructions can be made using *gʷou- cow as a basis, contemporary derived words include Boiorix and Boiodurum in Germany. According to the ancient authors, the Boii arrived in northern Italy by crossing the Alps and it remains therefore unclear where exactly the Central European origins of the Boii lay, if somewhere in Gaul, Southern Germany or in Bohemia. Polybius relates that the Celts were close neighbors of the Etruscan civilization, invading the Po Valley with a large army, they drove out the Etruscans and resettled it, the Boii taking the right bank in the center of the valley. Strabo confirms that the Boii emigrated from their lands across the Alps and were one of the largest tribes of the Celts, the Boii occupied the old Etruscan settlement of Felsina, which they named Bononia. Their possessions consisted of cattle and gold, because these were the things they could carry about with them everywhere according to circumstances. They treated comradeship as of the greatest importance, those among them being the most feared and most powerful who were thought to have the largest number of attendants and associates. The archaeological evidence from Bologna and its vicinity contradicts the testimony of Polybius and Livy on some points and it much rather indicates that the Boii neither destroyed nor depopulated Felsinum, but simply moved in and became part of the population by intermarriage
32.
Danube
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The Danube is Europes second-longest river, after the Volga River, and also the longest river in the European Union region. It is located in Central and Eastern Europe, the Danube was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire, and today flows through 10 countries, more than any other river in the world. Its drainage basin extends into nine more countries, the Latin name Dānuvius is one of a number of Old European river names derived from a Proto-Indo-European *dānu. Other river names from the root include the Dunajec, Dzvina/Daugava, Don, Donets, Dnieper, Dniestr. In Rigvedic Sanskrit, dānu means fluid, drop, in Avestan, in the Rigveda, Dānu once appears as the mother of Vrtra. Known to the ancient Greeks as the Istros a borrowing from a Daco-Thracian name meaning strong, in Latin, the Danube was variously known as Danubius, Danuvius or as Ister. The Dacian/Thracian name was Donaris for the upper Danube and Istros for the lower Danube, the Thraco-Phrygian name was Matoas, the bringer of luck. The Latin name is masculine, as are all its Slavic names, the German Donau is feminine, as it has been re-interpreted as containing the suffix -ouwe wetland. Classified as a waterway, it originates in the town of Donaueschingen, in the Black Forest of Germany, at the confluence of the rivers Brigach. The Danube then flows southeast for about 2,800 km, passing through four capital cities before emptying into the Black Sea via the Danube Delta in Romania and its drainage basin extends into nine more. The highest point of the basin is the summit of Piz Bernina at the Italy–Switzerland border. The land drained by the Danube extends into other countries. Many Danubian tributaries are important rivers in their own right, navigable by barges, from its source to its outlet into the Black Sea, its main tributaries are, The Danube flows through many cities, including four national capitals, more than any other river in the world. Danube remains a mountain river until Passau, with average bottom gradient 0. 0012%. Middle Section, From Devín Gate to Iron Gate, at the border of Serbia and Romania, the riverbed widens and the average bottom gradient becomes only 0. 00006%. Lower Section, From Iron Gate to Sulina, with average gradient as little as 0. 00003%, about 60 of its tributaries are also navigable. In 1994 the Danube was declared one of ten Pan-European transport corridors, routes in Central, the amount of goods transported on the Danube increased to about 100 million tons in 1987. In 1999, transport on the river was difficult by the NATO bombing of three bridges in Serbia during the Kosovo War
33.
Taurisci
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The Taurisci were a federation of Gallic tribes who dwelt in todays northern Slovenia before the coming of the Romans According to Pliny the Elder, they are the same people known as the Norici. The denotation probably stems from Celtic taur meaning mountain, as in Tauern, affiliated with the Celto-Ligurian Taurini, the Taurisci settled on the upper Sava river after their defeat at the Battle of Telamon in 225 BC. In the wake of the Boii they migrated to northern Italia, the Greek chronicler Polybius mentioned Tauriscian gold mining in the area of Aquileia. With the troops of the Roman Republic they were defeated by invading Germanic Cimbri, other people settling in the region were the Pannonians in the south-east of Carniola, in the south-west lived the Iapydes, an Illyrian tribe, and the Carni, a Venetic tribe
34.
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
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Alps
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The mountains were formed over tens of millions of years as the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided. Extreme shortening caused by the event resulted in marine sedimentary rocks rising by thrusting and folding into high mountain peaks such as Mont Blanc, Mont Blanc spans the French–Italian border, and at 4,810 m is the highest mountain in the Alps. The Alpine region area contains about a hundred peaks higher than 4000 metres, the altitude and size of the range affects the climate in Europe, in the mountains precipitation levels vary greatly and climatic conditions consist of distinct zones. Wildlife such as live in the higher peaks to elevations of 3,400 m. Evidence of human habitation in the Alps goes back to the Palaeolithic era, a mummified man, determined to be 5,000 years old, was discovered on a glacier at the Austrian–Italian border in 1991. By the 6th century BC, the Celtic La Tène culture was well established, Hannibal famously crossed the Alps with a herd of elephants, and the Romans had settlements in the region. In 1800 Napoleon crossed one of the passes with an army of 40,000. The 18th and 19th centuries saw an influx of naturalists, writers, in World War II, Adolf Hitler kept a base of operation in the Bavarian Alps throughout the war. The Alpine region has a cultural identity. The Winter Olympic Games have been hosted in the Swiss, French, at present, the region is home to 14 million people and has 120 million annual visitors. The English word Alps derives from the Latin Alpes, maurus Servius Honoratus, an ancient commentator of Virgil, says in his commentary that all high mountains are called Alpes by Celts. The term may be common to Italo-Celtic, because the Celtic languages have terms for high mountains derived from alp and this may be consistent with the theory that in Greek Alpes is a name of non-Indo-European origin. According to the Old English Dictionary, the Latin Alpes might possibly derive from a pre-Indo-European word *alb hill, Albania, a name not native to the region known as the country of Albania, has been used as a name for a number of mountainous areas across Europe. In Roman times, Albania was a name for the eastern Caucasus, in modern languages the term alp, alm, albe or alpe refers to a grazing pastures in the alpine regions below the glaciers, not the peaks. An alp refers to a mountain pasture where cows are taken to be grazed during the summer months and where hay barns can be found. The Alps are a crescent shaped geographic feature of central Europe that ranges in a 800 km arc from east to west and is 200 km in width, the mean height of the mountain peaks is 2.5 km. The range stretches from the Mediterranean Sea north above the Po basin, extending through France from Grenoble, the range continues onward toward Vienna, Austria, and east to the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia. To the south it dips into northern Italy and to the north extends to the border of Bavaria in Germany
Roman Victories
Victories of the Cimbri and Teutones.
Roman Republic