Helvetii
Encyclopedia
Swiss plateau
The Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau constitutes one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland alongside the Jura mountains and the Swiss Alps. It covers about 30% of the Swiss surface...
at the time of their contact with the Roman Republic
Switzerland in the Roman era
The history of Switzerland in the Roman era encompasses the roughly six centuries during which the territory of modern Switzerland was a part of the Roman Republic and Empire...
in the 1st century BC. According to 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....
, the Helvetians were divided into four subgroups or pagi
Pagus
In the later Western Roman Empire, following the reorganization of Diocletian, a pagus became the smallest administrative district of a province....
. Of these Caesar only names the Verbigeni and the Tigurini
Tigurini
The Tigurini were a pagus of the Celtic Helvetii. They crossed the Rhine together with the Helvetii to invade Gaul in 109 BCE...
, while Poseidonios mentions the Tigurini and the Toygenoi (Τωυγενοί). They feature prominently in the Commentaries on the Gallic War
Commentarii de Bello Gallico
Commentarii de Bello Gallico is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine years he spent fighting local armies in Gaul that opposed Roman domination.The "Gaul" that Caesar...
, with their failed migration attempt to southwestern Gaul (58 BC) serving as a catalyst for Caesar's conquest of Gaul.
Etymology
The endonym Helvetii may be derived from the root elw that is seen in WelshWelsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
, meaning "gain" or "profit," and the Old Irish prefix il-, meaning "many" or "multiple." The name has also been interpreted as meaning "rich in land," from elu-, "numerous," and *etu-, "terrain, grassland."
The name of the national personification of 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....
, Helvetia
Helvetia
Helvetia is the female national personification of Switzerland, officially Confœderatio Helvetica, the "Helvetic Confederation".The allegory is typically pictured in a flowing gown, with a spear and a shield emblazoned with the Swiss flag, and commonly with braided hair, commonly with a wreath as...
, and the country's Neo-Latin name, Confoederatio Helvetica, are both derived from the name of the Helvetii.
Tribal organisation
Of the four Helvetian pagi or sub-tribes, Caesar only names the Verbigeni (Bell.Gall. 1.27) and the TiguriniTigurini
The Tigurini were a pagus of the Celtic Helvetii. They crossed the Rhine together with the Helvetii to invade Gaul in 109 BCE...
(1.12), Poseidonios the Tigurini and the Toygenoi (Τωυγενοί). The latter may or may not be identical with the Teutones named by Livy. Ancient writers usually classify the Teutons as "Germanic" and the Helvetii as "Gallic," but these ethnic attributions are debatable.
According to Caesar, the territory abandoned by the Helvetii had comprised 400 villages and 12 oppida
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...
(fortified settlements). His tally of the total population taken from captured Helvetian records written in Greek is 263,000 people, including fighting men, old men, women and children. However, these figures are generally dismissed as too high by modern scholars (see below).
Like many other tribes, the Helvetii did not have kings at the time of their clash with Rome but instead seem to have been governed by a class of noblemen (Lat. equites). When Orgetorix
Orgetorix
Orgetorix was a wealthy aristocrat among the Helvetii, a Celtic-speaking people residing in what is now Switzerland during the consulship of Julius Caesar of the Roman Republic. In 61 BC he convinced the Helvetians to attempt to migrate from Helvetian territory to south-western Gaul...
, one of their most prominent and ambitious noblemen, was making plans to establish himself as their king, he faced execution by burning if found guilty. Caesar does not explicitly name the tribal authorities prosecuting the case and gathering men to apprehend Orgetorix, but refers to them by the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
terms civitas ("state" or "tribe") and magistratus ("officials").
Earliest historical sources and settlement
The name of the Helvetians is first mentioned in a graffito on a vessel from MantuaMantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
(ca. 300 BC). The inscription
Epigraphy
Epigraphy Epigraphy Epigraphy (from the , literally "on-writing", is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing; that is, the science of identifying the graphemes and of classifying their use as to cultural context and date, elucidating their meaning and assessing what conclusions can be...
in Etruscan letters reads eluveitie, which has been interpreted as the Etruscan
Etruscan language
The Etruscan language was spoken and written by the Etruscan civilization, in what is present-day Italy, in the ancient region of Etruria and in parts of Lombardy, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna...
form of the Celtic (h)elvetios (“the Helvetian”), presumably referring to a man of Helvetian descent living in Mantua.
In his Natural History (ca. 77 AD), Pliny
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
provides a foundation myth for the Celtic settlement of Cisalpine Gaul
Cisalpine Gaul
Cisalpine Gaul, in Latin: Gallia Cisalpina or Citerior, also called Gallia Togata, was a Roman province until 41 BC when it was merged into Roman Italy.It bore the name Gallia, because the great body of its inhabitants, after the expulsion of the Etruscans, consisted of Gauls or Celts...
in which a Helvetian named Helico plays the role of culture hero
Culture hero
A culture hero is a mythological hero specific to some group who changes the world through invention or discovery...
. Helico had worked in Rome as a craftsman and then returned to his home north of the Alps with a dried fig, a grape, and some oil and wine, the desirability of which caused his countrymen to invade northern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
The Greek historian Poseidonios (ca. 135–50 BC), whose work is preserved only in fragments by other writers, offers the earliest historical record of the Helvetii. Poseidonios described the Helvetians of the late 2nd century BC as "rich in gold but peaceful," without giving clear indication to the location of their territory. His reference to gold washing in rivers has been taken as evidence for an early presence of the Helvetii in the Swiss plateau, with the Emme
Emme River
The Emme is a river in Switzerland. It rises in the Alps between the peaks of Hohgant and Augstmatthorn in the canton of Bern. The Emme is 80 kilometers long and flows through the Emmental and into the Aar below Solothurn. The drainage area is 983 km². The average discharge at the mouth is...
as being one of the gold-yielding rivers mentioned by Poseidonios. This interpretation is now generally discarded, as Poseidonios' narrative makes it more likely that the country some of the Helvetians left in order to join in the raids of the Teutones, Cimbri
Cimbri
The Cimbri were a tribe from Northern Europe, who, together with the Teutones and the Ambrones threatened the Roman Republic in the late 2nd century BC. The Cimbri were probably Germanic, though some believe them to be of Celtic origin...
, and Ambrones
Ambrones
The Ambrones were a tribe that appeared briefly in the Roman sources relating to the 2nd century BC. They formed part of a coalition of peoples with the Cimbri of Jutland and the Teutones who were forced south by the flooding of their homeland.-History:...
was in fact southern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and not 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....
.
That the Helvetians originally lived in southern Germany is confirmed by the Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
n geographer Claudius Ptolemaios
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
(ca. 90–168 AD), who tells us of an Ἐλουητίων ἔρημος (i.e. "Helvetic deserted lands") north of the Rhine. 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...
knows that the Helvetians once settled in the swath between Rhine, Main, and the Hercynian forest
Hercynian Forest
The Hercynian Forest was an ancient and dense forest that stretched eastward from the Rhine River across southern Germany and formed the northern boundary of that part of Europe known to writers of antiquity. The ancient sources are equivocal about how far east it extended...
. The abandonment of this northern territory is now usually placed in the late 2nd c. BC, around the time of the first Germanic incursions into the Roman world, when the Tigurini and Toygenoi/Toutonoi are mentioned as participants in the great raids.
First contact with the Romans
Cimbri
The Cimbri were a tribe from Northern Europe, who, together with the Teutones and the Ambrones threatened the Roman Republic in the late 2nd century BC. The Cimbri were probably Germanic, though some believe them to be of Celtic origin...
and Ambrones
Ambrones
The Ambrones were a tribe that appeared briefly in the Roman sources relating to the 2nd century BC. They formed part of a coalition of peoples with the Cimbri of Jutland and the Teutones who were forced south by the flooding of their homeland.-History:...
probably reached southern Germany around the year 111 BC, where they were joined by the Tigurini
Tigurini
The Tigurini were a pagus of the Celtic Helvetii. They crossed the Rhine together with the Helvetii to invade Gaul in 109 BCE...
, and, probably the Teutoni-Toutonoi-Toygenoi.
Teutons
The Teutons or Teutones were mentioned as a Germanic tribe by Greek and Roman authors, notably Strabo and Marcus Velleius Paterculus and normally in close connection with the Cimbri, whose ethnicity is contested between Gauls and Germani...
(The precise identity of the latter group is unclear.)
The tribes began a joint invasion of Gaul, including the Roman Provincia Narbonensis, which led to the Tigurini’s victory over a Roman army under L. Cassius Longinus
Lucius Cassius Longinus (consul 107 BC)
Lucius Cassius Longinus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 107 BC. His colleague was Gaius Marius.As a praetor in 111 BC, he was sent to Numidia to bring Jugurtha to Rome, promising him safe conduct. Jugurtha valued this pledge as much as the public pledge for his safety. In his consulship with...
near Agen
Agen
Agen is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in Aquitaine in south-western France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. It is the capital of the department.-Economy:The town has a higher level of unemployment than the national average...
dicum in 107 BC, in which the consul was killed. According to Caesar, the captured Roman soldiers were ordered to pass through under a yoke set up by the triumphant Gauls, a dishonour that called for both public as well as private vengeance. Caesar is the only narrative source for this episode, as the corresponding books of Livy’s
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...
histories are only preserved in the Periochae, short summarising lists of contents, in which hostages given by the Romans, but no yoke, are mentioned.
In 105 BC, the allies annihilated another Roman army near Arausio, and went on to harry Spain, Gaul, Noricum
Noricum
Noricum, in ancient geography, was a Celtic kingdom stretching over the area of today's Austria and a part of Slovenia. It became a province of the Roman Empire...
, and northern Italy. They split up in two groups in 103 BC, with the Teutones and Ambrones marching on a western route through the Provincia and the Cimbri and Tigurini crossing the eastern Alps (probably by the Brenner pass
Brenner Pass
- Roadways :The motorway E45 leading from Innsbruck via Bolzano to Verona and Modena uses this pass, and is one of the most important north-south connections in Europe...
). While the Teutones and Ambrones were slaughtered in 102 BC by Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius was a Roman general and statesman. He was elected consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his dramatic reforms of Roman armies, authorizing recruitment of landless citizens, eliminating the manipular military formations, and reorganizing the...
, the Cimbri and the Tigurini wintered in the Padan plain. The following year, Marius virtually destroyed the Cimbri in the battle of Vercellae
Battle of Vercellae
The Battle of Vercellae, or Battle of the Raudine Plain, in 101 BC was the Roman victory of Consul Gaius Marius over the invading Germanic Cimbri tribe near the settlement of Vercellae in Cisalpine Gaul....
. The Tigurini, who had planned on following the Cimbri, turned back over the Alps with their booty and joined those of the Helvetians who had not participated in the raids.
Caesar and the Helvetian campaign of 58 BC
Prelude
The Helvetii were the first Gallic tribe of the campaign to be confronted by Caesar. He narrates the events of the conflict in the opening sections of Commentarii de Bello GallicoCommentarii de Bello Gallico
Commentarii de Bello Gallico is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine years he spent fighting local armies in Gaul that opposed Roman domination.The "Gaul" that Caesar...
. Due to the political nature of the Commentarii, Caesar's purpose in publicizing his own achievements may have distorted the significance of events and the motives of those who participated.
The nobleman Orgetorix
Orgetorix
Orgetorix was a wealthy aristocrat among the Helvetii, a Celtic-speaking people residing in what is now Switzerland during the consulship of Julius Caesar of the Roman Republic. In 61 BC he convinced the Helvetians to attempt to migrate from Helvetian territory to south-western Gaul...
is presented as the instigator of a new Helvetian migration, in which the entire tribe was to leave their territory and, according to Caesar, to establish a supremacy over all of Gaul. This exodus was planned over three years, in the course of which Orgetorix conspired with two noblemen from neighbouring tribes, Casticus
Casticus
Casticus was a nobleman of the Sequani of eastern Gaul. His father, Catamantaloedes, had previously been the ruler of the tribe, and had been recognised as a "friend" by the Roman Senate....
of the Sequani
Sequani
Sequani, in ancient geography, were a Gallic people who occupied the upper river basin of the Arar , the valley of the Doubs and the Jura Mountains, their territory corresponding to Franche-Comté and part of Burgundy.-Etymology:...
and Dumnorix
Dumnorix
Dumnorix was a chieftain of the Aedui, a Celtic tribe in Gaul in the 1st century B.C. He was strongly against alliance with the Romans, particularly Julius Caesar, who sparred with him on several occasions...
of the Aedui
Aedui
Aedui, Haedui or Hedui , were a Gallic people of Gallia Lugdunensis, who inhabited the country between the Arar and Liger , in today's France. Their territory thus included the greater part of the modern departments of Saône-et-Loire, Côte-d'Or and Nièvre.-Geography:The country of the Aedui is...
, that each should accomplish a coup d'etat
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
in his own country, after which the three new kings would collaborate. When word of his aspirations to make himself king reached the Helvetii, Orgetorix was summoned to stand trial, facing execution on the pyre should he be found guilty. For the time being, he averted a verdict by arriving at the hearing set for him with ten thousand followers and bondsmen; yet before the large force mustered by the authorities could apprehend him, he died under unexplained circumstances, the Helvetii believed by his own hand.
Nevertheless, the Helvetii did not give up their planned emigration, but burned their homes in 58 BC. They were joined by a number of tribal groups from neighbouring regions: the Raurici, the Latobrigi
Latobrigi
The Latobrigi were a Celtic tribe mentioned in Julius Caesar's Commentarii. According to Caesar, 14.000 Latobrigi joined the Helvetii in their attempted migration to southwestern France in 58 BC, together with several larger contingents from other tribes...
, the Tulingi
Tulingi
The Tulingi were a small tribe closely allied to the Celtic Helvetii in the time of Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul. Their location is unknown; their language and descent are uncertain. From their close cooperation with the Helvetii it can be deduced that they were probably neighbours of the latter...
and a group of Boii
Boii
The Boii were one of the most prominent ancient Celtic tribes of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul , Pannonia , in and around Bohemia, and Transalpine Gaul...
, who had besieged Noreia
Noreia
Noreia was an ancient city in the eastern Alps, the capital of the kingdom of Noricum. Its location has so far not been determined precisely.Some researchers think that Noreia can be identified with the excavated Celtic-Roman settlement on the Magdalensberg in Carinthia, Austria. Others place it in...
. They abandoned their homes completely with the intention of settling among the Santones
Santones
The Santones or Santoni were a tribe of ancient Gaul located in the modern region of Saintonge and around the city of Saintes, city to which they gave their name. The Romans occupied the territory of the Santones from the 1st century BC....
(Saintonge
Saintonge
Saintonge is a small region on the Atlantic coast of France within the département Charente-Maritime, west and south of Charente in the administrative region of Poitou-Charentes....
). The easiest route would take them through the Rhône valley, and thus through the Roman Provincia Narbonensis.
Battle of the Saône
When they reached the boundaries of the AllobrogesAllobroges
The Allobroges were a Celtic tribe of ancient Gaul, located between the Rhône River and the Lake of Geneva in what later became Savoy, Dauphiné, and Vivarais. Their cities were in the areas of modern-day Annecy, Chambéry and Grenoble, the modern of Isère, and modern Switzerland...
, the northernmost tribe of the Provincia, they found that Caesar had already dismantled the bridge of 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...
to stop their advance. The Helvetians sent “the most illustrious men of their state” to negotiate, promising a peaceful passage through the Provincia. Caesar stalled them by asking for some time for consideration, which he used to assemble reinforcements and to fortify the southern banks of the Rhône
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...
. When the embassy returned on the agreed-upon date, he was strong enough to bluntly reject their offer. The Helvetii now chose the more difficult northern route through the Sequani
Sequani
Sequani, in ancient geography, were a Gallic people who occupied the upper river basin of the Arar , the valley of the Doubs and the Jura Mountains, their territory corresponding to Franche-Comté and part of Burgundy.-Etymology:...
territory, which traversed the Jura Mountains
Jura mountains
The Jura Mountains are a small mountain range located north of the Alps, separating the Rhine and Rhone rivers and forming part of the watershed of each...
, but bypassed the Provincia. After ravaging the lands of the Aedui
Aedui
Aedui, Haedui or Hedui , were a Gallic people of Gallia Lugdunensis, who inhabited the country between the Arar and Liger , in today's France. Their territory thus included the greater part of the modern departments of Saône-et-Loire, Côte-d'Or and Nièvre.-Geography:The country of the Aedui is...
tribe, who called upon Caesar to help them, they began the crossing of the Saône
Saône
The Saône is a river of eastern France. It is a right tributary of the River Rhône. Rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department, it joins the Rhône in Lyon....
, which took them several days. As only a quarter of their forces were left on the eastern banks, Caesar attacked and routed them. According to Caesar, those killed had been the Tigurini
Tigurini
The Tigurini were a pagus of the Celtic Helvetii. They crossed the Rhine together with the Helvetii to invade Gaul in 109 BCE...
, on whom he had now taken revenge in the name of the Republic and his family.
After the battle, the Romans quickly bridged the river, thereby prompting the Helvetii to once again send an embassy, this time led by Divico
Divico
Divico was a Celtic king and the leader of the Gaul tribe of the Tigurini. He led the Tigurini across the Rhine to invade Gaul in 109 BCE towards the Roman region of Province. He defeated a Roman army under Lucius Cassius Longinus near Agen in 107 BCE....
, another figure whom Caesar links to the ignominious defeat of 107 BC by calling him bello Cassio dux Helvetiorum (i.e. “leader of the Helvetii in the Cassian campaign”). What Divico had to offer was almost a surrender, namely to have the Helvetii settle wherever Caesar wished them to, although it was combined with the threat of an open battle if Caesar should refuse. Caesar demanded hostages to be given to him and reparations to the Aedui and Allobroges. Divico responded by saying that “they were accustomed to receive, not to give hostages; a fact the Roman people could testify to“, this once again being an allusion to the giving of hostages by the defeated Romans at Agen
Agen
Agen is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in Aquitaine in south-western France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. It is the capital of the department.-Economy:The town has a higher level of unemployment than the national average...
.
Battle of Bibracte
In the cavalry battle that followed, the Helvetii prevailed over Caesar’s Aedui allies under Dumnorix’Dumnorix
Dumnorix was a chieftain of the Aedui, a Celtic tribe in Gaul in the 1st century B.C. He was strongly against alliance with the Romans, particularly Julius Caesar, who sparred with him on several occasions...
command, and continued their journey, while Caesar’s army was being detained by delays in his grain supplies, caused by the Aedui on the instigations of Dumnorix
Dumnorix
Dumnorix was a chieftain of the Aedui, a Celtic tribe in Gaul in the 1st century B.C. He was strongly against alliance with the Romans, particularly Julius Caesar, who sparred with him on several occasions...
, who had married Orgetorix’
Orgetorix
Orgetorix was a wealthy aristocrat among the Helvetii, a Celtic-speaking people residing in what is now Switzerland during the consulship of Julius Caesar of the Roman Republic. In 61 BC he convinced the Helvetians to attempt to migrate from Helvetian territory to south-western Gaul...
daughter. A few days later, however, near the Aeduan oppidum Bibracte
Bibracte
Bibracte, a Gaulish oppidum or fortified city, was the capital of the Aedui and one of the most important hillforts in Gaul. It was situated near modern Autun in Burgundy, France. The material culture of the Aedui corresponded to the Late Iron Age La Tène culture,In 58 BC, at the Battle of...
, Caesar caught up with the Helvetii and faced them in a major battle
Battle of Bibracte
The Battle of Bibracte was fought between the Helvetii and six Roman legions, under the command of Gaius Julius Caesar. It was the second major battle of the Gallic Wars....
, which ended in the Helvetii’s retreat and the capture of most of their baggage by the Romans.
Leaving the largest part of their supplies behind, the Helvetii covered around 60 km in four days, eventually reaching the lands of the Lingones
Lingones
Lingones were a Celtic tribe that originally lived in Gaul in the area of the headwaters of the Seine and Marne rivers. Some of the Lingones migrated across the Alps and settled near the mouth of the Po River in Cisalpine Gaul of northern Italy around 400 BCE. These Lingones were part of a wave of...
(the modern Langres
Langres
Langres is a commune in north-eastern France. It is a subprefecture of the Haute-Marne département in the Champagne-Ardenne region.-History:As the capital of the Romanized Gallic tribe the Lingones, it was called Andematunnum, then Lingones, and now Langres.The town is built on a limestone...
plateau). Caesar did not pursue them until three days after the battle, while still sending messengers to the Lingones warning them not to assist the Helvetii in any way. The Helvetii then offered their immediate surrender and agreed both to providing hostages and to giving up their weapons the next day. In the course of the night, 6000 of the Verbigeni fled from the camp out of fear of being massacred once they were defenceless. Caesar sent riders after them and ordered those who were brought back to be “counted as enemies”, which probably meant being sold into slavery.
Return of the migrants
In order for them to defend the Rhine frontier against the Germans, he then allowed the Helvetii, Tulingi and Latobrigi to return to their territories and to rebuild their homes, instructing the AllobrogesAllobroges
The Allobroges were a Celtic tribe of ancient Gaul, located between the Rhône River and the Lake of Geneva in what later became Savoy, Dauphiné, and Vivarais. Their cities were in the areas of modern-day Annecy, Chambéry and Grenoble, the modern of Isère, and modern Switzerland...
to supply them with a sufficient supply of grain. Caesar does not mention the Raurici, who seem to have built a new oppidum at Basel-Münsterhügel
Basel-Münsterhügel
The Basel oppidum, known as Basel-Münsterhügel, is an Iron Age fort constructed by the Rauraci in the second half of the 1st century BC , after the battle of Bibracte . The fort was situated on what is now the Münsterhügel in the Swiss city of Basel...
upon their return. The Aedui
Aedui
Aedui, Haedui or Hedui , were a Gallic people of Gallia Lugdunensis, who inhabited the country between the Arar and Liger , in today's France. Their territory thus included the greater part of the modern departments of Saône-et-Loire, Côte-d'Or and Nièvre.-Geography:The country of the Aedui is...
were granted their wish that the Boii
Boii
The Boii were one of the most prominent ancient Celtic tribes of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul , Pannonia , in and around Bohemia, and Transalpine Gaul...
who had accompanied the Helvetii would settle on their own territory as allies in the oppidum Gorgobina
Gorgobina
Gorgobina was a Celtic oppidum on the territory of the Aedui tribe. After the defeat of the Helvetii in 58 BC at nearby Bibracte, the Helvetians' Boii allies settled there . If this really was an act of clemency on Julius Caesar's part may be disputed...
. The nature of Caesar’s arrangement with the Helvetii and the other tribes is not further specified by the consul
Roman consul
A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...
himself, but in his speech Balbo of 56 BC, Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
mentions the Helvetii as one among several tribes of foederati
Foederati
Foederatus is a Latin term whose definition and usage drifted in the time between the early Roman Republic and the end of the Western Roman Empire...
, i.e. allied nations who were neither citizens of the Republic nor her subjects, but obliged by treaty to support the Romans with a certain number of fighting men.
Caesar's report of the numbers
According to the victor, tablets with lists in Greek charactersGreek alphabet
The Greek alphabet is the script that has been used to write the Greek language since at least 730 BC . The alphabet in its classical and modern form consists of 24 letters ordered in sequence from alpha to omega...
were found at the Helvetian camp, listing in detail all men able to bear arms with their names and giving a total number for the women, children and elderly who accompanied them. The numbers added up to a total of 263,000 Helvetii, 36,000 Tulingi
Tulingi
The Tulingi were a small tribe closely allied to the Celtic Helvetii in the time of Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul. Their location is unknown; their language and descent are uncertain. From their close cooperation with the Helvetii it can be deduced that they were probably neighbours of the latter...
, 14,000 Latobrigi
Latobrigi
The Latobrigi were a Celtic tribe mentioned in Julius Caesar's Commentarii. According to Caesar, 14.000 Latobrigi joined the Helvetii in their attempted migration to southwestern France in 58 BC, together with several larger contingents from other tribes...
, 23,000 Rauraci, and 32,000 Boii
Boii
The Boii were one of the most prominent ancient Celtic tribes of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul , Pannonia , in and around Bohemia, and Transalpine Gaul...
, all in all 368,000 heads, 92,000 of whom were warriors. A census of those who had returned to their homes listed 110,000 survivors, which meant that only about 30 percent of the emigrants had survived the war.
Caesars report has been partly confirmed by excavations near Geneva and Bibracte
Bibracte
Bibracte, a Gaulish oppidum or fortified city, was the capital of the Aedui and one of the most important hillforts in Gaul. It was situated near modern Autun in Burgundy, France. The material culture of the Aedui corresponded to the Late Iron Age La Tène culture,In 58 BC, at the Battle of...
. However, much of his account has not yet been corrobated by archaeology, whilst his narrative must in wide parts be considered as biased and, in some points, unlikely. For a start, only one out of the fifteen Celtic oppida
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...
in the Helvetii territory so far has yielded evidence for destruction by fire. Many other sites, for example the sanctuary at Mormont
Mormont
Le Mormont, is a hill rising to an altitude of 604 metres above both the villages of Éclépens and La Sarraz, canton of Vaud, between Yverdon-les-Bains and Lausanne, in Switzerland.-Watershed between the Rhone and the Rhine Basins:...
, do not exhibit any signs of damage for the period in question, and Celtic life continued seemingly undisturbed for the rest of the 1st century BC up to the beginning of the Roman era, with an accent rather on an increase in prosperity than on a “Helvetic twilight”. With the honourable status as foederati taken into account, it is hard to believe that the Helvetii ever sustained casualties quite as heavy as those given by the Roman military leader.
In general, numbers written down by ancient military authors have to be taken as gross exaggerations. What Caesar claims to have been 368,000 people is estimated by other sources to be rather around 300,000 (Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
), or 200,000 (Appian
Appian
Appian of Alexandria was a Roman historian of Greek ethnicity who flourished during the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius.He was born ca. 95 in Alexandria. He tells us that, after having filled the chief offices in the province of Egypt, he went to Rome ca. 120, where he practised as...
); in the light of a critical analysis, even these numbers seem far too high. Furger-Gunti considers an army of more than 60,000 fighting men extremely unlikely in the view of the tactics described, and assumes the actual numbers to have been around 40,000 warriors out of a total of 160,000 emigrants. Delbrück suggests an even lower number of 100,000 people, out of which only 16,000 were fighters, which would make the Celtic force about half the size of the Roman body of ca. 30,000 men. The real numbers will never be determined exactly. Caesar’s specifications can at least be doubted by looking at the size of the baggage train that an exodus of 368,000 people would have required: Even for the reduced numbers that Furger-Gunti uses for his calculations, the baggage train would have stretched for at least 40 km, perhaps even as far as 100 km.
In spite of the now much more balanced numerical weight we have to assume for the two opposing armies, the battle seems far less glorious a victory than Caesar presented it to be. The main body of the Helvetii withdrew from the battle at nightfall, abandoning, as it seemed, most of their wagons, which they had drawn up into a wagon fort
Wagon fort
A Laager, also known as a wagon fort, is a mobile fortification made of wagons arranged into a rectangle, a circle or other shape and possibly joined with each other, an improvised military camp....
; they retreated northwards in a forced night march and reached the territory of the Lingones
Lingones
Lingones were a Celtic tribe that originally lived in Gaul in the area of the headwaters of the Seine and Marne rivers. Some of the Lingones migrated across the Alps and settled near the mouth of the Po River in Cisalpine Gaul of northern Italy around 400 BCE. These Lingones were part of a wave of...
four days after the battle. What Caesar implies to have been a desperate flight without stopping could actually have been an ordered retreat of moderate speed, covering less than 40 km a day. Caesar himself does not appear as a triumphant victor in turn, being unable to pursue the Helvetii for three days, “both on account of the wounds of the soldiers and the burial of the slain“. However, it is clear that Caesar’s warning to the Lingones not to supply his enemies was quite enough to make the Helvetii leaders once again offer peace. On what terms this peace was made is debatable, but as said before, the conclusion of a foedus casts some doubt on the totality of the defeat.
Questions of motive
As Caesar’s account is heavily influenced by his political agenda, it is difficult to determine the actual motive of the Helvetii movement of 58 BC. One might see the movement in the light of a Celtic retreat from areas which were later to become Germanic; it can be debated whether they ever had plans to settle in the SaintongeSaintonge
Saintonge is a small region on the Atlantic coast of France within the département Charente-Maritime, west and south of Charente in the administrative region of Poitou-Charentes....
, as Caesar claims (Bell. Gall. 1,10.). It was certainly in the latter’s personal interest to emphasise any kind of parallel between the traumatic experience of the Cimbri
Cimbri
The Cimbri were a tribe from Northern Europe, who, together with the Teutones and the Ambrones threatened the Roman Republic in the late 2nd century BC. The Cimbri were probably Germanic, though some believe them to be of Celtic origin...
an and Teutonic incursions and the alleged threat that the Helvetii were to the Roman world. The Tigurini’s
Tigurini
The Tigurini were a pagus of the Celtic Helvetii. They crossed the Rhine together with the Helvetii to invade Gaul in 109 BCE...
part in the destruction of L. Cassius Longinus
Lucius Cassius Longinus (consul 107 BC)
Lucius Cassius Longinus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 107 BC. His colleague was Gaius Marius.As a praetor in 111 BC, he was sent to Numidia to bring Jugurtha to Rome, promising him safe conduct. Jugurtha valued this pledge as much as the public pledge for his safety. In his consulship with...
and his army was a welcome pretext to engage in an offensive war in Gaul whose proceeds permitted Caesar not only to fulfil his obligations to the numerous creditors he owed money to, but also to further strengthen his position within the late Republic. In this sense, even the character of Divico
Divico
Divico was a Celtic king and the leader of the Gaul tribe of the Tigurini. He led the Tigurini across the Rhine to invade Gaul in 109 BCE towards the Roman region of Province. He defeated a Roman army under Lucius Cassius Longinus near Agen in 107 BCE....
, who makes his appearance in the Commentarii half a century after his victory over L. Cassius Longinus, seems more like another hackneyed argument stressing Caesar’s justification to attack, than like an actual historical figure. That the victor of Agen
Agen
Agen is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in Aquitaine in south-western France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. It is the capital of the department.-Economy:The town has a higher level of unemployment than the national average...
was still alive in 58 BC or, if yes, that he was physically still capable of undertaking such a journey at all, seems more than doubtful. Nevertheless, Divico
Divico
Divico was a Celtic king and the leader of the Gaul tribe of the Tigurini. He led the Tigurini across the Rhine to invade Gaul in 109 BCE towards the Roman region of Province. He defeated a Roman army under Lucius Cassius Longinus near Agen in 107 BCE....
became somewhat of a hero within the Swiss national feeling of the 19th century and in the course of the "Geistige Landesverteidigung"
Spiritual defence
Spiritual defence was a political-cultural movement in Switzerland which was active from circa 1932 into the 1960s. It was supported by the Swiss authorities, certain institutions, scholars, the press and intellectuals...
of the 20th century.
The Helvetii as Roman subjects
The Helvetii and Rauraci most likely lost their status as foederati only six years after the battle of Bibracte, when they supported VercingetorixVercingetorix
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....
in 52 BC with 8,000 and 2,000 men, respectively. Sometime between 50 and 45 BC, the Romans founded the Colonia Iulia Equestris at the site of the Helvetian settlement Noviodunum (modern Nyon
Nyon
Nyon is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometers north east of Geneva's city centre, and since the 1970s it has become part of the Geneva metropolitan area. It lies on the shores of Lake Geneva, and is the seat of the district of...
), and around 44 BC the Colonia Raurica
Augusta Raurica
Augusta Raurica is a Roman archaeological site and an open-air museum in Switzerland. Located on the south bank of the Rhine river about 20 km east of Basel near the villages of Augst and Kaiseraugst, it is the oldest known Roman colony on the Rhine....
on Rauracan territory. These colonies were probably established as a means of controlling the two most important military access routes between the Helvetian territory and the rest of Gaul
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...
, blocking the passage through the Rhône
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...
valley and Sundgau
Sundgau
Sundgau is a geographical territory on the eastern edge of France that was once a principality of the Holy Roman Empire. The name Sundgau derives from Alemannic German, which means "South County" ....
.
In the course of 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...
' reign, Roman dominance became more concrete. Some of the traditional Celtic oppida were now used as legionary garrisons, such as Vindonissa
Vindonissa
Vindonissa was a Roman legion camp at modern Windisch, Switzerland. It was probably established in 15 AD. In an expansion around 30, thermal baths were added....
or Basilea (modern Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
); others were relocated, such as the hill-fort on the Bois de Châtel, whose inhabitants founded the new “capital” of the civitas
Civitas
In the history of Rome, the Latin term civitas , according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the cives, or citizens, united by law . It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities on the one hand and rights of citizenship on the other...
at nearby Aventicum
Aventicum
Aventicum was the largest town and capital of Roman Switzerland . Its remains are beside the modern town of Avenches....
. First incorporated into the Roman province of Gallia Belgica
Gallia Belgica
Gallia Belgica was a Roman province located in what is now the southern part of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, northeastern France, and western Germany. The indigenous population of Gallia Belgica, the Belgae, consisted of a mixture of Celtic and Germanic tribes...
, later into the Germania Superior
Germania Superior
Germania Superior , so called for the reason that it lay upstream of Germania Inferior, was a province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany...
and finally into the Diocletian
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
province of Maxima Sequanorum, the former territories of the Helvetii and their inhabitants were as thoroughly romanised as the rest of Gaul.
The rising of 68/69 AD
What seems to have been the last action of the Helvetii as a tribal entity happened shortly after the death of emperor NeroNero
Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
in 68 AD. Like the other Gallic tribes, the Helvetii were organised as a civitas
Civitas
In the history of Rome, the Latin term civitas , according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the cives, or citizens, united by law . It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities on the one hand and rights of citizenship on the other...
; they even retained their traditional grouping into four pagi
Pagus
In the later Western Roman Empire, following the reorganization of Diocletian, a pagus became the smallest administrative district of a province....
and enjoyed a certain inner autonomy, including the defence of certain strongholds by their own troops. In the civil war which followed Nero’s death, the civitas Helvetiorum supported Galba
Galba
Galba , was Roman Emperor for seven months from 68 to 69. Galba was the governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, and made a bid for the throne during the rebellion of Julius Vindex...
; unaware of his death, they refused to accept the authority of his rival, Vitellius
Vitellius
Vitellius , was Roman Emperor for eight months, from 16 April to 22 December 69. Vitellius was acclaimed Emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors...
. The Legio XXI Rapax
Legio XXI Rapax
Legio vigesima prima rapax was a Roman legion levied in 31 BC by Augustus, probably from men previously enlisted in other legions. The XXI Rapax was destroyed in 92 by the Dacians and Sarmatians...
, stationed in Vindonissa
Vindonissa
Vindonissa was a Roman legion camp at modern Windisch, Switzerland. It was probably established in 15 AD. In an expansion around 30, thermal baths were added....
and favouring Vitellius, stole the pay of a Helvetian garrison, which prompted the Helvetians to intercept Vitellian messengers and detain a Roman detachment. Aulus Caecina Alienus
Aulus Caecina Alienus
Aulus Caecina Alienus, Roman general, was born in Vicetia .He was quaestor of Hispania Baetica in AD 68. On the death of Nero, he attached himself to Galba, who appointed him to the command of Legio IV Macedonica at Mogontiacum in Germania Superior...
, a former supporter of Galba who was now at the head of a Vitellian invasion of Italy, launched a massive punitive campaign, crushing the Helvetii under their commander Claudius Severus and routing the remnants of their forces at Mount Vocetius
Bözberg Pass
Bözberg Pass is a mountain pass in the Jura Mountains in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.It connects the Frick River valley and Brugg and is the shortest road between Basel and Zürich....
, killing and enslaving thousands. The capital Aventicum
Aventicum
Aventicum was the largest town and capital of Roman Switzerland . Its remains are beside the modern town of Avenches....
surrendered, and Julius Alpinus, head of what was now seen as a Helvetian uprising, was executed. In spite of the extensive damage and devastations the civitas had already sustained, according to 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...
the Helvetii were only saved from total annihilation owing to the pleas of one Claudius Cossus, a Helvetian envoy to Vitellius, and, as Tacitus puts it, “of well-known eloquence”.
Confirmed and assumed Celtic Oppida in Switzerland
The distribution of La Tène cultureLa Tène culture
The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where a rich cache of artifacts was discovered by Hansli Kopp in 1857....
burials in Switzerland indicates that the Swiss plateau
Swiss plateau
The Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau constitutes one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland alongside the Jura mountains and the Swiss Alps. It covers about 30% of the Swiss surface...
between Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
and Winterthur
Winterthur
Winterthur is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. It has the country's sixth largest population with an estimate of more than 100,000 people. In the local dialect and by its inhabitants, it is usually abbreviated to Winti...
was relatively densely populated. Settlement centres existed in the Aare valley between Thun
Thun
Thun is a municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland with about 42,136 inhabitants , as of 1 January 2006....
and Bern, and between Lake Zurich
Lake Zurich
Lake Zurich is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zurich. It is also known as Lake Zürich and Lake of Zürich. It lies approximately at co-ordinates ....
and the river Reuss
Reuss River
The Reuss is a river in Switzerland. With a length of and a drainage basin of , it is the fourth largest river in Switzerland...
. The Valais
Valais
The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...
and the regions around Bellinzona
Bellinzona
Bellinzona is the administrative capital of the canton Ticino in Switzerland. The city is famous for its three castles that have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 2000....
and Lugano
Lugano
Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...
also seem to have been well-populated; however, those lay outside the Helvetian borders.
Almost all the Celtic oppida were built in the vicinity of the larger rivers of the Swiss midlands. Not all of them existed at the same time. For most of them, we do not have any idea as to what their Celtic names might have been, with one or two possible exceptions. Where a pre-Roman name is preserved, it is added in brackets.
- Altenburg-RheinauRheinau, SwitzerlandRheinau is a municipality in the district of Andelfingen in the Canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is located at a bend of the Rhine River which forms the Swiss-German border in this area. A bridge links Rheinau to Altenburg, in Jestetten municipality, Baden-Wurttemberg state.-Geography:Rheinau...
- BaselBaselBasel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
- Bern-Engehalbinsel (possibly Brenodurum)
- Bois de Châtel, AvenchesAvenchesAvenches is a Swiss municipality in the canton of Vaud, located in the district of Broye-Vully.-History:The roots of Avenches go back to the Celts...
- EppenbergEppenberg-WöschnauEppenberg-Wöschnau is a municipality in the district of Olten in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland.-History:Eppenberg is first mentioned in 1294 as in Eppenberg. At the same time, Wöschnau was mentioned as in Weschnowe.-Geography:...
- Jensberg
- Genève (Genava)
- LausanneLausanneLausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
(Lousonna) - Martigny (Octodurus)
- Mont Chaibeuf
- Mont Terri
- Mont Vully
- Sermuz
- ÜetlibergUetlibergThe Üetliberg is a mountain in the Swiss plateau, part of the Albis chain, rising to 873 m . The Uetliberg offers a panoramic view of the entire city of Zurich and the Lake of Zurich. There is also a hotel in the name of "Uto Kulm" on this small mountain...
, ZürichZürichZurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich... - WindischWindischWindisch is a municipality in the district of Brugg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:Windisch is situated at the site of the Roman legion camp Vindonissa. In 1064 the current municipality was mentioned as Vinse, and in 1175 as Vindisse. Until the 19th Century the official name was...
(Vindonissa)