Allobroges
The Allobroges were a Gallic people dwelling in a large territory between the Rhône river and the Alps during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The Allobroges came relatively late to Gaul compared to most other tribes of Gallia Narbonensis; they first appear in historical records in connection with Hannibal's crossing of the Alps in 218 BC. Their territory was subsequently annexed to Rome in 121 BC by Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus. An attempted revolt was crushed by Gaius Pomptinus in 61 BC. However, they had rejected the second Catilinarian conspiracy in 63 BC. During the Gallic Wars, the Allobroges did not side with Vercingetorix at the Battle of Alesia in 52 BC.
Name
Attestations
They are mentioned as Allobrígōn by Polybius and Strabo, Allobroges by Caesar and Livy, Allóbriges, Allóbrigas and Allobrígōn by Appian, Allóbriges by Ptolemy, and as Allobrogas by Orosius.Etymology
The ethnonym Allobroges is a Latinized form of the Gaulish *Allobrogis, which literally means 'those from another country' or 'those from the other frontier', that is to say the 'foreigners' or the 'exiled'. The personal names Allo-brogicus and Allo-broxus are related; they all stem from the Celtic root allo- attached to brogi-. This may give further evidence of the relatively recent coming of the Allobroges in the region. Their name can indeed be contrasted with that of the Nitio-broges, who lived further southwest on the middle Garonne river.The Gaulish *Allobrogis is cognate with the Welsh allfro – both stemming from the Celtic compound *allo-mrogis –, and with the Germanic alja-markiz, found in an inscription from Karstad, which may indicate a Celtic-Germanic correspondence of the term.
A mountain in the Mont Blanc massif is still called Pointe Allobrogia, which could be the remnant of an ancient territorial claim made by the Gallic people.
Geography
Territory
The territory of the Allobroges stretched between the Isère and the Rhône rivers, the Lacus Lemannus and the Alps. By the mid-1st century BC, they also possessed a piece of land north of the Rhône river, between modern Lyon and Geneva, whose later status remains uncertain. During the Roman period, the civitas ''Viennensium'' covered an area of around 13,000 km2, one of the largest in Gaul.The Allobroges lived east of the Segusiavi and the Vellavi, south of the Ambarri and Sequani, north of the Segovellauni, Vertamocorii, Vocontii, Tricorii, Ucennii, Graioceli and Ceutrones, and southwest of the Helvetii and Veragri.
Settlements
Solonion
Until its destruction by the Romans in 61 BC, the main settlement of the Allobroges was known as Solonion, possibly corresponding to the modern village of Salagnon, near Bourgoin-Jallieu, or else to Montmiral, near Saint-Marcellin.Vienna
The site of Vienna, situated at the confluence of the Gère and Rhône rivers, was occupied by the Celts since the early 4th century BC. It served as a small river port protected by two oppida, one on the Pipet hill, and one on the Sainte-Blandine hill, and perhaps surrounded by a wall. Although it remained a village until the 1st century BC, Vienna held a central position at a trading crossroad between northern Gaul, the Italian Peninsula and the Mediterranean Sea, before it was eventually outshined by the nearby Lugdunum during the reign of Augustus. Until that time, Vienna was indeed the only place in the region where the Rhône could be crossed by foot. Since its creation, the port had maintained trade relations with the Greek colony of Massalia, on the Mediterranean coast.After the destruction of Solonion by the Romans in 61 BC, the Allobrogian chieftains decided to move their place of residence to Vienna. Around 50 BC, the settlement possibly became a colonia Latina, leading to the immigration of settlers from the Italian Peninsula. According to most scholars, after their expulsion by the local Allobroges in March 44 BC during the political troubles that followed the assassination of Caesar, those Roman settlers moved further north, where Munatius Plancus founded for them the colony of Lugdunum the following year. Alternatively, some scholars date the expulsion of the settlers to the Allobrogian revolt of 62–62, and contend that Vienna was made into a colony only later at the time of Octavian.
Under Octavian, sometime between 40 and 27 BC, Vienna became known as Colonia Iulia ''Viennensium, then was made into a colonia Romana known as Colonia Iulia Augusta Florentia Vienna '', either under Augustus or Caligula. In 35 AD, the Allobrogian citizen Valerius Asiaticus became the first Gallic man to be elected as Roman consul. Vienna was also made into the capital of the Allobrogian civitas, and became one of the most powerful cities of Gaul during the first century AD. In the second half of the 3rd century, the city declined and shrank to its original urban core, although it remained an important settlement during the 4th century, serving as the occasional residence of emperors Julian and Valentinian II.
Other settlements
was an oppidum erected on the hill of Saint-Pierre next to the Rhône, the Arve and the Lake Geneva, which allowed them to control the inland navigation on the Rhône. Located near the border of the Helvetii territory, Genaua was occupied from 130 BC at the latest.Another important Allobrogian settlement was at Cularo, first mentioned by Munatius Plancus in 43 BC and later renamed to Gratianopolis.
Other oppida have been excavated at Musièges, Larina, Saint-Saturnin, Les Étroits, Quatre-Têtes, and Rochefort.
History
Pre-Roman period
Origin
The Allobroges probably settled relatively late in Southern Gaul, for they are not attested before the late 3rd century BC, in connection with Hannibal's crossing of the Alps in 218 BC. According to some scholars, they may be identified with the Gaesatae, a group of mercenary warriors first mentioned a few years earlier in the region and who fought against the Roman Republic in the Battle of Telamon. The Allobroges may thus be the descendants of mobile groups of Gallic mercenaries who were active across central Europe in the first part of the 3rd century BC, and who eventually settled between the Rhône and the Alps in search for new opportunities during the later decades of the century.Hannibal's crossing of the Alps (218 BC)
In the mid-2nd century BC, the Greek historian Polybius first mentioned the Allobroges in his account of Hannibal's crossing of the Alps in 218 BC. The Allobroges of the plain helped the Carthaginian conqueror, whereas those of the mountains tried in vain to block his passage.Hannibal then expelled the other chieftain and was given new weapons, corn, warm clothing and footwear by his local ally. The latter protected him in the rear with his own forces through the territory of the Allobroges, until he reached the foot of the Alpine pass.
In Livy's version, the Gallic chieftain who provided assistance to Hannibal is named Brancus. According to some scholars, since the 'Island' mentioned by ancient authors corresponds to the territory of the Segovellauni, Brancus may actually be Segovellaunian. In his account, however, Livy specifically states that the two chieftains were Allobroges.
From the 2nd century BC onward, a climate change known as the Roman Warm Period led to a reduction in migrations from Central and Northern Europe. As a result, the adoption rate of a sedentary lifestyle among the former roving tribes of the region, including the Allobroges, probably increased during the late 2nd and 1st century BC. Greek geographer Strabo later wrote in the early 1st century AD, "formerly the Allobroges kept up warfare with many myriads of men, whereas now they till the plains and the glens that are in the Alps."
Early Roman period
Annexion to the Roman Republic (121 BC)
Between 125 and 122 BC, the Romans crossed the Alps and fought the Salluvii and Vocontii. During the conflict, the Allobroges gave shelter to the Salluvian leaders, including their king Toutomotoulos, and refused to hand them over, which, added to the fact that the Allobroges had raided the Aedui, a recent ally of Rome, led the latter to declare war against them.They were defeated by the Romans forces of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus at the Battle of Vindalium in 121 BC, in modern Mourre-de-Sève, at the confluence of the Rhône and Sorgue rivers in Cavarian territory. The Allobrogian cavalry reportedly feared the Roman war elephants, and Orosius writes that they lost 20,000 men while 3,000 of them were captured. In August of the same year, the Roman army, strengthened by the troops of Quintus Fabius Maximus, inflicted a decisive defeat on a massive combined force of Allobroges, Arveni and the remaining Salluvii at the Battle of the Isère River. The Allobrogian territory was subsequently annexed to Rome by Domitius Ahenobarbus and Fabius Maximus, the latter earning the cognomen Allobrogicus for this feat.
Between 120 and 117, those new Roman lands were progressively pacified and incorporated into a Roman province known as Gallia Transalpina by Domitius Ahenobarbus. The Allobroges had to pay heavy taxes to Rome, although they were allowed to keep their administrative autonomy and territory. They likely suffered from the invasions of the Cimbri and Teutoni during the Cimbrian War in 107–102 BC. The Allobrogian territory – Vienna in particular as it was located in the middle of the Rhône Valley – represented the northern frontier that separated Rome from the 'barbarian' world, and was thus exposed to the attacks of potentially hostile Gallic and Germanic tribes.