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Aventicum
Aventicum was the largest town and capital of Roman Switzerland (Helvetia or Civitas Helvetiorum). Its remains are beside the modern town of Avenches. The city was probably created ''ex nihilo'' in the early 1st century AD, as the capital of the recently conquered territory of the Helvetii, across the road that connected Italy to Britain, built under Claudius. Under the rule of Emperor Vespasian, who grew up there, Aventicum was raised to the status of a '' colonia'' in 72 AD, whereupon it entered its golden age. The town wall was long but was impracticable for defensive purposes and was doubtless intended as a display of the status of the city. In the Christian era Aventicum was the seat of a bishopric. The most famous of its bishops was Marius Aventicensis. His terse chronicle, spanning the years 455 to 581, is one of the few sources for the 6th-century Burgundians. Shortly after the Council of Macon, in 585, Marius moved the seat from Aventicum, due to the rapid decline of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avenches
Avenches () is a Swiss municipality in the canton of Vaud, located in the district of Broye-Vully. History The roots of Avenches go back to the Celts. A tribe of Helvetians had built a settlement on the hills of Bois de Châtel, south of the later Roman settlement. Nearby the Helvetii seem to have had their capital on Mont Vully as shown in recent archaeological excavation. The canal-La Broye-which joins Lac Morat to Lac Neuchâtel is thought to be Roman in origin. The establishment of the Roman settlement of Aventicum, which became the capital of the province, took place around 15-13 B.C. The name comes from the Helvetian spring goddess Aventia. After patronage by the emperor Vespasian, Aventicum soon developed into a blooming commercial center with over 20,000 inhabitants. The town was granted colonia status-a retirement location for legionaries- although the built up area of the town occupied only a fraction of the walled area -the walls are some 5.6 kilometers in length ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Switzerland In The Roman Era
The territory of modern Switzerland was a part of the Roman Republic and Empire for a period of about six centuries, beginning with the step-by-step conquest of the area by Roman armies from the 2nd century BC and ending with the Fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. The mostly Celtic tribes of the area were subjugated by successive Roman campaigns aimed at control of the strategic routes from Italy across the Alps to the Rhine and into Gaul, most importantly by Julius Caesar's defeat of the largest tribal group, the Helvetii, in the Gallic Wars in 58 BC. Under the ''Pax Romana'', the area was smoothly integrated into the prospering Empire, and its population assimilated into the wider Gallo-Roman culture by the 2nd century AD, as the Romans enlisted the native aristocracy to engage in local government, built a network of roads connecting their newly established colonial cities and divided up the area among the Roman provinces. Roman civilization began to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marius Aventicensis
Marius Aventicensis or, popularly, Marius of Avenches (532 – 31 December 596) was the Bishop of Aventicum (modern Avenches) from 574, remembered for his terse chronicle. After his death in Lausanne, he was venerated in that city as a saint, and his feast day was celebrated on 9 or 12 February. Life What is known of him, aside from his chronicle, is from the inscription on his tomb in the church of Saint Thyrsus in Lausanne He came of a distinguished, rich family, probably Gallo-Roman in their culture. In 574 he was made Bishop of ''Aventicum'', took part in the Second Council of Mâcon in 585, and shortly afterwards transferred his episcopal see from Aventicum, which was rapidly declining, to Lausanne. His metrical tomb inscription of unknown date, published in ''Gallia Christiana'', extols him as an ideal bishop; as a skilled goldsmith who made the sacred liturgical vessels with his own hands; as a protector and benefactor of the poor who ploughed his own land; as a man of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helvetii
The Helvetii ( , Gaulish: *''Heluētī''), anglicized as Helvetians, were a Celts, Celtic tribe or tribal confederation occupying most of the Swiss plateau at the time of their Switzerland in the Roman era, contact with the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC. According to Julius Caesar, the Helvetians were divided into four subgroups or ''pagus, pagi.'' Of these, Caesar names only the Verbigeni and the Tigurini, while Posidonius mentions the Tigurini and the Tougeni (). They feature prominently in the ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico, Commentaries on the Gallic War,'' with their failed migration attempt to southwestern Gaul (58 BC) serving as a catalyst for Caesar's conquest of Gaul. The Helvetians were subjugated after 52 BC, and under Augustus, Celtic oppida, such as Vindonissa or Basilea, were re-purposed as garrisons. In AD 68, a Helvetian uprising was crushed by Aulus Caecina Alienus. The Swiss plateau was at first incorporated into the Roman province of Gallia Belgica (22 B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noviodunum (Switzerland)
Noviodunum or Colonia Iulia Equestris was a Roman era settlement in what is now Nyon in the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland. Origin of the name Noviodunum is a name of Celtic origin, meaning "new fort": It comes from '' nowyo'', Celtic for "new", and ''dun'', the Celtic for "hillfort" or "fortified settlement", cognate of English ''town''. It was the urban center of the larger Colonia. Although the name of the city, Noviodunum, is certainly Celtic in origin, it is first mentioned in written sources in about 400 AD. The name Colonia Iulia Equestris is more descriptive. A colonia was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of Roman city. ''Iulia'' refers to either Julius Caesar or Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus. The first settlers in the Colonia were army veterans, especially cavalrymen or ''equester'', which led to the name ''Equestris''. History Foundation Colonia Iulia Equestri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Bibracte
The Battle of Bibracte was fought between the Helvetii and six Roman legions, under the command of Gaius Julius Caesar. It was the second major battle of the Gallic Wars. Prelude The Helvetii, a confederation of Gallic tribes, had begun a total migration of its peoples in March of 58 BC. This alarmed the Romans and began the Gallic Wars. Julius Caesar was the governor of Transalpine Gaul, and by the time of battle had between 24,000 and 30,000 legionary troops, and some quantity of auxiliaries, many of whom were themselves Gauls. He marched north to the river Saône, where he caught the Helvetii in the middle of crossing. Some three-quarters had crossed, but he slaughtered those who had not. Caesar then crossed the river in one day using a pontoon bridge. Next, he followed the Helvetii, but refused to engage in combat, waiting for ideal conditions. Negotiations were attempted, but Caesar's terms were draconian (likely on purpose, as Caesar may have used it as a delaying tactic). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and subsequently became dictator from 49 BC until his assassination in 44 BC. He played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. In 60 BC, Caesar, Crassus and Pompey formed the First Triumvirate, an informal political alliance that dominated Roman politics for several years. Their attempts to amass power as were opposed by the within the Roman Senate, among them Cato the Younger with the frequent support of Cicero. Caesar rose to become one of the most powerful politicians in the Roman Republic through a string of military victories in the Gallic Wars, completed by 51 BC, which greatly extended Roman territory. During this time he both invaded Britain and built a b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhône
The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Arles, near its mouth, the river divides into the Great Rhône (french: le Grand Rhône, links=no) and the Little Rhône (). The resulting delta forms the Camargue region. The river's source is the Rhône Glacier, at the east edge of the Swiss canton of Valais. The glacier is part of the Saint-Gotthard Massif, which gives rise to three other major rivers: the Reuss, Rhine and Ticino. The Rhône is, with the Po and Nile, one of the three Mediterranean rivers with the largest water discharge. Etymology The name ''Rhône'' continues the Latin name (Greek ) in Greco-Roman geography. The Gaulish name of the river was or (from a PIE root *''ret-'' "to run, roll" frequently found in river names). Names in other languages include german: R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jura Mountains
The Jura Mountains ( , , , ; french: Massif du Jura; german: Juragebirge; it, Massiccio del Giura, rm, Montagnas da Jura) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the French–Swiss border. While the Jura range proper (" folded Jura", ''Faltenjura'') is located in France and Switzerland, the range continues as the Table Jura ("not folded Jura", ''Tafeljura'') northeastwards through northern Switzerland and Germany. Name The mountain range gives its name to the French department of Jura, the Swiss Canton of Jura, the Jurassic period of the geologic timescale, and the Montes Jura of the Moon. It is first attested as ''mons Iura'' in book one of Julius Caesar's ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico''. Strabo uses a Greek masculine form ''ὁ Ἰόρας'' ("through the Jura mountains", ''διὰ τοῦ Ἰόρα ὄρους'') in his ''Geographica'' (4.6.11). Based on suggestions by Ferdinand de Saussure, early c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bibracte
Bibracte, a Gallic ''oppidum'' or fortified settlement, was the capital of the Aedui and one of the most important hillforts in Gaul. It was situated near modern Autun in Burgundy, France. The material culture of the Aedui corresponded to the Late Iron Age La Tène culture. In 58 BC, at the Battle of Bibracte, Julius Caesar's armies defeated the Helvetii 16 miles south of the fort. In 52 BC, Vercingetorix was proclaimed head of the Gaulish coalition at Bibracte. A few decades after the Roman conquest of Gaul, Bibracte was abandoned in favour of Autun, 25 kilometres away. Once abandoned, Bibracte remained undisturbed and unexamined until discovered by modern archaeology. Jacques-Gabriel Bulliot initiated the first excavations at the site between 1867 and 1895. His nephew Joseph Déchelette, author of a famous ''Manuel d'Archéologie'', continued the excavations between 1897 and 1907. The modern site, known as Mont Beuvray, is generally identified as ancient Bibr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foederati
''Foederati'' (, singular: ''foederatus'' ) were peoples and cities bound by a treaty, known as ''foedus'', with Rome. During the Roman Republic, the term identified the ''socii'', but during the Roman Empire, it was used to describe foreign states, client kingdoms or barbarian tribes to which the empire provided benefits in exchange for military assistance. The term was also used, especially under the empire, for groups of "barbarian" mercenaries of various sizes who were typically allowed to settle within the empire. Roman Republic In the early Roman Republic, ''foederati'' were tribes that were bound by a treaty (''foedus'' ) to come to the defence of Rome but were neither Roman colonies nor beneficiaries of Roman citizenship (''civitas''). Members of the Latini tribe were considered blood allies, but the rest were federates or ''socii''. The friction between the treaty obligations without the corresponding benefits of Romanity led to the Social War between the Romans, with a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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