Roman Republicangovernors^[1] ofGaul were assigned to theprovince ofCisalpine Gaul (northern Italy) or toTransalpine Gaul, theMediterranean region of present-day France also called theNarbonensis, though the latter term is sometimes reserved for a more strictly defined area administered fromNarbonne (ancient Narbo).^[2]LatinGallia can also refer in this period to greaterGaul independent of Roman control, covering the remainder of France,Belgium, and parts of theNetherlands andSwitzerland, often distinguished asGallia Comata^[3] and including regions also known as Celtica (Κελτική inStrabo and otherGreek sources),Aquitania,Belgica, andArmorica (Brittany). To the Romans,Gallia was a vast and vague geographical entity distinguished by predominatelyCeltic inhabitants, with "Celticity" a matter of culture as much as speakinggallice ("in Celtic").

The Latin wordprovincia (pluralprovinciae) originally referred to a task assigned to an official or to a sphere of responsibility within which he was authorized to act,^[4] including amilitary command attached to a specifiedtheater of operations. The assignment of aprovincia defined geographically thus did not always imply annexation of the territory under Roman rule. Provincial administration as such originated in efforts to stabilize an area in the aftermath of war, and only later was theprovincia a formal, pre-existing administrative division regularly assigned topromagistrates. Theprovincia of Gaul therefore began as a military command, at firstdefensive and laterexpansionist.^[5] Independent Gaul^[6] was invaded byJulius Caesar in the 50s BC and organized under Roman administration byAugustus; seeRoman Gaul for Gallic provinces in theImperial era.

The early history of Romano-Celtic relations begins during a period of Gallic expansionism on theItalian Peninsula, with thecapture of Rome by Gauls in 390 BC (or more likely 387) and the suspiciously fortuitous^[7] rescue of the city byCamillus after the Romans had already surrendered. The Gauls who fought at theBattle of the Allia and captured Rome are most often identified asSenones. Over the next hundred years, the Gauls appear in classical sources as allies of theEtruscans andSamnites, but sometimes as invaders. Battles occur on Roman territory and on that held by Etruscans; byItalic peoples who later become Roman allies (socii) willingly or under compulsion; and by the Gauls themselves. The defeat of the Senonian strongholdSena (orSenigallia) in 283 leads to nearly fifty years of mostly peaceful relations between Romans and Celts.

The accounts of these early military conflicts, written by Greek and Roman historians, are complicated by overlays of legend and moralizing. Although stereotypes of impetuous barbarians prevail, among the various historians the Gauls are sometimes portrayed as acting with honour, bravery, or respect, even in the face of Roman treachery. Apriest namedFabius Dorsuo is said to have been allowed by the Gauls to carry out religious rituals during the siege of Rome;^[8] threeFabii occasioned outrage on both sides when they abused their responsibilities as ambassadors to the Gauls, and were even accused of having brought about the attack through their actions.^[9] Romans cast themselves as underdogs in hand-to-hand combat with physically superior Celts, to such an extent that guile or divine aid is seen as the most likely explanation when a Roman manages to win:T. Manlius earns the nickname (cognomen)Torquatus by outsmarting a Gaul in single combat and stripping him of historque;M. Valerius Corvus got hiscognomen when adivinely-sent raven (corvus) distracted his opponent. Regardless of factuality, these stories contributed to the fashioning of a distinctly Roman identity in relation to a Gallic "Other."^[10]

As the only foreign enemy to have taken the city, the Gauls represented a "Celtic threat" that loomed large in the Roman imagination for more than 300 years.^[11]Cicero could still malignCatiline in 63 BC with anaccusation of plotting the overthrow of the government with the aid of Celtic armed forces.^[12] The fear and dread of inferiority engendered by the Gallic sack of Rome became enshrined in Roman foreign policy^[13] and myth as a virtually infinite quest to secure an ever-larger periphery; in his war against the Gauls and invasion ofCeltic Britain, Caesar asproconsul could present himself as pursuing the old grudge to what Romans saw as literally the end of the world.^[14]

The following table shows Early Republican military commanders against the Gauls on the Italian peninsula. These men were grantedimperium asconsuls andpraetors, the highest elected offices in Roman government, and also asdictatores. The dictatorship most likely originated as a military office;^[15] both Cicero andLivy thought that its purpose was to ensure strategic oversight and unified command in wartime — thedictator is he who gives the word (dictum). The Roman custom that a commander had to lay down arms outside the city limits (pomerium) before entering also suggests how the powers of thedictator originally might have been restricted within the civil realm;^[16] he could not, for instance, overridethe people's tribunes.^[17] Thedictator was nominated by a consul,^[18] not elected, and he was expected to step aside when the job was done, with a limit of six months considered standard.^[19] In contrast to the annualmagistracies set by thereligio-astronomical calendar, this six-month term coincides with the usual length of the military campaigning season, given its seasonality in antiquity. In 332(see table), for instance, adictator was nominated specifically in anticipation of a Gallic war, which in the event never materialized. In 360, adictator had been named to quell the Celtic crisis(Gallicus tumultus); one of the consuls that year had the specific task (provincia) of dealing with the Gallic alliance based in Tibur (modern-dayTivoli). Both commanders succeeded in their missions, but only the constitutionally elected consul was granted the honour of atriumph. Thedictatores continued most often to have a military role into the Middle Republic, but whenSulla revived the office in the late 80s, it had fallen into disuse for more than a century, in part because a system had developed for assigning provincial commands with administrative oversight as a result of permanent annexations of territories.

The Roman takeover of Cisalpine Gaul, or "Gaul on this side of theAlps," was a gradual process of long duration. "It was inLiguria, in the Celtic lands of thePo Valley, and inVenetia andHistria," notesFergus Millar in his classic essay "The Political Character of the Classical Roman Republic, 200–151 B.C.," "that the Romans of this period exhibited a consistent and unremitting combination of imperialism, militarism, expansionism, and colonialism."^[43] Although sources for much of the period are sketchy, with the exception ofPolybius,^[44] it becomes nearly impossible to argue that Rome acted only defensively: "Rome's wars in the north of the Italian peninsula"—not only against the Gauls, but the Etruscans and theItalic peoples—"were largely of her own devising."^[45] Provincial assignments and military actions involving Liguria, Venetia, and Istria (Histria) are included in the table below when related directly to Gaul.

The defeat of the Senones and Boii in the late 280s had brought the occupation of theAger Gallicus along theAdriatic and the establishment of the first Roman colony in previously Gallic territory. Theager Gallicus, formerly in the possession of the Senones, was the land betweenAriminum andPicenum, and was the first territory acquired by Rome in Cispadane Gaul.

Since that time, good relations between Rome and its Gallic neighbors had extended into a fifth decade.Polybius says that thelex Flaminia agraria of 232, which provided for the distribution of land in theAger Gallicus to Roman citizens, threatened the existing peace with Gauls such as the Boii who bordered theager.^[46] Ostensibly, this land had beenager publicus, that is, owned by the public; in practice, it was exploited for the benefit of the senatorial elite, who objected vehemently to the redistribution program.

The firstRoman colonies in northern Italy were established in 218, but not until the end of the 2nd century could the Romans claim firm control of the region all the way to theAlps.^[47] After a series of decisive victories against Gauls and Ligurians in 200,provinciae pertaining to the Gauls take on an increasingly diplomatic and administrative character.

The province of Cisalpina at first was one of the military commands that might be assigned to the twoconsuls and sixpraetors before the territory had been annexed.^[48] A military command (imperium) was sometimes extended past a magistrate's one-year term of elected office for a year or two (seeprorogatio); this prorogation allowed Rome to maintain continuity in ongoing military operations under experienced officers while still controlling and limiting the number of individuals authorized to hold command.^[49]

After major military operations had ceased, the commander's abilities as an administrator were put to the test. In the absence of an ideal leader who was both a bold and experienced general and a masterful diplomat and meticulous administrator, provincial governorships were liable to exploitive practices of self-enrichment that damaged the legitimacy of Roman rule. Governed peoples had recourse through Roman courts for unjust acts committed against them by their governors, but because the case had to be presented by aRoman citizen, usually apatronus with a family history of relations to the offended parties, these prosecutions were almost always politicized.^[50] As the number of citizens in a province increased, so too their connections to powerful families in Rome and thenetwork of mutual obligations from which they could expect to benefit.

By the late Republic, Cisalpina of all the Roman provinces had the greatest number of citizens in its population;^[51] although the difficulties of travel might stand in the way of participating inRoman elections, northern Italy offered significantblocs of voters for Romans who cultivated their clients well.^[52]Popularist politicians in particular were associated with the cause of extending citizenship to the disenfranchised, and were accused by theconservative oligarchs of doing so merely to build loyalty and acquire votes. Toward the end of theSocial War in 89, all free men in Cisalpine Gaul south of thePo River (LatinPadus)—that is,Cispadane Gaul, "Gaul on this side of the Po"—had become entitled to Roman citizenship.

Many Transpadanes, or residents of Cisalpina north of the Po,^[53] were Romans or heldLatin rights, but the issue of blanket citizenship was not fully resolved until 49, with the passage of a law by Caesar.^[54] After 42 BC, Cisalpina was so thoroughly incorporated into the Roman system of government that it was no longer assigned as a province; the region was administered directly from Rome and by the same forms ofmunicipal government as the rest of theItalian peninsula.^[55]

In Latin sources beforeca. 100 BC,Gallia is a flexible word that refers often to Cisalpine Gaul alone, but sometimes to Gaul as an indefinite totality and sometimes in a very limited sense to only Cispadane Gaul. The following table lists consuls, praetors andpromagistrates—nodictatores are recorded against the Gauls—assigned toGallia until 125 BC, when the administration of Cisalpina should be considered in light of actions in Transalpine Gaul. After 197 BC, commanders of praetorian rank are no longer assigned toLiguria or against the Gauls; military operations in northern Italy are usually conducted by both consuls during this period, or one consul if another war was being waged abroad.^[56]

Gallia Transalpina at first could refer broadly to "Gaul on the other side of the Alps," but after the conquest of Mediterranean Gaul in the 120s BC came to specify the Roman province in the south (Provincia nostra, "our Province," henceProvence). Because the termTransalpina had a history of usage in the more general sense, the province was often called the Narbonensis, after the colonial headquarters in Narbonne. The establishment of the Transalpine province is usually dated to the military victories ofDomitius Ahenobarbus andQuintus Fabius Maximus over theArverni andAllobroges in the 120s, and the refounding of Narbo as aRoman colony in 118 BC. Evidence is scant, however, that Transalpina was assigned as a province over the next 15 years, until theCimbrian invasions compelled the Romans to take action. There may have been no regular administration until after the victories ofGaius Marius in 101 BC. The historical record of Transalpinepromagistracies continues to be sketchy until the 60s, with a few exceptions such asValerius Flaccus's tenureca. 85–81 BC, one of the longest known Gallic governorships.

During the Republic, the provinces of Cisalpina and Transalpina were governed sometimes jointly, sometimes separately; Caesar was allotted both provinces, and in his first five-year term divided his time between military campaigns in Transalpina^[198] and administrative duties in Cisalpina during the winter months.^[199] One factor in the Roman drive to control southern Gaul had been the desire for a secure land route to theIberian Peninsula (Hispania), where theCeltiberians (Celtiberi) also spoke a form of Celtic or a language closely related to it, with at least some cultural similarities to the other Celts.^[200]Hispania Citerior andHispania Ulterior had been administered as provinces since 197 BC as a result of theSecond Punic War, which also had ignited the first direct if postponed Roman interest in southern Gaul;^[201] the first Roman colonies had also been established in Cisalpine Gaul during this time.^[202]

In the table following, when a governor is listed for Cisalpina only, he may also have governed Transalpina in the absence of another known official, and vice versa; at times, however, Hispania Citerior and Transalpina were governed jointly instead. Political and military factors determined whether and how these provincial assignments were combined, including shifting alliances among those governed, strategic considerations during theSocial Wars andRoman civil wars, the availability of experienced administrators and commanders, and jockeying to maintain a balance of power among Roman oligarchs. Following thecivil wars of the 40s,Narbonensis seems to refer specifically to the established province in southern Gaul, whileTransalpina may include new territories claimed through Caesar's military campaigns in formerly independent Celtica and formally organized later by Augustus.

In the tumultuous period following Caesar's death, during the ascendancy of theSecond Triumvirate, Gaul was acted upon by various commanders, untilM. Vipsanius Agrippa arrived as proconsul in 39 to quell unrest. Scholars have paid relatively scant attention to the question of why Gaul failed to take advantage of Rome's disarray during the civil wars of the 40s and 30s to revoltin toto; it is sometimes assumed that the population was too decimated to take a stand, but the numbers in so far as they are known make this unlikely. In 57, for instance, Caesar had reported that theNervii had 50,000 men of fighting age; he supposed that only 500 survived theBattle of the Sabis, but five years later they were able to provide a force of 5,000 men.^[251] Although the figures may be unreliable in the absolute, they indicate the resilience of the population. In 52, after the surrender of the pan-Gallic army atAlesia, Caesar had granted amnesty to the armies of both theArverni andAedui, each of which he estimated at 30,000 men, and sent them home.^[252] After the failure ofVercingetorix's strategy of massing allied forces, the surviving Gallic leaders had continued to wage aguerrilla war with some success and hope of attrition, until Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony) came to an arrangement with the last Celtic king known to retain his independence,Commius of theAtrebates, who had led the relief forces at Alesia.^[253] Over the course of the following two decades, Gallic losses in the 50s would have been replaced by the maturation of the male population, while available Roman forces were largely occupied by fighting each other. The Gauls may have imagined that the Romans would weaken themselves in civil war to such an extent that a rebellion was moot or not worth the trouble; Caesar reports that the Gauls kept themselves informed about political events in Rome that might affect them.^[254]

In 44 BC, Antony was the proconsul assigned to both Cisalpina and Transalpina; his ability to come to an understanding with the Gauls, as demonstrated by his arrangements with Commius, is further indicated by the willingness of aSequanian leader to executeDecimus Brutus at his behest. This Brutus^[255] had served in Gaul under Caesar from 56 (or earlier). Although his experience in Gallic relations exceeded that of his peer Antony, whose earliest appearance in Caesar's account of the war is around the time of the Battle of Alesia, Celtic antipathy may have been spurred by Brutus's betrayal of Caesar, given the high value Celts placed on loyalty to their sworn leaders.^[256]

Broughton lists no Gallic governors after Agrippa through 31, the year with whichThe Magistrates of the Roman Republic concludes.Augustus began to reorganize Transalpine Gaul with its newly conquered territories into administrative regions in 27 BC.^[257]

• Lists of ancient Roman governors

• A.L.F. Rivet,Gallia Narbonensis: Southern France in Roman Times (London, 1988)
• Charles Ebel,Transalpine Gaul: The Emergence of a Roman Province (Brill, 1976)
• T. Corey Brennan,The Praetorship in the Roman Republic (Oxford University Press, 2000)
• Andrew Lintott,The Constitution of the Roman Republic (Oxford University Press, 1999)
• Unless otherwise noted, the sources for promagistracies in Gaul and their dates isT.R.S. Broughton,The Magistrates of the Roman Republic (New York: American Philological Association, 1951, 1986), vols. 1–3, abbreviatedMRR¹,MRR² andMRR³.

• Roman Republic
• Roman governors of Gaul
• Lists of Roman governors

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