Bituriges
Encyclopedia
Bourges
Bourges is a city in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry.-History:...
(Avaricum).
Early in the 1st century BCE, they had been one of the main tribes, especially in terms of Druids and their political influence. But they soon declined in power as the Druids were an important target for 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....
in his conquest of Gaul. What is more, the fact that Avaricum
Bourges
Bourges is a city in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry.-History:...
was the only Celtic City that Vercingetorix
Vercingetorix
Vercingetorix was the chieftain of the Arverni tribe, who united the Gauls in an ultimately unsuccessful revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars....
, for once not following his scorched earth
Scorched earth
A scorched earth policy is a military strategy or operational method which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area...
strategy, was not to burn in front of Caesar's legions is another proof of the political importance of the Bituriges.
Eventually the town was to be buried by the Roman legions.
Argentomagus
Argentomagus
The Roman city of Argentomagus was located in the Mersans plateau of central France, at the strategic point where a Roman bridge once traversed the River Creuse...
(near today's Argenton-sur-Creuse
Argenton-sur-Creuse
Argenton-sur-Creuse is a commune in the Indre department in central France. It lies on the Creuse River, 19 m. SSW of Châteauroux, close to the A20 motorway.-History:...
) was another oppidum
Oppidum
Oppidum is a Latin word meaning the main settlement in any administrative area of ancient Rome. The word is derived from the earlier Latin ob-pedum, "enclosed space," possibly from the Proto-Indo-European *pedóm-, "occupied space" or "footprint."Julius Caesar described the larger Celtic Iron Age...
of theirs. This is one of several tribes which seem to have split, the Bituriges-Cubi lived near Bourges/Berry
Berry (province)
Berry is a region located in the center of France. It was a province of France until the provinces were replaced by départements on 4 March 1790....
, the Bituriges-Vivisci near Burdigala (Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
).
The name seems to mean kings of the world.
A passage from Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
, (V, XXXIV), "summa imperii penes Biturges", meaning "all the power in the hands of the Bituriges", has become the motto of the city of Bourges
Bourges
Bourges is a city in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry.-History:...
.