Cenabum, Cenabaum or Genabum was the name of an ''

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...

'' of the

Carnutes The Carnutes or Carnuti (Gaulish: 'the horned ones'), were a Gallic tribe dwelling in an extensive territory between the Sequana (Seine) and the Liger (Loire) rivers during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Carn ...

tribe, situated on the site of what is now

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

at the time of

Caesar's conquest of Gaul The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland). Gauls, Gallic, Germanic peoples, Germanic, and Celtic Britons, Briti ...

History

This port was the commercial outlet for the grain produced in the

Beauce Beauce may refer to: * Beauce, France, a natural region in northern France * Beaucé, a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department, Brittany, France * Beauce, Quebec, an historical and cultural region of Canada ** Beauce (electoral district), a fed ...

. The city had strong fortifications, and also controlled a bridge over the Loire of considerable economic and strategic importance.

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 ...

, in his ''Geography'', calls the city (Κήναβον) the emporium of the Carnutes'' (τὸ τῶν Καρνούντον ἑμπόριον ). Kenabon/Cenabum is probably a transcription of a Gallic word with the same sense. For Caesar, it was imperative to secure control of this strategic location. He easily succeeded in establishing a protectorate over the Carnutes whilst assuring himself of the collaboration of Tasgetios, whom he re-established on his ancestors' throne in return for services rendered. However, this situation came to an end after two years, when in 54 BC Tasgetios (considered a traitor) was assassinated and (in the dead of winter) Caesar ordered the occupation of Cenabum by Roman legions. It was Cenabum which gave the signal for the Gallic revolt of which

Vercingetorix Vercingetorix (; Greek: Οὐερκιγγετόριξ; – 46 BC) was a Gallic king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe who united the Gauls in a failed revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. Despite h ...

quickly became the head and which was the motivation for Caesar's seventh Gallic campaign. In 53 BC, Roman merchants who had established themselves at Cenabum, the overseer Gaius Fufius Cita whom Caesar had installed there to control commerce and to ensure his legions' grain supply, and some Roman troops garrisoning the town were all massacred or thrown into the Loire by the Carnutes who had penetrated the city. Rushing back from Italy at phenomenal speed and reaching

Sens Sens () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, 120 km from Paris. Sens is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture and the second city of the d ...

, Caesar reached Cenabum by forced marches and did not even need to besiege it. On his approach, its population attempted to flee via a wooden bridge linking the two banks of the Loire, whilst the Romans scaled the ramparts, captured the remaining inhabitants and pillaged and burned down the town. In the 3rd century AD, the emperor

Aurelian Aurelian ( la, Lucius Domitius Aurelianus; 9 September 214 October 275) was a Roman emperor, who reigned during the Crisis of the Third Century, from 270 to 275. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited t ...

rebuilt the ruined town (273-274), reconstructed its defences, detached the new town from the territory of the Carnutes (which it had until then depended upon), and named it after himself ''Aurelianum'' or ''civitas Aurelianorum'', which later metamorphosed into the word ''Orléans''."Orléans", in Larouss

/ref>

Notes and references

External links

History of the city of Orléans : From its origins to the Roman conquest : up to 52 BC

The Orléanais in the time of the Gauls
(Conseil Général du Loiret)

{{coord, 47.9025, N, 1.9090, E, source:wikidata, display=title Oppida History of Orléans Populated places in pre-Roman Gaul Archaeological sites in France Former populated places in France History of Centre-Val de Loire Carnutes

History

Notes and references

See also

External links