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Roman Gaul refers to GaulThe territory of Gaul roughly corresponds to modern-day France, Belgium and Luxembourg, and adjacent parts of the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany. under provincial rule in the Roman Empire from the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD.
The Romans respected and feared the Gallic tribes. In 390 BC, the Gauls had sacked Rome, which left an existential dread of barbarian conquest the Romans never forgot. In 109 BC, Italy had been Cimbrian War and saved by Gaius Marius only after several bloody and costly battles. Around 62 BC, when a Roman client state, the Arverni, conspired with the Sequani and the Suebi nations east of the Rhine to attack the Aedui, a strong Roman ally, Rome turned a blind eye. The Sequani and the Arverni sought Ariovistus's aid and defeated the Aedui in 63 BC at the Battle of Magetobriga.
The wars began with a conflict over the migration of the Helvetii in 58 BC, which drew in neighboring tribes and the Germanic Suebi. By 57 BC, Caesar had resolved to conquer all of Gaul, and led campaigns in the east, where the Nervii nearly defeated him. In 56 BC, Caesar defeated the Veneti in a naval battle and took most of northwest Gaul. In 55 BC, he sought to boost his public image, and undertook first of their kind expeditions across the Rhine river and the English Channel. Upon his return from Britain, Caesar was hailed as a hero, though he had achieved little beyond landing because his army had been too small. The next year, he went back with a proper army and invaded Britain. However, tribes rose up on the continent, and the Romans suffered a humiliating defeat. 53 BC saw a draconian campaign against the Gauls in an attempt to pacify them. This failed and the Gauls staged a mass revolt under the leadership of Vercingetorix in 52 BC. Gallic forces won a notable victory at the Battle of Gergovia, but the Romans' indomitable siege works at the Battle of Alesia utterly defeated the Gallic coalition.
In 51 BC and 50 BC, there was little resistance and Caesar's troops were mostly mopping up. Gaul was conquered, although it would not become a Roman province until 27 BC, and resistance would continue until as late as 70 AD. There is no clear end-date for the war, but the imminent Roman Civil War led to the withdrawal of Caesar's troops in 50 BC. Caesar's wild successes in the war had made him extremely wealthy and provided a legendary reputation. The Gallic Wars were a key factor in Caesar's ability to win the Civil War and declare himself Roman dictator, in what would eventually lead to the end of the Roman Republic and the establishment of the Roman Empire.
Massilia was allied to Pompey during Caesar's civil war, which led to its eventual defeat at the Siege of Massilia in 49 BC after which it lost its territories but was allowed to keep nominal autonomy, due to ancient ties of friendship and support of Rome.
In 40 BC, during the Second Triumvirate, Lepidus was given responsibility for Gallia Narbonensis (along with Hispania and Africa), while Mark Antony was given the balance of Gaul.Boatwright et al., The Romans, From Village to Empire, p.272
In 22 BC, imperial administration of Gaul was reorganised establishing the Roman province of Gallia Aquitania, Gallia Belgica and Gallia Lugdunensis. Parts of eastern Gaul were incorporated into the provinces Raetia (15 BC) and Germania Superior (AD 83).
Roman citizenship was granted to all in 212 by the Constitutio Antoniniana.
Several significant Roman figures were born in Gaul, including Roman Emperors Claudius, Caracalla and probably Carus, as well as the important general Gnaeus Julius Agricola. Another general born in Gaul was Marcus Antonius Primus. In addition, the family of Antoninus Pius, which was also the adoptive family of Marcus Aurelius, came from Roman Gaul. Among the Roman writers known or hypothesized to be born in Gaul there are Tacitus, Petronius, Varro Atacinus, Aemilius Magnus Arborius, Frontinus, Ausonius, Rutilius Claudius Namatianus, Sextus Pompeius Festus, Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus and the authors of the important Panegyrici latini. Many other writers were from the region of Cisalpine Gaul, which was part of Italy, including Virgil, Caecilius Statius, Catullus and Pliny the Elder.
In the Crisis of the Third Century around 260, Postumus established a short-lived Gallic Empire, which included the Iberian Peninsula and Britannia, in addition to Gaul itself. Germanic tribes, the Franks and the Alamanni, invaded Gaul at this time. The Gallic Empire ended with Emperor Aurelian's victory at Châlons in 274.
In 286–7 Carausius, commander of the Classis Britannica, the fleet of the English Channel, declared himself Emperor of Britain and northern Gaul.Panegyrici Latini, 8:6; Aurelius Victor, Book of Caesars 39:20–21; Eutropius, Abridgement of Roman History 21; Orosius, Seven Books of History Against the Pagans 7:25.2-4 His forces comprised his fleet, the three legions stationed in Britain and also a legion he had seized in Gaul, a number of foreign auxiliary units, a levy of Gaulish merchant ships, and barbarian mercenaries attracted by the prospect of booty.Panegyrici Latini 8:12 In 293 emperor Constantius Chlorus isolated Carausius by besieging the port of Gesoriacum (Boulogne-sur-Mer) and invaded Batavia in the Rhine delta, held by his Frankish allies, and reclaimed Gaul.
A migration of Celts from Britain appeared in the 4th century in Armorica led by the legendary king Conan Meriadoc. They spoke the now extinct British language, which evolved into the Breton language, Cornish language, and .
The Goths, who had sacked Rome in 410, established a capital in Toulouse and in 418 succeeded in being accepted by Honorius as foederati and rulers of the Aquitanian province in exchange for their support against the Barbarian in Spain.O'Callaghan, Joseph. "Spain: The Visigothic Kingdom". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
The Roman Empire had difficulty responding to all the barbarian raids, and Flavius Aëtius had to use these tribes against each other in order to maintain some Roman control. He first used the Huns against the Burgundians, and these mercenaries destroyed Worms, killed king Gunther, and pushed the Burgundians westward. The Burgundians were resettled by Aëtius near Lugdunum in 443. The Huns, united by Attila, became a greater threat, and Aëtius used the Visigoths against the Huns. The conflict climaxed in 451 at the Battle of Châlons, in which the Romans and Goths defeated Attila.
In 486, the Franks defeated the last Roman authority in Gaul in the Franco-Roman War by winning the Battle of Soissons. Almost immediately afterwards, most of Gaul came under the rule of the , the first kings of a proto-France.
As a result of the lost Battle of Vouillé in the Franco-Visigothic War (507-511) the Visigoths were pushed out of most of Gaul by the Franks king Clovis I.Bennett, Matthew (2004). "Goths". In Holmes, Richard; Singleton, Charles; Jones, Spencer (eds.). The Oxford Companion to Military History. Oxford University Press. p. 367. They were able to retain Narbonensis and Provence after the timely arrival of an Ostrogoth detachment sent by Theodoric the Great.
Certain Gallo-Roman aristocratic families continued to exert power in episcopal cities (such as the Mauronitus family in Marseille and Bishop Gregory of Tours). The appearance of Germanic given and family names becomes noticeable in Gallia/Francia from the middle of the 7th century on, most notably in powerful families, indicating that the centre of gravity had definitely shifted.
The Gallo-Roman (or Vulgar Latin) dialect of the late Roman period evolved into the dialects of the Oïl languages and Old French in the north, and into Occitan language in the south.
The name Gallia and its equivalents continued in use, at least in writing, until the end of the Merovingian period in the 750s. Slowly, during the ensuing Carolingian period (751–987), the expression Francia, then Francia occidentalis spread to describe the political reality of the kingdom of the Franks ( regnum francorum).
After 22 BC, the Romans divided Gallia Comata into three provinces, the Tres Galliae (the 3 Gauls):
The Romans divided these huge provinces into civitates corresponding more or less with the pre-Conquest communities or polities sometimes described misleadingly as "tribes," such as the Aedui, Allobroges, Bellovaci, and Sequani (see List of Celtic tribes) but the civitates were too large and in turn were divided into smaller units, pagi, a term that eventually became the modern French word "pays".Patrick Galliou and Michael Jones, The Bretons, 1991, p. 79. These administrative groupings would be taken over by the Romans in their system of local control, and these civitates would also be the basis of France's eventual division into ecclesiastical bishoprics and dioceses, which would remain in place—with slight changes—until the French Revolution.
The Romans easily imposed their administrative, economic, artistic (especially in terms of monumental art and architecture) and literary culture. They wore the Roman tunic instead of their traditional clothing. Surviving Celtic influences also infiltrated back into the Roman Imperial culture in the 3rd century. For example, the Gaulish tunic—which gave Emperor Caracalla his surname—had not been replaced by Roman fashion. Similarly, certain Gaulish artisan techniques, such as the barrel (more durable than the Roman amphora) and chain mail were adopted by the Romans.
The Celtic heritage also continued in the spoken language (see History of French). Gaulish spelling and pronunciation of Latin are apparent in several 5th century poets and transcribers of popular farces. Histoire de France, ed. Les Belles lettres, Paris. The last pockets of Gaulish speakers appear to have lingered until the 6th or 7th century. Gaulish was held to be attested by a quote from Gregory of Tours written in the second half of the 6th century, which describes how a shrine "called 'Vasso Galatae' in the Gallic tongue" was destroyed and burnt to the ground. Hist. Franc., book I, 32 Veniens vero Arvernos, delubrum illud, quod Gallica lingua Vasso Galatæ vocant, incendit, diruit, atque subvertit. And coming to Clermont to he set on fire, overthrew and destroyed that shrine which they call Vasso Galatæ in the Gallic tongue. Throughout the Roman rule over Gaul, although considerable Romanization in terms of material culture occurred, the Gaulish language is held to have survived and continued to be spoken, coexisting with Latin.
Germanic placenames were first attested in border areas settled by Germanic colonizers (with Roman approval). In the 4th and 5th centuries, the Franks settled in northern France and Belgium, the Alemanni in Alsace and Switzerland, and the Burgundians in Savoie.
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===Gallery===
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Villas in Roman Gaul
Villas were usually centres of agricultural production, and were often closely associated with Vineyard and Winemaking. The owners were probably mainly local Gallic elites who became quickly romanised after the Gallic Wars, and sometimes Romans and Italians who wished to exploit rich local resources. The villas would have been the centre of complex relationships with the local area. Much of the work would have been undertaken by slave labour or by local coloni ("tenant farmers"). There would also have been a farm manager in addition to the inhabiting family.
Cities of Roman Gaul
Important cities of Roman Gaul include Lugdunum (Lyon), Lutetia (Paris), Augusta Treverorum (Trier), Colonia Agrippinensium (Cologne), Bordeaux (Bordeaux), Marseille (Marseille), Toulouse (Toulouse), Narbo Martius (Narbonne), Colonia Nemausus (Nîmes), Arles (Arles), Autun (Autun), Durocortorum (Reims), Arausio (Orange) and Glanum.
(Lyon)]] (Paris)]] (Trier)]], Trier]] in Bordeaux]]]]]], near Monaco]] (Reims)]], Saint-Chamas]] (Divodurum)]]
See also
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External links
Categories: Former Countries In French History, Praetorian Prefecture Of Gaul, 121 Bc, 120s Bc Establishments, 2nd-century Bc Establishments In The Roman Republic, 5th-century Disestablishments In The Roman Empire, States And Territories Established In The 2nd Century Bc, States And Territories Disestablished In The 5th Century, 1st Millennium In France
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