TheAedui orHaedui (Gaulish: *Aiduoi, 'the Ardent';Ancient Greek:Aἴδουοι) were aGallic tribe dwelling in what is now the region ofBurgundy during theIron Age and theRoman period.
The Aedui had an ambiguous relationship with theRoman Republic, as well as other Gallic tribes. In 121 BC, they appealed to Rome against theArverni andAllobroges. During theGallic Wars (58–50 BC), they gave valuable though not whole-hearted support toCaesar, before eventually giving lukewarm support toVercingetorix in 52. Although they were involved in the revolts ofIulius Sacrovir in 21 AD andVindex in 68 AD, their aristocracy became highly Romanized under the Empire.[1]
They are mentioned asArdues (Ἄρδυες) byPolybius (2nd c. BC),[2]Haedui byCicero (mid-1st c. BC) andCaesar (mid-1st c. BC),[3]Haeduos byLivy (late 1st c. BC),[4]Aedui byPliny (mid-1st c. AD),[5]Aidúōn (Αἰδύων) byPtolemy (2nd c. AD),[6] and asAídouoi (Aἴδουοι) byCassius Dio (3rd c. AD).[7][8]
TheethnonymAedui is a Latinized form ofGaulish *Aiduoi (sing. *Aiduos), which means 'the Ardent ones'. It derives from theCeltic stem*aidu- ('fire, ardour'; cf.Old Irisháed 'fire',Welshaidd 'ardour'; also the Irish deityAéd orAodh), itself fromProto-Indo-European: *h₂eydʰos ('firewood'; cf.Sanskritédhas 'bonfire',Latinaedes 'building, temple'; cf. alsoAncient GreekAether 'god of the upper sky' andAethra 'bright sky', fromaíthō 'to ignite, to kindle').[9][10]
The territory of the Aedui was situated between theSaône andLoire rivers, in a strategic position regarding trade routes. It included most of the moderndépartements ofSaône-et-Loire andNièvre, the southwestern-part ofCôte-d'Or betweenBeaune andSaulieu, and the southern part ofYonne aroundAvallon,[12] corresponding to the Saône plains, theMorvan granitic massif, and the lowNivernais plateau, from east to west.[13] They dwelled between theArverni in the west, theSegusiavi andAmbarri in the south, theSequani in the east, and theLingones andSenones in the north.[14]
Threeoppida are known from the end of theLa Tène period: Vieux-Dun (Dun-les-Places), Le Fou de Verdun (Lavault-de-Frétoy), andBibracte, which occupied a central position in the Aedian economic system.[15]
During the Roman period, Bibracte was abandoned forAugustodunum ('fortress of Augustus'; modern-dayAutun).[1]
The country of the Aedui is defined by reports of them in ancient writings. The upperLiger formed their western border,[16] separating them from theBituriges. TheArar formed their eastern border, separating them from theSequani.[17] The Sequani did not reside in the region of the confluence of theDubis and the Arar, and of the Arar into theRhodanus, as Caesar says that theHelvetii, traveling southward along the pass between theJura Mountains and the Rhodanus, which belonged to the Sequani, plundered the territory of the Aedui.[18] These circumstances explain an apparent contradiction inStrabo, who in one sentence says that the Aedui lived between the Arar and the Dubis, and in the next, that the Sequani lived across the Arar (eastward).[19]
Burgundy is situated in the heartland of the earlyLa Tène culture (seeVix Grave).By the early 3rd century BC, the emergence of settlements with diversified functions, along with the creation of sanctuaries, suggest the beginning of a civilization centered around theoppidum.[13]
Outside of the Roman province and prior to Roman rule,Gaul was occupied by self-governing tribes divided into cantons, and each canton was further divided into communes. The Aedui, like other powerful tribes in the region, such as theArverni,Sequani, andHelvetii, had replaced their monarchy with a council of magistrates called grand-judges. The grand-judges were under the authority of a senate. This senate was made up of the descendants of ancient royal families. Free men in the tribes werevassals of the heads of these families, in an exchange of military, financial, and political interests.[20]
According toLivy (v. 34), the Aedui took part in the expedition ofBellovesus into Italy in the sixth century BC. BeforeCaesar's time, they had attached themselves to theRomans and were honoured with the title of brothers and kinsmen of the Roman people.[21] When the Sequani, their traditional rivals, defeated and massacred the Aedui at theBattle of Magetobriga in 63 BC, with the assistance of theGermanic chieftainAriovistus, the Aedui sent thedruidDiviciacus to Rome with an appeal to thesenate for help; but his mission was unsuccessful.[22]
After his arrival in Gaul in 58 BC, Caesar restored the independence of the Aedui. In spite of this, they subsequently joined the Gallic coalition against Caesar (B. G. vii. 42), but after the surrender ofVercingetorix at theBattle of Alesia, the Aedui gladly returned to their allegiance.Augustus dismantled their capital,Bibracte, onMont Beuvray, and constructed a new town with a half-Roman, half-Gaulish name,Augustodunum (modernAutun).[23]
In AD 21, during the reign ofTiberius, the Aeduirevolted underJulius Sacrovir, and seized Augustodunum, but they were soon put down byGaius Silius (TacitusAnn. iii. 43–46). The Aedui were the first of the Gauls to receive from the emperorClaudius the distinction ofjus honorum, thus being the first Gauls permitted to become senators.[24]
UntilClaudius (41–54 AD), the Aedui were the first northern Gallic people to send senators to Rome.[1]
The oration ofEumenius, in which he pleaded for the restoration of the schools of his native Augustodunum, suggests that the district was then neglected. The chief magistrate of the Aedui in Caesar's time was called theVergobretus (according toMommsen, "judgment-worker"). He was elected annually, and possessed powers of life and death, but was forbidden to go beyond the frontiers of his territory. Certain clientes, or small communities, were also dependent upon the Aedui.[22]
TheTemple of Janus was located just outside the Aedian town ofAugustodunum. It probably dates back to the second half of the 1st century AD.[25]
At the end of theLa Tène period, religious convergences occurred between the Aedui and the neighbouringLingones andSequani in theSaône-Doubs area, as evidenced by the similarity in the practices at the sanctuaries ofNuits-Saint-Georges (Aedui),Mirebeau-sur-Bèze (Lingones) andMandeure (Sequani).[26]
According to Julius Caesar, the Aedui were one of the strongest Gallic tribes, in rivalry with theHelvetii,Sequani,Remi, andArverni. Furthermore, the Aedui seemed to work in a semi-republican state, with the powerfulVergobret at least slightly being at the will of the people, similar to thesenators of Rome.[27]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Aedui".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 244–245. This cites:
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