Orgetorix was a wealthy aristocrat among the

Helvetii The Helvetii ( , Gaulish: *''Heluētī''), anglicized as Helvetians, were a Celtic tribe or tribal confederation occupying most of the Swiss plateau at the time of their contact with the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC. According to Juliu ...

, a Celtic-speaking people residing in what is now Switzerland during the consulship of Julius Caesar of the Roman Republic.

Planned migration

In 61 BC, he convinced the Helvetians to attempt to migrate from Helvetian territory to southwestern Gaul (modern-day France). He was also party to a clandestine arrangement with

Dumnorix Dumnorix (spelled Dubnoreix on coins) was a chieftain of the Aedui, a Celtic tribe in Gaul in the 1st century B.C. He was the younger brother of Divitiacus, the Aedui druid and statesman. The Aedui were allies of Rome, but Dumnorix was a leader o ...

of the

Aedui The Aedui or Haedui (Gaulish: *''Aiduoi'', 'the Ardent'; grc, Aἴδουοι) were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the modern Burgundy region during the Iron Age and the Roman period. The Aedui had an ambiguous relationship with the Roman Republic a ...

and

Casticus Casticus was a nobleman of the Sequani of eastern Gaul. His father, Catamantaloedes, had previously been the ruler of the tribe and had been recognized as a "friend" by the Roman Senate. Social position According to Julius Caesar, Casticus was ...

of the

Sequani The Sequani were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper river basin of the Arar river (Saône), the valley of the Doubs and the Jura Mountains during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Sequanos'' by Caesar (mid- ...

to seize control of their respective tribes by arms and between them rule most of Gaul. The conspiracy was denounced, Orgetorix was called to a hearing in chains before the government of the Helvetii. He arrived with a small army and was released but died mysteriously in a rumoured suicide. The Helvetians went on with their plans for migration but were defeated in 58 BC and returned by Julius Caesar. The incident was the beginning of the

Gallic War 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). Gallic, Germanic, and British tribes fought to defend their homela ...

in which Caesar subjugated Gaul.

Etymology

Julius Pokorny segments the name '' rgeto-rix'' in which the first element contains Gallic ''orge'' "kill", related to Old Irish ''orcaid'' "kill", from the

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Du ...

root *per-g-, "to hit." The second element is manifestly Celtic ''rīx'', "king:" "warrior-king", which does not imply that the owner of the name is necessarily a legal ruler. Although Orgetorix had aspirations in that direction, he was not a legal ruler.

Social position

According to Caesar's I.2 of ''De Bello Gallico'', Orgetorix was by far the wealthiest and noblest. He made himself an ambassador on behalf of the Helvetians to the other Gallic tribes, and he gave his own daughter to Dumnorix as a ''bona fide'' gesture. Orgetorix failed in his attempt to become one of three ruling triumvirs of Gaul.

Plan for migration

The Helvetians made elaborate plans for making such a journey. According to Caesar, they spent two years sowing crops and buying beasts of burden and intended for the migration to start in the third year. The effort came by way of marital exchange and individual alliances among some of the young nobles from all three tribes.

Conspiracy

Orgetorix was intending to make an unlawful attempt in seizing control of all of Gaul, with Dumnorix and Casticus as his other triumvirs. Unknown to the Helvetians, Orgetorix was making a deal to involve the use of Helvetian soldiers to seize control of all of Gaul, instead of a mere migration. If the conspiracy had been carried out, the Aeduans, Sequanians and Helvetians, under the threesome, would have all of Gaul at their disposal.

Trial and death

Rivals among the Helvetii discovered Orgetorix's plot and moved to put him on trial, with the penalty of death by burning if he was found guilty. In assisting his efforts to avoid that fate, Orgetorix had meanwhile acquired a significant personal retinue, in addition to having called up an army of more than 10,000 men at arms in addition to their mobilized clients, followers and dependents. Many Helvetians suspected that Orgetorix committed suicide, rather than face death by burning. According to Roman accounts, he managed to evade pleading his case, but as the magistrates forced away the crowd of persons from the fields, Orgetorix died. Nonetheless, the Helvetians continued their attempt to migrate.

References

Sources

* Dio Cassius, ''Roman History'
38.31
* Julius Caesar, ''

Commentarii de Bello Gallico ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (; en, Commentaries on the Gallic War, italic=yes), also ''Bellum Gallicum'' ( en, Gallic War, italic=yes), is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it C ...

'' 1.2 - 1.4 * Orosius, ''Seven Books of History Against the Pagans'' 6.7 {{Authority control 1st-century BC rulers in Europe Gaulish rulers Helvetii Unsolved deaths