Allobroges
Encyclopedia
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
, located between the Rhône River
Rhône River
The Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in Switzerland and running from there through southeastern France. At Arles, near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhone and the Little Rhone...
and the Lake of Geneva in what later became Savoy
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
, Dauphiné
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....
, and Vivarais
Vivarais
Vivarais is a traditional region in the south-east of France, covering the département of Ardèche, named after its capital Viviers on the river Rhône...
. Their cities were in the areas of modern-day Annecy
Annecy
Annecy is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy , 35 kilometres south of Geneva.-Administration:...
, Chambéry
Chambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...
and Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
, the modern of Isère
Isère
Isère is a department in the Rhône-Alpes region in the east of France named after the river Isère.- History :Isère is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Dauphiné...
, and modern Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Their capital was today's Vienne
Vienne, Isère
Vienne is a commune in south-eastern France, located south of Lyon, on the Rhône River. It is the second largest city after Grenoble in the Isère department, of which it is a subprefecture. The city's population was of 29,400 as of the 2001 census....
.
Geography
The location of the Allobroges is deduced from mention of them in ancient writings. CaesarJulius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
says that the Segusiavi
Segusiavi
The Segusiavi were a Celtic tribe of Gaul, whose fortress was located at Lugdunum .The name "Segusiavi" may have been an alternative name of the "Segobriges" who were legendarily involved with Greeks in pre-Roman Gaul and the foundation myth of Massalia....
were the "first tribe outside the province" (Gallia Transalpina) on "the far side of the Rhône
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
" and that he marched from the Allobroges to the Segusiavi; that is, the former occupied the east bank of the Rhône and were in the Roman province. On the north, the Rhône divided the Helvetii
Helvetii
The Helvetii were a Celtic tribe or tribal confederation occupying most of the Swiss plateau at the time of their contact with the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC...
from the Allobroges; i.e., the latter were on the south bank of the river and Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva or Lake Léman is a lake in Switzerland and France. It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe. 59.53 % of it comes under the jurisdiction of Switzerland , and 40.47 % under France...
from which it flows. Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
was Allobrogian. Caesar says the Allobroges were "recently subdued."
History
The first recorded reference to the Allobroges is from the Greek historian PolybiusPolybius
Polybius , Greek ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 220–146 BC in detail. The work describes in part the rise of the Roman Republic and its gradual domination over Greece...
in 150-130 BC. He tells how they unsuccessfully resisted Hannibal when he crossed the Alps in 218 BC.
In 123 BC, the Allobroges gave shelter to king Tutomotulus (or Teutomalius), of the Salluvii tribe Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
had conquered and refused to hand him over. Rome declared war and moved against them. On August 8, 121 BC legions of Quintus Fabius Maximus
Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus
Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus, was a Roman statesman and general.Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus, a member of the patrician gens Fabia, was the son of Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus, consul of 145 BC...
defeated them and forced them to submit; Maximus earned a moniker Allobrogicus for this feat.
The Allobroges additionally played a rather important part in deciding to foil the second Catiline Conspiracy of 63 BC, an attempt to foment civil war throughout Italy and simultaneously burn down Rome. It was a plot by ostracized high political Roman elites and allied plebeian military connected to their cause. The conspirators made the mistake of attempting to recruit the Allobroges via their ambassadors delegation, that happened to be in Rome during the planning of the conspiracy. Since the Allobrogian delegation was in Rome seeking relief from the oppression of their Roman governor, one of the Catiline conspirators, Lentulus Sura instructed Publius Umbrenus, a businessman with dealings in Gaul, to offer to free them of their miseries to throw off the heavy yoke of their governor—if they would join the Catiline conspiracy against Rome. The conspiracy was revealed to the Allobroges, however their diplomatic envoys informed the current consul Cicero. Cicero instructed the Allobroges envoys to get tangible proof of the conspiracy. Thinking they were gaining allies, five of the leading conspirators wrote letters to the Allobroges so that the envoys could show their people that there was hope in a real conspiracy. However, these letters were intercepted instead in transit to Gaul. Then, Cicero had the incriminating letters read before the Senate the following day, in the first of his Catiline Orations
Catiline Orations
The Catiline Orations or Catilinarian Orations were speeches given in 63 BC by Marcus Tullius Cicero, the consul of Rome, exposing to the Roman Senate the plot of Lucius Sergius Catilina and his allies to overthrow the Roman government....
. With the plot spoiled, its intricate planning was unable to work properly, and its ringleaders were rounded up rather quickly or sacrificed themselves mostly in unprepared pitched battles that occurred around Rome.
However, they rebelled on their own shortly thereafter. In 61 BC chief Catugnatus revolted but Gaius Pomptinus defeated them at Solonium.
Next, loyal once more, Allobrogian warriors joined Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
during his conquest of Gaul.
A generation later, Emperor Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
placed Allobroges in the region of Gallia Narbonensis and later Gallia Viennensis. Under the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, Vienne grew and in 100 AD Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
described it as "historic and imposing". Archaeological excavations have revealed extensive warehouses. They collected toll from traffic passing up Via Agrippa and various other Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
s.
Religion
From the "Palace of Mirrors" baths at Saint-Romain-en-GalSaint-Romain-en-Gal
Saint-Romain-en-Gal is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.-References:*...
, across the river from modern Vienne, but part of ancient Vienne, comes a statue of the town's tutelary goddess. North-east of Vienne and north of Cularo
Cularo
Cularo was the name of the Gallic city of Grenoble until 381. From this date it will be called Gratianopolis.The first reference to Grenoble dates back to July 43 BC. At that time the market town...
(modern Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
), is a major healing sanctuary at the modern town of Aix-les-Bains
Aix-les-Bains
Aix-les-Bains is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It is situated on the shore of Lac du Bourget, by rail north of Chambéry.-Geography:...
. This was dedicated to a southern Gaulish healing god Borvo
Borvo
In Lusitanian and Celtic polytheism, Borvo was a healing deity associated with bubbling spring water.-Centres of worship:...
, and not to Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
as might have been expected of such a Romanised people.