The Battle of the Isère River (8 August 121 BC) took place near the modern day French town of

Valence Valence or valency may refer to: Science * Valence (chemistry), a measure of an element's combining power with other atoms * Degree (graph theory), also called the valency of a vertex in graph theory * Valency (linguistics), aspect of verbs rel ...

at the confluence of the

Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.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 Ar ...

rivers. A first confrontation had been won by Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus at the

Battle of Vindalium The Battle of Vindalium (121 BC) took place near Vindalium, a Cavari, Cavarian settlement probably corresponding to modern day Mourre-de-Sève in Sorgues, near the confluence of the Rhône and Durance rivers in Southern France. The battle opposed ...

, further south in the Rhône Valley, before Ahenobarbus and Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus joined their forces, defeating a confederation of Allobroges,

Arverni The Arverni (Gaulish: *''Aruernoi'') were a Gallic people dwelling in the modern Auvergne region during the Iron Age and the Roman period. They were one of the most powerful tribes of ancient Gaul, contesting primacy over the region with the ne ...

and some

Salluvii The Salyes or Salluvii (Greek: ) were an ancient Celto-Ligurian people dwelling between the Durance river and the Greek colony of Massalia during the Iron Age. Although earlier writers called them 'Ligurian', Strabo used the denomination 'Celto-lig ...

warriors at the Isère River. Roman consular legions were dispatched into

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

repeatedly over a time period stretching from 125 to 121 BC to assist allies who repeatedly had come under attack from various Gallic tribes, most prominently the Salluvii, Allobroges, and

. Each year during this time, a newly elected consul was dispatched by the Senate to

Cisalpine Gaul Cisalpine Gaul ( la, Gallia Cisalpina, also called ''Gallia Citerior'' or ''Gallia Togata'') was the part of Italy inhabited by Celts (Gauls) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. After its conquest by the Roman Republic in the 200s BC it was con ...

in an effort to finally end the threat posed by these tribes towards the Roman allies in the region, and ultimately, to establish direct Roman control of the area. It has been suggested that given the estimated number of at least 120,000 Celtic warriors killed, were it not for the relative lack of details available, the battle would be one of the most famous in Roman history.

Background

Up until 125 BC, Roman influence had not yet been expanded into the region of coastline between the Alps and the Pyrenees. That year, however, the Romans were inexorably pulled into conflict in the area as their long-time trading partner and ally, the city of

Massilia Massalia (Greek: Μασσαλία; Latin: Massilia; modern Marseille) was an ancient Greek colony founded ca. 600 BC on the Mediterranean coast of present-day France, east of the river Rhône, by Ionian Greek settlers from Phocaea, in Western An ...

, was attacked by a Gallic-Ligurian people, the Salluvii. According to scholar Louis Rawlings, "the Roman expansion into

Transalpine Gaul Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the ...

aimed to help the Greek colony of Massilia (Marseille) against the Saluvii (or Salyes) and to secure a land route to the Roman provinces in Spain." The establishment of a Greek colony at

Glanum Glanum (Hellenistic ''Γλανόν'', as well as Glano, Calum, Clano, Clanum, Glanu, Glano) was an ancient and wealthy city which still enjoys a magnificent setting below a gorge on the flanks of the Alpilles mountains. It is located about one kil ...

, on Salluvian territory, may have been the ''

casus belli A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one b ...

''. The Senate dispatched that year's consul, Marcus Fulvius Flaccus, to deal with the threat that was now menacing the Roman ally. Defeating the Saluvii, Flaccus became the first Roman to vanquish any of the Ligurian peoples beyond the Alps, and was awarded a triumph upon his return to Rome in 122 BC. During Flaccus’ time fighting in Gaul, he was accompanied by Gaius Sextius Calvinus, who had been appointed consul for the year of 124 BC. Calvinus, after defeating the Salluvii along with Flaccus, went on to found the colony of

Aquae Sextiae Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix (Old Occitan, medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a List of communes in France with ov ...

, named as such for its proximity to various streams of cold and warm water. The Roman victory was not all-encompassing, however, for Teutomalius, king of the Saluvii, gathered his surviving men and joined with the Allobroges, creating an even larger threat for the burgeoning Roman power in Gaul. Concerned, the Senate again dispatched a consul, this one elected for the year 122 BC, named Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus. This Roman force was sent northwards under the pretext that the Allobroges had received the Roman enemy Teutomalius, and had combined with his remaining forces to attack a Roman ally in the region, a tribe known as the Aedui. It is possible, however, that an alternate motive existed for this maneuver by the Romans, judging by the fact that Ahenobarbus had a clear ambition to construct a road which would link Roman-controlled areas in Gaul and Spain to each other. The Roman force finally met decisively with the force of Allobroges, the remaining Salluvi led by Teutomalius, and

under their king Bituitus, at the

on the confluence of the rivers Sulga and Rhône, near modern-day

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

. The Romans won a victory, largely aided by their use of war elephants, the presence of which terrified and scattered many of the Gauls and their horses. Some 20,000 Allobroges were reportedly killed by the Romans there, with a further three thousand being captured. This victory too, however, much like Calvinus's before, was not comprehensive. The Arverni king Bituitus, having evaded capture at Vindalium, continued resistance against the victorious Romans. Ahenobarbus’ campaign therefore dragged on into 121 BC, whereupon he was joined by a newly elected consul for that year, Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus.

Battle

Bituitus again lined up for battle in August of 121 BC against the united Roman forces of Fabius Maximus and Ahenobarbus with a massive army, positioning it at the confluence of the

Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.Cemennus Mountains. So unimpressed was the Arverni king with the size of the combined Roman army which had appeared to face him that he declared it "would scarcely suffice to feed the dogs that were with his army". Strabo places the number of Roman soldiers at less than 30,000. Few specifics are known about the ensuing Battle of the Isère River. According to

Orosius Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in '' Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), t ...

, the Gauls had assembled an army numbering 180,000 men, although this claim seems implausibly large.

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

puts the number of Gauls as high as 200,000. It may be assumed that many of the same Roman war elephants which were employed in the previous overwhelming victory at the

were used in the same fashion against the Gauls. Appian writes that Fabius, who had sustained an injury shortly before the battle, continued to lead his troops during the fighting, urging his men on while being borne on a litter, sometimes even rising and hobbling around, supported by them. Pliny adds that Fabius was also afflicted during the battle by a quartan ague, which he 'got rid of' during the action, though this was perhaps the same 'wound' Appian wrote of. Orosius, in the most vivid extant ancient description of the battle, writes as follows: It is clear that that the Arverni horde, crossing to the left bank of the Rhône, found themselves fighting with their backs against the water, a reality which undoubtedly contributed to their defeat. The panic following the initial breaking of their lines as their soldiers turned, rushing to cross back over the river, can be imagined, and was perhaps the most significant factor leading to the totality of their defeat. So, despite the Romans being far outnumbered in battle, their victory was complete. Orosius mentions that the Gauls lost some 150,000 men, although this figure is likely exaggerated. Livy records the Gallic losses at the slightly more conservative number of 120,000 killed, while Pliny claims 130,000 killed. Appian states that Roman losses numbered only 15 men.

Aftermath

It is unknown whether the Arverni king Bituitus was captured during the battle or at some point afterward. Some ancient authors claim the former, while others, notably

Valerius The gens Valeria was a patrician family at ancient Rome, prominent from the very beginning of the Republic to the latest period of the Empire. Publius Valerius Poplicola was one of the consuls in 509 BC, the year that saw the overthrow of th ...

, claim that Ahenobarbus, following the battle, took Bituitus into custody through deceit. That author writes: A modern historian, Dyson, opines that Ahenobarbus' motivation to do such a thing may have been rivalry, fearing that "Bituitus would surrender the Allobroges and Arverni to Fabius, thus enhancing the reputation of his rival", thus motivating him to act first and capture the vanquished king himself. Whatever the case, it is clear that Bituitus was at some stage shipped back to Rome in anticipation of a triumph to celebrate the massive Roman victory. The significance of the victory, meanwhile, was not lost on the proud Ahenobarbus and Fabius, who both erected towers of stone where their victories in the campaign had been won, adorning them with captured arms of the enemy in a gloating display visible to the local Gauls, an upbraiding which, according to Roman historian Florus, was unusual, and showed what the hard-fought victories meant to the Roman commanders. Strabo elaborates further, writing that Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus, whom he confuses for his father Fabius Maximus Aemilianus, "set up a trophy of white marble, and also two temples, one in honour of Ares, the other in honour of Heracles." Suetonius records that Ahenobarbus, following the victory, "rode through the province on an elephant, attended by a throng of soldiers, in a kind of triumphal procession", though he mistakenly attributes the victory to the victorious general's son, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, consul for 96 BC. Upon the completion of the battle, a Salluvian named Crato, the leader of a pro-Graeco-Roman faction within the tribe, was spared from enslavement, as were nine hundred of his fellow Salluvian citizens. This became the group which would go on to form the basis of a loyal Roman population in the area. In commemoration of the victory, Fabius was given the cognomen Allobrogicus, and both he and Ahenobarbus were awarded triumphs in 120 BC. Bituitus and his son, Congonnetiacus, were imprisoned at

Alba Longa Alba Longa (occasionally written Albalonga in Italian sources) was an ancient Latin city in Central Italy, 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Rome, in the vicinity of Lake Albano in the Alban Hills. Founder and head of the Latin League, it was d ...

, his return to Gaul seeming "not to be in the interest of tranquility". Fabius' triumph in particular was renowned for its splendour, as the Arverni king, transferred to Rome from his prison, was paraded throughout the streets of Rome in the same silver armour which he had worn into battle. Eutropius writes that among the booty brought back to Rome were a great many golden collars, formerly belonging to the Gauls. To further commemorate his victory, Allobrogicus erected a triumphal arch (fornix), at the Via Sacra, between the Regia and the House of the Vestals, the first ever to be constructed in the forum. Atop the arch was erected a sculpture of the victorious consul. It appears that the Romans did not impose heavy punishment upon the defeated Arverni, as recalled by

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 ...

, who claims in regard to them that "the Roman people had pardoned them, and had not formed them into a province nor imposed a tribute". With the Arvernian hegemony in southern Gaul broken, the Romans were met with no opposition in the area for the next two decades, continuing to use their military base at Aquae Sextiae with impunity. Hall, a modern historian, notes that the Arverni being forced to give up their claim to the Rhône Valley laid the groundwork for the later foundation of a Roman Province, known simply as ''Provincia Romana'', that is,

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

. Thus the ultimate path for further annexation in Gaul, first by

Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...

and then much more widely by Julius Caesar, was cleared. Vitally and most immediately to this effect began the construction of the

Via Domitia The Via Domitia was the first Roman road built in Gaul, to link Italy and Hispania through Gallia Narbonensis, across what is now Southern France. The route that the Romans regularised and paved was ancient when they set out to survey it, and tr ...

, commissioned and named after Ahenobarbus, linking Italy and

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...

through the newly secured territory. Thus, the first permanent Roman colony outside of Italy and the single Roman seaport in Gaul,

Narbo Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Med ...

, was founded on the course of the new road some three years after the battle.

Legacy

It is clear from the wealth of relevant sources, ranging through the centuries of

Classical Antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

, that the crushing victory left an enduring mark upon the Roman psyche. For example, this cultural consciousness is clear in the words of a speech given decades later by

Marcus Tullius Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

, part of which was spoken regarding the contemporaneous threat posed by the Gallic Treviri chieftain Induciomarus to the Romans. Cicero wishes comically that in response to this threat the Romans might bring Gaius Marius back from the dead, or even Gnaeus Domitius (Ahenobarbus) and Quintius Maximus (Allobrogicus), who might "again subdue and crush the nation of the Allobroges and the other tribes by their arms". The battle was also known by Julius Caesar, the famous subduer of the Gauls, who used it as a justification for the continuation of his conquests. He used the subjugation of the Gauls by Allobrogicus to justify their belonging to the Roman people, rather than to

Ariovistus Ariovistus was a leader of the Suebi and other allied Germanic peoples in the second quarter of the 1st century BC. He and his followers took part in a war in Gaul, assisting the Arverni and Sequani in defeating their rivals, the Aedui. They t ...

, his Gallic opponent. He argued that just as the Gauls were allowed to observe their own laws following their defeat by the aforementioned general, so too would they be allowed, following Caesar's future conquest, to do the same. Knowledge of the battle endured into the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. It is written of in the 15th-century poet John Lydgate's work,

The Fall of Princes ''The Fall of Princes'' is a long poem by English poet John Lydgate. It is based on Giovanni Boccaccio's work '' De Casibus Virorum Illustrium'', which Lydgate knew in a French translation by Laurent de Premierfait, entitled ''Des Cas des nobles ...

, and illustrated in Vincent de Beauvais' '' Speculum Historiale''.

Notes

* According to Mike Duncan, it is likely the Gaius Marius participated in the battle as a

quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...

* It is possible that the Achaian League also sent troops to bolster Ahenobarbus' army in particular, though the inscription in question may be referring to a different, earlier member of that distinguished family. * The battle has been called in other languages the ''Battle of the Confluence'' r the ''Battle of the Rhône'', as well as the ''Battle of Valence'' l

References

Bibliography

* * {{refend 121 BC Isère River Arverni