TheHelvetii (Ancient Greek:Ἐλουήτιοι,Latin:Helvētiī[hɛɫˈweːti.iː],Gaulish: *Heluētī), anglicized asHelvetians, were aCeltic[2] tribe or tribal confederation[3] occupying most of theSwiss plateau at the time of theircontact with the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC. According toJulius Caesar, the Helvetians were divided into four subgroups orpagi. Of these, Caesar names only theVerbigeni and theTigurini,[4] whilePosidonius mentions the Tigurini and the Tougeni (Τωυγενοί).[5] They feature prominently in theCommentaries on the Gallic War, with their failed migration attempt to southwesternGaul (58 BC) serving as a catalyst forCaesar's conquest of Gaul.
The Helvetians were subjugated after 52 BC, and underAugustus, Celticoppida, such asVindonissa orBasilea, were re-purposed as garrisons. In AD 68, a Helvetian uprising was crushed byAulus Caecina Alienus.The Swiss plateau was at first incorporated into the Roman province ofGallia Belgica[citation needed] (22 BC), later intoGermania Superior (AD 83).The Helvetians, like the rest of Gaul, were largelyRomanized by the 2nd century. In the later 3rd century, Roman control over the region waned, and the Swiss plateau was exposed to the invadingAlemanni. The Alemanni andBurgundians established permanent settlements in the Swiss plateau in the 5th and 6th centuries, resulting in the early medieval territories ofAlemannia (Swabia) andUpper Burgundy. The Helvetii were largelyassimilated by their new rulers, contributing to theethnogenesis of modernSwiss people.
They are mentioned asHelvetii byCicero (mid-1st c. BC),Caesar (mid-1st c. BC) andTacitus (early 2nd c. AD),[6][7][8] in thegenitive case asHelvetiorum byLivy (late 1st c. BC),[9] asHelveti byPliny (mid-1st c. AD),[10] and asElouḗtioi (Ἐλουήτιοι) byPtolemy (2nd c. AD).[11][12]
TheGaulish ethnic nameHelvetii is generally interpreted as(h)elu-ētioi ('rich in land'), fromelu- ('numerous', cf.OIr.il) attached toetu- ('grassland'; cf. OIr.iath).[13][3][12] The presence of the initialh-, remnant of a previousp- (PIE*pelh1u- > Celt.helu- >elu-), attests of an archaic formation.[14]
The earliest attestation of the name is found in agraffito on a vessel fromMantua, dated to c. 300 BC.[15] The inscription inEtruscan letters readseluveitie, which has been interpreted as theEtruscan form of the Celticelu̯eti̯os ("the Helvetian"), presumably referring to a man of Helvetian descent living in Mantua.
Of the four Helvetianpagi or sub-tribes, Caesar names only the Verbigeni (Bell. Gall. 1.27) and theTigurini (1.12), Posidonius the Tigurini and the Tougeni (Τωυγενοί). There has been substantial debate inSwiss historiography (beginning withFelix Stähelin 1927) on whether the Tougeni may or may not be identified with theTeutones mentioned byTitus Livius.[16]
According to Caesar, the territory abandoned by the Helvetii had comprised 400 villages and 12oppida (fortified settlements).[17] 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.[18] However, the figures are generally dismissed as too high by modern scholars (seehereafter).
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).[19] WhenOrgetorix, one of their most prominent and ambitious noblemen, was making plans to establish himself as their king, he faced execution at the stake if found guilty. Caesar does not explicitly name the tribal authorities prosecuting the case and gathering men to apprehend Orgetorix, but he refers to them by theLatin termscivitas ("state" or "tribe") andmagistratus ("officials").[20]
In hisNatural History (c. 77 AD),Pliny provides afoundation myth for the Celtic settlement ofCisalpine Gaul in which a Helvetian named Helico plays the role ofculture hero. 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 northernItaly.[21]
The Greek historian Posidonius (c. 135–50 BC), whose work is preserved only in fragments by other writers, offers the earliest historical record of the Helvetii. Posidonius 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.[22] His reference to gold washing in rivers has been taken as evidence for an early presence of the Helvetii in the Swiss plateau, with theEmme as being one of the gold-yielding rivers mentioned by Posidonius. This interpretation is now generally discarded,[23] as Posidonius' narrative makes it more likely that the country some of the Helvetians left in order to join in the raids of theTeutones,Cimbri, andAmbrones was in fact southernGermany and notSwitzerland.
That the Helvetians originally lived in southern Germany is confirmed by theAlexandrian geographerClaudius Ptolemaios (c. 90–168 AD), who tells us of an Ἐλουητίων ἔρημος (i.e. "Helvetic deserted lands") north of theRhine.[24]Tacitus knows that the Helvetians once settled in the swath betweenRhine,Main, and theHercynian forest.[25] The abandonment of this northern territory is now usually placed in the late 2nd century 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.
At the laterVicusTuricum, probably in the first 1st century BC or even much earlier, the Celts settled at theLindenhof Oppidium. In 1890, so-calledPotin lumps were found, whose largest weights 59.2 kilograms (131 lb) at thePrehistoric pile dwelling settlementAlpenquai in Zürich, Switzerland. The pieces consist of a large number of fusedCeltic coins, which are mixed with charcoal remnants. Some of the 18,000 coins originate from theEastern Gaul, others are of theZürich type, that were assigned to the localHelvetii, which date to around 100 BC. The find is so far unique, and the scientific research assumes that the melting down of the lump was not completed, therefore the aim was to form cultic offerings. The site of the find was at that time at least 50 metres (164 ft) from the lake shore, and probably 1 metre (3 ft) to three meters deep in the water.[26][27] There's also an island sanctuary of the Helvetii in connection with the settlement at the preceding Oppidi Uetliberg on the formerGrosser Hafner island,[28] as well as the settlementKleiner Hafner[29][30] at theSechseläuten square on the effluence of theLimmat onZürichsee lake shore.
The Germanic tribes of theCimbri andAmbrones probably reached southern Germany around the year 111 BC, where they were joined by theTigurini, and, probably theTeutoni-Toutonoi-Toygenoi. (The precise identity of the latter group is unclear).[31]
The tribes began a joint invasion of Gaul, including the RomanProvincia Narbonensis. A Roman army under the consulL. Cassius Longinus opposed them. At theBattle of Burdigala nearAgendicum in 107 BC, the Tigurini killed Longinus and captured many of his soldiers. According to Caesar, the captured Roman soldiers were ordered to pass under a yoke set up by the triumphant Gauls, a dishonour that called for both public as well as private vengeance.[32] Caesar is the only narrative source for this episode, as the corresponding books ofLivy's histories are preserved only in thePeriochae, short summarising lists of contents, in which hostages given by the Romans, but no yoke, are mentioned.[33]
In 105 BC, the allies defeated another Roman army nearArausio and went on to harry Spain, Gaul,Noricum, and northern Italy. They split up in two groups in 103 BC, with the Teutones and Ambrones marching on a western route through theProvincia and the Cimbri and Tigurini crossing the eastern Alps (probably by theBrenner Pass). While the Teutones and Ambrones were slaughtered in 102 BC byGaius Marius nearAquae Sextiae, the Cimbri and the Tigurini wintered in thePadan plain. The following year, Marius virtually destroyed the Cimbri in thebattle of Vercellae. 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.
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 ofCommentarii de Bello Gallico.[34] Due to the political nature of theCommentarii, Caesar's purpose in publicizing his own achievements may have distorted the significance of events and the motives of those who participated.[35]
The noblemanOrgetorix 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 of theSequani andDumnorix of theAedui, that each should accomplish acoup d'état 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.[36]
Nevertheless, the Helvetii did not give up their planned emigration, but burned their homes in 58 BC.[37] They were joined by a number of tribal groups from neighbouring regions: the Raurici, theLatobrigi, theTulingi and a group ofBoii, who had besiegedNoreia.[38] They abandoned their homes completely with the intention of settling among theSantones (Saintonge). The easiest route would take them through theRhône valley, and thus through the RomanProvincia Narbonensis.
When they reached the boundaries of theAllobroges, the northernmost tribe of theProvincia, they found that Caesar had already dismantled the bridge ofGeneva to stop their advance. The Helvetians sent "the most illustrious men of their state" to negotiate, promising a peaceful passage through theProvincia. Caesar stalled them by asking for some time for consideration, which he used to assemble reinforcements and to fortify the southern banks of theRhône. 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 theSequani territory, which traversed theJura Mountains via a very narrow pass at the site of the modernFort l'Écluse, but bypassed theProvincia. After ravaging the lands of theAedui tribe, who called upon Caesar to help them, they began the crossing of theSaône, 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 theTigurini, on whom he had now taken revenge in the name of the Republic and his family.[39]
After the battle, the Romans quickly bridged the river, thereby prompting the Helvetii to once again send an embassy, this time led byDivico, another figure whom Caesar links to the ignominious defeat of 107 BC by calling himbello 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",[40] this once again being an allusion to the giving of hostages by the defeated Romans atAgen.
In the cavalry battle that followed, the Helvetii prevailed over Caesar's Aedui allies underDumnorix' 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 ofDumnorix, who had marriedOrgetorix' daughter. A few days later, however, near the AeduanoppidumBibracte, Caesar caught up with the Helvetii and faced them in a majorbattle, 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 theLingones (the modernLangres 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 theVerbigeni 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.
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 theAllobroges to supply them with a sufficient supply of grain. Caesar does not mention theRaurici, who seem to have built a newoppidum atBasel-Münsterhügel upon their return. TheAedui were granted their wish that theBoii who had accompanied the Helvetii would settle on their own territory as allies in theoppidumGorgobina. The nature of Caesar's arrangement with the Helvetii and the other tribes is not further specified by theconsul himself, but in his speechPro Balbo of 56 BC,Cicero mentions the Helvetii as one among several tribes offoederati, 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.[41]
According to the victor, tablets with lists inGreek characters 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.[42] The numbers added up to a total of 263,000 Helvetii, 36,000Tulingi, 14,000Latobrigi, 23,000Rauraci, and 32,000Boii, 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.
Caesar's report has been partly confirmed by excavations near Geneva andBibracte. However, much of his account has not yet been corroborated by archaeology, whilst his narrative must in wide parts be considered as biased and, in some points, unlikely. For a start, only one[which?] out of the fifteen Celticoppida in the Helvetii territory so far has yielded evidence for destruction by fire.[citation needed] Many other sites, for example the sanctuary atMormont, 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".[43] With the honourable status asfoederati 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.[44] What Caesar claims to have been 368,000 people is estimated by other sources to be rather around 300,000 (Plutarch), or 200,000 (Appian);[45] 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.[46] 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 c. 30,000 men.[47] 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.[48]
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 awagon fort; they retreated northwards in a forced night march and reached the territory of theLingones 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.[49] 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 afoedus casts some doubt on the totality of the defeat.
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 theSaintonge, 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 theCimbrian andTeutonic incursions and the alleged threat that the Helvetii were to the Roman world. TheTigurini's part in the destruction ofL. Cassius Longinus 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.[50] In this sense, even the character ofDivico, who makes his appearance in theCommentarii half a century after his victory over L. Cassius Longinus, seems more like another hackneyed argument stressing Caesar's justification to attack,[citation needed] than like an actual historical figure. That the victor ofAgen 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.
The Helvetii andRauraci most likely lost their status asfoederati only six years after the battle of Bibracte, when they supportedVercingetorix in 52 BC with 8,000 and 2,000 men, respectively. Sometime between 50 and 45 BC, the Romans founded theColonia Iulia Equestris at the site of the Helvetian settlementNoviodunum (modernNyon), and around 44 BC theColonia Raurica 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 ofGaul, blocking the passage through theRhône valley andSundgau.
In the course ofAugustus' reign, Roman dominance became more concrete. Some of the traditional Celtic oppida were now used as legionary garrisons, such asVindonissa orBasilea (modernBasel); others were relocated, such as the hill-fort on the Bois de Châtel, whose inhabitants founded the new "capital" of thecivitas at nearbyAventicum. First incorporated into the Roman province ofGallia Belgica, later into theGermania Superior and finally into theDiocletian province ofMaxima Sequanorum, the former territories of the Helvetii and their inhabitants were as thoroughly romanised as the rest of Gaul.
What seems to have been the last action of the Helvetii as a tribal entity happened shortly after the death of emperorNero in 68 AD. Like the other Gallic tribes, the Helvetii were organised as acivitas; they even retained their traditional grouping into fourpagi[51] and enjoyed a certain inner autonomy, including the defence of certain strongholds by their own troops. Inthe civil war which followed Nero's death, thecivitas Helvetiorum supportedGalba; unaware of his death, they refused to accept the authority of his rival,Vitellius. TheLegio XXI Rapax, stationed inVindonissa 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, 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 commanderClaudius Severus and routing the remnants of their forces atMount Vocetius, killing and enslaving thousands. The capitalAventicum surrendered, andJulius Alpinus, head of what was now seen as a Helvetian uprising, was executed. In spite of the extensive damage and devastations thecivitas had already sustained, according toTacitus the Helvetii were 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".[52]
Roman occupation in the aftermath of theGallic Wars had pacified the Celtic-Germanic contact zone along the Rhine. TheSuebi andMarcomanni who underAriovistus had planned to invade Gaul were pushed back beyond theBlack Forest, where they amalgamated into the futureAlemanni.[53]The Romans allowed Germanic tribes such as theUbii,Triboci,Nemetes andVangiones to settle in the deserted areas left of the Rhine. On the right bank of the Upper Rhine, which according to the testimony ofTacitus (Germania 28) had formerly also been occupied by the Helvetians, both the historical and archaeological records are sparse.Ptolemy (2.4.11) in the 2nd century uses the termEremus Helvetiorum (also renderedHeremus Helvetiorum) "desolation of the Helvetians" to refer to this area (largely corresponding to modernBaden). The term was adopted byAegidius Tschudi in the 16th century,[54] and remains in use in modern historiography (German:Helvetier-Einöde).It has been proposed that the area inhabited by the Helvetians had extended beyond the Swiss plateau, far into what is nowBaden-Württemberg, but had been displaced in the course of theCimbrian War, some two generations prior to Caesar's invasion of Gaul.[55]
The Swiss plateau was gradually romanized during the 1st to 3rd centuries.The principal Roman settlements were the cities ofIulia Equestris (Nyon),Aventicum (Avenches),Augusta Raurica (Augst) andVindonissa (Windisch). Evidence has also been found of almost twenty Roman villages (vici) and hundreds ofvillas.[56]
In the course of Romanization, theCeltic polytheism of the Helvetians wassyncretized withRoman religion. The Celtic deities came to be worshiped under the names of their Roman counterparts, and Roman gods acquired the names of local gods, such asMarsCaturix,MercuriusCissonius andJupiterPoeninus.A major cultic center ofGallo-Roman religion, consisting of eight chapels or small temples, was found inAllmendingen nearThun. Deities worshipped at the site includedMars (presumably in lieu ofCaturix) andRosmerta as well asMithras.[57]
Although theGaulish language had mostly been ousted byLatin by the 3rd century, manyCeltic toponyms have survived in Switzerland. Of the ten largest present-day Swiss cities, at least six have Celtic placename etymologies,[58]and most majorSwiss rivers have either Celtic orpre-Celtic names.[59]
The order and prosperity of thePax Romana ended with theCrisis of the Third Century. In 260, when theGallic Empire briefly seceded from Rome, emperorGallienus withdrew the legions from the Rhine to fight the usurperIngenuus, allowing theAlemanni to invade the Swiss plateau. There, cities, villages and mostvillae were raided or sacked by marauding bands. The numerous caches of coins recovered from the period between 250 and 280 attest to the severity of the crisis.[60]
The Helvetii were re-discovered as the forebears of theSwiss in the earlyhistoriography of Switzerland, in the late 15th to early 16th century.[61] Their name was adopted as theLatin equivalent of the designationSwitzer, and theSwiss Confederacy was given the Latin name ofRepublica Helvetiorum. The name of the national personification ofSwitzerland,Helvetia, and the country's contemporaryNeo-Latin name,Confoederatio Helvetica (abbreviated CH), are derived from this tradition.
In 2015, the star51 Pegasi, the firstmain-sequence star found to have anexoplanet,[62] was named Helvetios after the Helvetii as part of theIAU'sNameExoWorlds contest.[63]
The distribution ofLa Tène culture burials in Switzerland indicates that theSwiss plateau betweenLausanne andWinterthur was relatively densely populated. Settlement centres existed in theAare valley betweenThun andBern, and betweenLake Zurich and the riverReuss. TheValais and the regions aroundBellinzona andLugano also seem to have been well-populated; however, those lay outside the Helvetian borders.
Almost all the Helveticoppida 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 Gaulish names might have been, with one or two possible exceptions. Where a pre-Roman name is preserved, it is added in brackets.[64] Those marked with anasterisk (*) were most likely occupied by neighbouring tribes (Raurici,Veragri, etc.) rather than the Helvetii.
Gaulish Helvetii.
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