Gaul

Definition

Gaul (Latin Gallia, French Gaule) is the name given by the Romans to the territories where the Celtic Gauls (Latin Galli, French Gaulois) lived, including present France, Belgium, Luxemburg and parts of the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany on the west bank of the Rhine, and the Po Valley, in present Italy. The ancient limits of Gaul were the Rhine River and the Alps on the east, the Mare Nostrum (Mediterranean Sea), the Po Valley and the Pyrenees on the south, and the Atlantic Ocean on the west and North. Before the Roman conquest by Julius Caesar (58-51 BCE), the name “Gaul” corresponded to a cultural and military area founded on a common religion and federations of peoples who thought they had a common origin. This common origin probably dates back to the 8th century BCE, when migrant groups of the Bronze Age Urnfield culture spread slowly across the area of the future territory of Gaul. About 390 BCE, the Gauls invaded and sacked Rome. In 222 BCE, Cisalpine Gaul (the region between the Alps and the Po Valley) was conquered by the Romans. The best description we know about the pre-Roman Gaul is in the first chapter of the Commentarii de Bello Gallico, of Caius Julius Caesar. It is clearly a Roman point of view of the Gallic realities:

More about: Gaul

Timeline

  • c. 600 BCE
    Phocaea founds the colony of Massilia.
  • c. 400 BCE - c. 300 BCE
    Founding of Lutetia.
  • 390 BCE
    Gauls sack Rome.
  • c. 390 BCE
    "Gallic Catastrophe:" Brennus of the Senones defeats the Romans at Allia, and subsequently sacks Rome.
  • 334 BCE
    Rome signs a peace treaty with the Senones tribe.
  • 284 BCE
    Gauls of the Insubres and Boii tribes defeat the Romans at Arretium.
  • 283 BCE
    Rome decisively defeats the Senones at Picenum.
  • 279 BCE
    Gauls attack the sanctuary of Delphi.
  • 222 BCE
    Rome conquers Cisalpine Gaul (modern-day Provence, France).
  • 121 BCE
    Gallia Narbonensis becomes a Roman province.
  • 58 BCE - 51 BCE
    Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul.
  • 58 BCE
    Caesar attacks the Helvetii while on migration and defeats them.
  • 58 BCE
    Julius Caesar invades Gaul. Roman influence on the European tribes begins in earnest.
  • 57 BCE
    A Roman army under Caesar narrowly defeats an army of Nervii, Atrebates, and Viromandui.
  • 56 BCE
    The navies of Rome and the Veneti Gauls clash resulting in a Roman victory. This is the first recorded naval battle in the Atlantic Ocean.
  • 54 BCE - 53 BCE
    Ambiorix of the Eburones tribe destroys around 9,000 Roman soldiers at Atuatuca.
  • 53 BCE
    Julius Caesar holds council of Gallic tribes in Lutetia.
  • 52 BCE
    Julius Caesar is defeated at Gergovia by Vercingetorix.
  • 52 BCE
    After becoming trapped and besieged at Alesia, Vercingetorix surrenders to Caesar.
  • 51 BCE
    Caesar's siege and capture of Uxellodunum ends the Gallic War.
  • 44 BCE
    The Allobroges unsuccessfully rise against Roman rule in southern Gaul.
  • 33 BCE
    The Belgic Morini and the Celts of Aquitania unsuccessfully rise against Roman rule.
  • 406 CE
    Vandals, Suevi, and Alans invade Gaul.
  • 486 CE
    Clovis I of the Franks defeats the Romans in Gaul. Founding of the Frankish kingdom.
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