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Roman Gaul refers toGaul[note 1] under provincial rule in theRoman Empire from the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD.
TheRoman Republic's influence began in southern Gaul. By the mid-2nd century BC, Rome was trading heavily with the Greek colony ofMassilia (modernMarseille) and entered into an alliance with them, by which Rome agreed to protect the town from local Gauls, including the nearbyAquitani and from sea-borne Carthaginians and other rivals, in exchange for land that the Romans wanted in order to build a road toHispania to improve troop movements to its provinces there. The Mediterranean settlements on the coast continued to be threatened by the powerful Gallic tribes to the north and in 122 BC the Roman generalGnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus campaigned in the area and defeated theAllobroges followed byQuintus Fabius Maximus against theArverni under KingBituitus in 121 BC.[1]
The Romans respected and feared the Gallic tribes. In 390 BC, theGauls had sacked Rome, which left an existential dread of barbarian conquest the Romans never forgot.[2] In 109 BC, Italy had beeninvaded from the north and saved byGaius Marius only after several bloody and costly battles. Around 62 BC, when a Roman client state, the Arverni, conspired with theSequani and theSuebi nations east of theRhine to attack the Aedui, a strong Roman ally, Rome turned a blind eye. The Sequani and the Arverni soughtAriovistus's aid and defeated theAedui in 63 BC at theBattle of Magetobriga.[3][4]
As 58 BC dawned, most of Gaul was still under independent rule. It was beginning to urbanize and shared many aspects of Roman civilization. Into this picture came the rising generalJulius Caesar, who had ensured himself the position of Governor of bothTransalpine andCisalpine Gaul. He sought to pay off debts and glorify himself, and so began a series of aggressive campaigns to conquer the Gallic tribes.[5]
The wars began with a conflict over themigration of the Helvetii in 58 BC, which drew in neighboring tribes and the GermanicSuebi. By 57 BC, Caesar had resolved to conquer all of Gaul, and led campaigns in the east, where theNervii nearly defeated him. In 56 BC, Caesar defeated theVeneti 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 theEnglish 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 andinvaded 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 topacify them. This failed and the Gauls staged a mass revolt under the leadership ofVercingetorix in 52 BC. Gallic forces won a notable victory at theBattle of Gergovia, but the Romans' indomitable siege works at theBattle of Alesia utterly defeated the Gallic coalition.[5]
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 theimminent 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 himselfdictator, in what would eventually lead to the end of the Roman Republic and the establishment of theRoman Empire.[5]
At the end of the Gallic Wars, the Gauls had not been entirely subjugated and were not yet a formal part of the Empire, but that task was not Caesar's and he left that to his successors. Gaul would not be made formally into Roman provinces until the reign ofAugustus in 27 BC. Several rebellions happened subsequently and Roman troops were kept stationed throughout Gaul. There may have been unrest in the region as late as 70 AD.[6]
Massilia was allied toPompey duringCaesar's civil war, which led to its eventual defeat at theSiege 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 theSecond Triumvirate,Lepidus was given responsibility forGallia Narbonensis (along with Hispania and Africa), whileMark Antony was given the balance of Gaul.[7]
In 22 BC, imperial administration of Gaul was reorganised establishing theprovinces ofGallia Aquitania,Gallia Belgica andGallia Lugdunensis. Parts of eastern Gaul were incorporated into the provincesRaetia (15 BC) andGermania Superior (AD 83).
Roman citizenship was granted to all in 212 by theConstitutio Antoniniana.
Several significant Roman figures were born in Gaul, including Roman EmperorsClaudius,Caracalla and probablyCarus, as well as the important generalGnaeus Julius Agricola. Another general born in Gaul wasMarcus Antonius Primus. In addition, the family ofAntoninus Pius, which was also the adoptive family ofMarcus Aurelius, came from Roman Gaul. Among the Roman writers known or hypothesized to be born in Gaul there areTacitus,Petronius,Varro Atacinus,Aemilius Magnus Arborius,Frontinus,Ausonius,Rutilius Claudius Namatianus,Sextus Pompeius Festus,Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus and the authors of the importantPanegyrici latini. Many other writers were from the region ofCisalpine Gaul, which was part of Italy, includingVirgil,Caecilius Statius,Catullus andPliny the Elder.
In theCrisis of the Third Century around 260,Postumus established a short-livedGallic Empire, which included the Iberian Peninsula and Britannia, in addition to Gaul itself. Germanic tribes, theFranks and theAlamanni, invaded Gaul at this time. The Gallic Empire ended with EmperorAurelian's victory atChâlons in 274.
In 286–7Carausius, commander of theClassis Britannica, the fleet of the English Channel, declared himself Emperor of Britain and northern Gaul.[8] 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.[9] In 293 emperorConstantius Chlorus isolated Carausius by besieging the port ofGesoriacum (Boulogne-sur-Mer) and invadedBatavia in the Rhine delta, held by his Frankish allies, and reclaimed Gaul.
A migration of Celts from Britain appeared in the 4th century inArmorica led by the legendary kingConan Meriadoc.[citation needed] They spoke the now extinctBritish language, which evolved into theBreton,Cornish, andWelsh languages.[citation needed]
TheGoths, who had sacked Rome in 410, established a capital inToulouse and in 418 succeeded in being accepted byHonorius asfoederati and rulers of the Aquitanian province in exchange for their support against theBarbarian people in Spain.[10]
The Roman Empire had difficulty responding to all the barbarian raids, andFlavius Aëtius had to use these tribes against each other in order to maintain some Roman control. He first used theHuns against theBurgundians, and these mercenaries destroyedWorms, killed kingGunther, and pushed the Burgundians westward. The Burgundians were resettled by Aëtius nearLugdunum in 443. The Huns, united byAttila, became a greater threat, and Aëtius used the Visigoths against the Huns. The conflict climaxed in 451 at theBattle of Châlons, in which the Romans and Goths defeated Attila.
The Western Roman administration finally collapsed as remaining Roman troops withdrew southeast to protect Italy. Between 455 and 476, theVisigoths, the Burgundians, and theFranks assumed control in Gaul. However, certain aspects of the ancient Celtic culture continued after thefall of Roman administration and theDomain of Soissons, a remnant of theEmpire, survived from 457 to 486.
In 486, theFranks defeated the last Roman authority in Gaul in theFranco-Roman War by winning theBattle of Soissons. Almost immediately afterwards, most of Gaul came under the rule of theMerovingians, the first kings of a proto-France.
As a result of the lostBattle of Vouillé in theFranco-Visigothic War (507-511) the Visigoths were pushed out of most of Gaul by theFrankish kingClovis I.[11] They were able to retainNarbonensis andProvence after the timely arrival of an Ostrogoth detachment sent byTheodoric the Great.
Certain Gallo-Roman aristocratic families continued to exert power in episcopal cities (such as the Mauronitus family inMarseille and BishopGregory 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 (orVulgar Latin) dialect of the late Roman period evolved into the dialects of theOïl languages andOld French in the north, and intoOccitan in the south.
The nameGallia and its equivalents continued in use, at least in writing, until the end of the Merovingian period in the 750s. Slowly, during the ensuingCarolingian period (751–987), the expressionFrancia, thenFrancia occidentalis spread to describe the political reality of the kingdom of the Franks (regnum francorum).
Before 22 BC, Gaul had three geographical divisions, one of which was divided into multiple Roman provinces:
After 22 BC, the Romans divided Gallia Comata into three provinces, theTres Galliae (the 3 Gauls):
The Romans divided these huge provinces intocivitates corresponding more or less with the pre-Conquest communities or polities sometimes described misleadingly as "tribes," such as theAedui,Allobroges,Bellovaci, andSequani (seeList 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".[12] These administrative groupings would be taken over by the Romans in their system of local control, and thesecivitates would also be the basis of France's eventual division intoecclesiastical bishoprics and dioceses, which would remain in place—with slight changes—until theFrench Revolution.
In the five centuries between Caesar's invasion and the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, theGaulish language and cultural identity underwent asyncretism with the Roman culture of the new governing class, and evolved into a hybridGallo-Roman culture that eventually permeated all levels of society.[citation needed] Gauls continued writing some inscriptions in the Gaulish language, but switched from theGreek alphabet to theLatin alphabet during the Roman period. Current historical research suggests that Roman Gaul was "Roman" only in certain (albeit major) social contexts, the prominence of which inmaterial culture has hindered a better historical understanding of the permanence of many Celtic elements.[citation needed] The Roman influence was most apparent in the areas of civic religion and administration. TheDruidic religion was suppressed byEmperor Claudius I, and in later centuriesChristianity was introduced. The prohibition of Druids and the syncretic nature of the Roman religion led to disappearance of the Celtic religion. It remains to this day poorly understood: current knowledge of the Celtic religion is based on archaeology and via literary sources from several isolated areas such asIreland andWales.
The Romans easily imposed their administrative, economic, artistic (especially in terms of monumental art and architecture) and literary culture.[citation needed] They wore the Roman tunic instead of their traditional clothing.[citation needed] Surviving Celtic influences also infiltrated back into the Roman Imperial culture in the 3rd century. For example, the Gaulish tunic—which gave EmperorCaracalla his surname—had not been replaced by Roman fashion. Similarly, certain Gaulish artisan techniques, such as the barrel (more durable than the Romanamphora) andchain mail were adopted by the Romans.
The Celtic heritage also continued in the spoken language (seeHistory of French). Gaulish spelling and pronunciation of Latin are apparent in several 5th century poets and transcribers of popular farces.[14] The last pockets of Gaulish speakers appear to have lingered until the 6th or 7th century.[citation needed] Gaulish was held to be attested by a quote fromGregory of Tours written in the second half of the 6th century,[15] which describes how a shrine "called 'Vasso Galatae' in the Gallic tongue" was destroyed and burnt to the ground.[16] 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.[15]
Germanic placenames were first attested in border areas settled by Germanic colonizers (with Roman approval). In the 4th and 5th centuries, theFranks settled in northern France andBelgium, theAlemanni inAlsace andSwitzerland, and theBurgundians inSavoie.
![Gallic harvester[17]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aLimestone_funerary_relief_with_a_harvesting_scene%2c_the_Gallic_reaping_machine_was_called_a_%2527vallus%2527%2c_Rheinisches_Landesmuseum_Trier%2c_Germany_(31312757415).jpg)
![Model of water mills at Barbegal, "the world's first industrial complex"[18]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aMus%25C3%25A9e_de_l%2527Arles_antique%2c_Arles%2c_France_(16168385326).jpg)
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Villas were usually centres of agricultural production, and were often closely associated withvineries andwine production.[19] The owners were probably mainly local Gallic elites who became quickly romanised after theconquest, and sometimes Romans and Italians who wished to exploit rich local resources.[20] The villas would have been the centre of complex relationships with the local area. Much of the work would have been undertaken byslave labour or by localcoloni ("tenant farmers"). There would also have been a farm manager in addition to the inhabiting family.[21]
Important cities of Roman Gaul includeLugdunum (Lyon),Lutetia (Paris),Augusta Treverorum (Trier),Colonia Agrippinensium (Cologne),Burdigala (Bordeaux),Massalia (Marseille),Tolosa (Toulouse),Narbo Martius (Narbonne),Colonia Nemausus (Nîmes),Arelate (Arles),Augustodunum (Autun),Durocortorum (Reims),Arausio (Orange) andGlanum.
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Le déclin du Gaulois et sa disparition ne s'expliquent pas seulement par des pratiques culturelles spécifiques: Lorsque les Romains conduits par César envahirent la Gaule, au 1er siecle avant J.-C., celle-ci romanisa de manière progressive et profonde. Pendant près de 500 ans, la fameuse période gallo-romaine, le gaulois et le latin parlé coexistèrent; au VIe siècle encore; le temoignage de Grégoire de Tours atteste la survivance de la langue gauloise.
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