The Roman-Gallic Wars were a series of conflicts between the forces of

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...

and various Celtic groups identified as

Gauls The Gauls ( la, Galli; grc, Γαλάται, ''Galátai'') were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). They sp ...

. Among these were the Senones,

Insubres The Insubres or Insubri were an ancient Celtic population settled in Insubria, in what is now the Italian region of Lombardy. They were the founders of Mediolanum ( Milan). Though completely Gaulish at the time of Roman conquest, they were the r ...

Boii The Boii ( Latin plural, singular ''Boius''; grc, Βόιοι) were a Celtic tribe of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul ( Northern Italy), Pannonia ( Hungary), parts of Bavaria, in and around Bohemia (after whom ...

and

Gaesatae The Gaesatae or Gaesati ( Greek Γαισάται) were a group of Gallic mercenary warriors who lived in the Alps near the river Rhône and fought against the Roman Republic at the Battle of Telamon in 225 BC., s.v. ''Gaesatae''. According to s ...

. Broadly, the Gauls, who crossed the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

from

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 ...

(France) into

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 ...

(Italy), tried to expand south through

Etruria Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria. Etruscan Etruria The ancient people of Etruria are identified as Etruscans. Thei ...

toward Rome. After centuries, Rome emerged victorious in Italy and took the battle across the Alps into Transalpine Gaul.

Cisalpine conflicts

Major conflicts on the Italian side of the Alps include: 390 BC: Brennus leads the Senones to

Clusium Clusium ( grc-gre, Κλύσιον, ''Klýsion'', or , ''Kloúsion''; Umbrian:''Camars'') was an ancient city in Italy, one of several found at the site. The current municipality of Chiusi ( Tuscany) partly overlaps this Roman walled city. The R ...

in Etruria. Rome sends an army to drive the Senones away, which the Senones defeat at the

Battle of the Allia The Battle of the Allia was a battle fought between the Senones – a Gallic tribe led by Brennus, who had invaded Northern Italy – and the Roman Republic. The battle was fought at the confluence of the Tiber and Allia rivers, 11 Roman ...

. Brennus leads his men on to besiege Rome. 302 BC: Gauls cross the Alps into Cisalpine Gaul, where Gallic tribes allow them to pass southward and some join the march (as do some

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, roug ...

). They pillage Roman territory and retire with the loot, but then fall to fighting among themselves. 298–290 BC: The Third Samnite War. An alliance of

Samnites The Samnites () were an ancient Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy. An Oscan-speaking people, who may have originated as an offshoot of the Sabines, they f ...

, Gauls, Etruscans and

Umbrians The Umbri were an Italic people of ancient Italy. A region called Umbria still exists and is now occupied by Italian speakers. It is somewhat smaller than the ancient Umbria. Most ancient Umbrian cities were settled in the 9th-4th centuries BC ...

fights Rome. 284 BC: The Gauls besiege Arretium. The Romans march to relieve the city, and the Gauls defeat them. Rome then sends a punitive expedition north which defeats the Senones and drives them out of their territory, which Rome occupies. Then in 283 BC the Boii, with Etruscan allies, march on Rome. Rome is victorious at the Battle of Lake Vadimo. 225 BC: The Insubres and Boii hire Alpine Gauls, the Gaesatae, to join them and march on Rome. The Gauls defeated the Romans at

Faesulae Fiesole () is a town and '' comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. Si ...

, but later the Romans defeated the Gauls at

Telamon In Greek mythology, Telamon (; Ancient Greek: Τελαμών, ''Telamōn'' means "broad strap") was the son of King Aeacus of Aegina, and Endeïs, a mountain nymph. The elder brother of Peleus, Telamon sailed alongside Jason as one of his Argo ...

. 223–193 BC: After this came a concerted Roman policy aimed at conquering Gallic territories south of the Alps. Rome invaded the territory of the Insubres in 223 BC, and took

Clastidium Clastidium (modern Casteggio), was a village of the Ligurian tribe of Anamares (Marici named also) in Gallia Cispadana, on the Via Postumia, 5 miles east of Iria (modern Voghera) and 31 miles west of Placentia. Here in 222 BC, Marcus Claudius ...

, Acerrae and Mediolanum in 222 BC. Rome fought

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

in the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...

(218-201 BC), and the Gauls typically sided with Carthage. After the war, Rome took Bononia (196 BC), Placentia (194 BC) and

Mutina Modena (, , ; egl, label= Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and '' comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. A town, and seat o ...

(193 BC). After this, many of the surviving Boii retreated north across the Alps to form a new state, Boihaemum.

Transalpine conflicts

125–121 BC: Romans crossed the Alps and fought first the

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 ...

and

Vocontii The Vocontii (Gaulish: *''Uocontioi''; Greek: Οὐοκόντιοι, Οὐοκοντίων) were a Gallic people dwelling on the western foothills of the Alps during the Iron Age and the Roman period. The Vocontii settled in the region in the 3 ...

, and then Allobroges and Arveni. The Gauls were decisively defeated at the Battle of Vindalium and

Battle of the Isère River The Battle of the Isère River (8 August 121 BC) took place near the modern day French town of Valence at the confluence of the Isère and Rhône rivers. A first confrontation had been won by Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus at the Battle of Vindal ...

in 121 BC. The Allobrogian territory was subsequently annexed and incorporated into a Roman province known as

Gallia Transalpina 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 wa ...

. 109 BC: At Cimbrian War,

Cimbri The Cimbri (Greek Κίμβροι, ''Kímbroi''; Latin ''Cimbri'') were an ancient tribe in Europe. Ancient authors described them variously as a Celtic people (or Gaulish), Germanic people, or even Cimmerian. Several ancient sources indicate ...

and

Ambrones The Ambrones ( grc, Ἄμβρωνες) were an ancient tribe mentioned by Roman authors. They are generally believed to have been a Germanic tribe from Jutland. In the late 2nd century BC, along with the fellow Cimbri and Teutons, the Ambrone ...

, and their allies Helvetii, take victory over a Roman army near Agendicum ( Battle of Burdigala) in 107 BC, in which the consul was killed. 58–50 BC:

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, an ...

leads Roman armies in the

Gallic Wars 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 homel ...

in France and Belgium. 40–37 BC: Unrest was the reason for Agrippa's mission to Gaul, where we know he defeated the

Aquitani The Aquitani were a tribe that lived in the region between the Pyrenees, the Atlantic ocean, and the Garonne, in present-day southwestern France in the 1st century BCE. The Romans dubbed this region '' Gallia Aquitania''. Classical authors such ...

. 28–27 BC: Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus suppressed the revolt in

Gallia Aquitania Gallia Aquitania ( , ), also known as Aquitaine or Aquitaine Gaul, was a province of the Roman Empire. It lies in present-day southwest France, where it gives its name to the modern region of Aquitaine. It was bordered by the provinces of Gal ...

, for this feat he celebrated a triumph in 27 BC.

Appian Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Ha ...

, ''Civil Wars'
4.38
/ref>

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman-Gallic wars 4th-century BC conflicts 3rd-century BC conflicts 2nd-century BC conflicts 1st-century BC conflicts 4th century BC in the Roman Republic 3rd century BC in the Roman Republic 2nd century BC in the Roman Republic 1st century BC in the Roman Republic Wars involving the Celts Pre-Roman Gaul Wars involving the Roman Republic