Gaul
Gallia (in English
Gaul) is the
Latin name for the region of western
Europe occupied by present-day
France,
Belgium, western
Switzerland and the parts of the
Netherlands and
Germany on the west bank of the
Rhine river. (''Gallia'' is also the
Modern Greek name of
France.)
In English the word
Gaul commonly refers to a Celtic inhabitant of that region in ancient times, but the Gauls were widespread in Europe by Roman times, speaking
Celtic languages that had diverged into two groups. Besides the Gauls of modern-day France, Gauls had settled in the plains of northern
Italy, in the province Romans knew as Gallia Cisalpina ("Gaul this side of the Alps") and Venetia et Istria. Other Gauls had migrated across the
Pyrenees into
Hispania, where they mixed with the indigenous Iberians as "Galloiberians" (also known as "
Celtiberians").
These are the main divisions of Gaul:
- Gallia Cisalpina (Southern Alps)
- *Gallia Transpadana (Shouthern Po)
- *Gallia Cispadana (Northern Po)
- Gallia transalpina (Northern Alps)
- *Gallia Narbonensis provincia
- *Gallia Omnis (Between Rhine & Pyrenees)
- **Gallia Belgica
- **Gallia Aquitania
- **Gallia Celtica
Gauls under
Brennus sacked Rome circa
390 BC, destroying all
Roman historical records to that point.
In the Aegean world, a huge migration of Eastern Gauls appeared in
Thrace, north of
Greece, in
281 BC. Another Gaulish chieftain named
Brennus, at the head of a large army, was only turned back from desecrating the Temple of Apollo at
Delphi at the last minute, alarmed, it was said, by portents of thunder and lightning. At the same time a migrating band of Celts, some 10,000 fighting men, with their women and children and slaves, were moving through Thrace. Three tribes of Gauls crossed over from Thrace to Asia Minor at express invitation of
Nicomedes I of
Bithynia, who required help in a dynastic struggle against his brother. Eventually they settled down in eastern
Phrygia and
Cappadocia in central
Anatolia, in a region henceforth known as
Galatia.
Roman rule in Gaul was established by
Julius Caesar, who defeated the Celtic tribes in Gaul
58-
51 BC and described his experiences in
De Bello Gallico, which means
About the Gallic War. The war cost the lives of more than a million Gauls, and a million further were enslaved. The area conquered by Caesar was
Gallia Comata: literally, "long-haired Gaul."
The area was subsequently governed as a number of
provinces, the principal ones being
Gallia Narbonensis,
Gallia Lugdunensis,
Gallia Aquitania and
Gallia Belgica. The capital of the Gauls was
Lyon (''Lugdunum'').
On
December 31, 406 the Vandals,
Alans and Suebians crossed the
Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gallia.
After coming under increasing pressure from the tribes of Germany from the middle of the
3rd century AD, Roman rule in Gaul ended with the defeat of the Roman governor
Syagrius by the
Franks in AD 486.
See also
bg:Галия
de:Gallien
es:Galia
eo:Gaŭloj
fr:Gaule
ko:갈리아
it:Gallia
la:Gallia
ja:ガリア
nds:Gallien
nl:Gallië
pl:Galia
ro:Galia
sv:Gallien
wa:Gĺle
zh:高卢
he:גאליה
Category:Ancient Roman enemies and allies
Category:Gauls