Helvetii
Sign in to savethumb|300px|Map of the Roman province Maxima Sequanorum (c. 300 AD), which comprised the territories of a part of the Helvetii, [[Sequani and several smaller tribes. The relative locations of the Helvetian pagi Tigurini and Verbigeni, though indicated on the map, remain unknown.]]
~29 min read
Encyclopedic overview
20 sectionsContents
- Name
- Tribal organisation
- History
- Earliest historical sources and settlement
- First contact with the Romans
- Caesar and the Helvetian campaign of 58 BC
- Prelude
- Battle of the Saône
- Battle of Bibracte
- Return of the migrants
- Caesar's report of the numbers
- Questions of motive
- The Helvetii as Roman subjects
- The rising of 68/69 AD
- Legacy
- Celtic oppida in Switzerland
- Notes
- Primary sources
- Bibliography
- External links
thumb|300px|Map of the Roman province Maxima Sequanorum (c. 300 AD), which comprised the territories of a part of the Helvetii, [[Sequani and several smaller tribes. The relative locations of the Helvetian pagi Tigurini and Verbigeni, though indicated on the map, remain unknown.]]
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 Julius Caesar, the Helvetians were divided into four subgroups or pagi. Of these, Caesar names only the Verbigeni and the Tigurini, while Posidonius mentions the Tigurini and the Tougeni (). They feature prominently in the Commentaries on the Gallic War, with their failed migration attempt into southwestern Gaul in 58 BC, serving as a catalyst for Caesar's conquest of Gaul.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Helvetii” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.