Averni coin depicting warrior 5th to 1st century BCE

The Arverni (

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...

: *''Aruernoi'') were a Gallic people dwelling in the modern

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Au ...

region during the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...

and the Roman period. They were one of the most powerful tribes of ancient

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

, contesting primacy over the region with the neighbouring Aedui. They are mentioned in 207 BC as treating with Carthaginian commandant Hasdrubal Barca. Headed by their chiefs Luernius and Bituitus, the Arverni were at the head of an extensive empire. After Bituitus was defeated by Domitius Ahenobarbus and Fabius Maximus in 121 BC, the Arvernian empire was reduced to suzerainty over some neighbouring tribes. In 52 BC, during 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 ...

, the Arvernian chief Vercingetorix led the Gallic revolt against the armies of Caesar. After an initial victory at the Battle of Gergovia, Vercingetorix was defeated by the Romans at the Battle of Alesia, after which the Arverni lost their power of suzerainty. They maintained however a status of ''

civitas libera A free city ( la, civitas libera, urbs liberae condicionis; el, ) was a self-governed city during the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial eras. The status was given by the king or emperor, who nevertheless supervised the city's affairs through his '' e ...

'', and remained a prosperous tribe during the Roman period. Under emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

, their capital was moved from Gergovia to Augustonemetum (present-day

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label= Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attrac ...

). Following Alemannic invasions of the region in the 3rd century AD, Clermont-Ferrand was reduced in size but remained an important centre during the later part of the Roman period. In 475, after a heroic struggle led by their bishop, Sidonius Apollinaris and his brother-in-law Ecdicius, the Arverni repelled the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is k ...

. However, Julius Nepos, emperor of the Western Roman Empire, exchanged the Arverni territory with

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bo ...

which has been invaded and the Arverni were integrated to the Visigoth kingdom.

Name

They are mentioned as ''Arvernos'' by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC), ''Arvernorum'' by

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

(late-1st c. BC), ''A̓roúernoi'' (Ἀρούερνοι) by

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 s ...

(early 1st c. AD), and as ''A̓rouernō͂n'' (Ἀρουερνῶν) by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

(2nd c. AD). The ethnonym ''Arverni'' is a latinized form of

*''Aruernoi'' (sing. *''Aruernos''). Its etymology remains unclear.

Pierre-Yves Lambert Pierre-Yves Lambert (born 30 May 1949) is a French linguist and scholar of Celtic studies. He is a researcher at the CNRS and a lecturer at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Celtic linguistics and philology. Lambert is the director of the ...

has suggested to interpret it as 'those who are above', by decomposing the name as *''ar(e)-uer-no''- (cf. Latin ''supernus''). Alternatively, a connection with the Gaulish stem *''uernā''- ('alder'; cf. French ''vergne'', Occitan ''verne'') has also been proposed. The region of

, attested in 511 as ''ecclesiae Arvenicae'' (''pagus Arvenicus'' or ''pago Alvernio'' in the 9th c., ''Alvernhe'' ca. 1071–1127) is named after the Gallic tribe.

Geography

It is assumed that the pre-Roman territory of the Arverni roughly corresponded to the limits of the Roman-era ''civitas Arvernorum'', later inherited by the early medieval

Diocese of Clermont The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Clermont ( Latin: ''Archidioecesis Claromontana''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Clermont'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the department of Pu ...

. Their territory would has thus encompassed the modern

departements A department (, ) is an administrative or political division in several countries. Departments are the first-level divisions of 11 countries, nine in the Americas and two in Africa. An additional 10 countries use departments as second-level div ...

Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (; oc, label= Auvergnat, lo Puèi de Doma or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2019, it had a population of 662,152.Cantal, parts of Haute-Loire and Allier, as well as small areas of Creuse,

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 Rhôn ...

and

Aveyron Aveyron (; oc, Avairon; ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyronnais'' (masculine) or ''Aveyronnaises'' (feminine) in French. The inhabitan ...

. They dwelled east of the Lemovices and

Petrocorii The Petrocorii were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the present-day Périgord region, between the Dordogne and Vézère rivers, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Etymology They are mentioned as ''Petrocoriis'' by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC), ' ...

, south of the

Bituriges Cubi The Bituriges Cubi (Gaulish: ''Biturīges Cubi'') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in a territory corresponding to the later province of Berry, which is named after them, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. They had a homonym tribe, the Bitur ...

and Aedui, north of the Ruteni,

Cadurci The Cadurci were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the later region of Quercy during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Cadurcus'' by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC), ''Kadou͂rkoi'' (Καδοῦρκοι) by Strabo (early 1st c ...

and Vellavi, and west of the Segusiavi and Ambarri.

History

Early history

The Arverni are known to have had the most powerful tribal hegemony in Gaul during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC under their kings, Luernius, and his son Bituitus. Their power was based on strong metallurgic technologies and weapons, elaborated and rich agriculture and catering, mining, trade and military dominance over their neighbours with tributes paid to them. But when Arverni king Bituitus was defeated by the Romans of Quintus Fabius and Gnaeus Ahenobarbus in 121 BC at the climactic

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 ...

, their ascendancy passed to the Aedui and Sequani. Unlike the Allobroges, who were brought under direct Roman rule as a result of the Celtic wars of the 120s, the Arverni negotiated a treaty that preserved their independence, though their territory was diminished. No further Arvernian kings are mentioned in the historical record between 121 BC and 52 BC, and they may have adopted a constitutional

oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate ...

at this time. However, there were at least two later attempts to re-establish rulership by Celtillus and Vercingetorix. The defeat of the Arverni under Bituitus led directly to the establishment of '' Gallia Narbonensis'' as a

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

, referred to simply as the ''Provincia'' so often that a part of the ancient region is today known as

. The King Luernius was mentioned in writing by the Greek ethnographer Posidonius. Luernius was known to have scattered gold and silver coins to his followers while riding in his chariot. Under Luernius, the Arverni were at the head of a formidable Gallic military hegemony which stretched from the Rhine to the Atlantic coast. They joined

Bellovesus Bellovesus (Gaulish: 'Worthy of Power') is a legendary Gallic chief of the Bituriges, said to have lived ca. 600 BC. According to a legend recounted by Livy, the king Ambigatus sent his sister's sons Bellovesus and Segovesus in search of new lan ...

' migrations towards Italy, together with the Aedui, Ambarri, Aulerci, Carnutes and Senones.

Gallic Wars

The Arverni later played an important role in the

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 ...

from 58 BC to 51 BC. At first the Arvenian nobles tried to avoid confronting Caesar during his early incursions. They executed the leader Celtillus, evidently for trying to gain sovereignty over all the Gauls.

, ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'', book 7, ch. 4. In 52 BC, Celtillus' son Vercingetorix rallied his supporters to fight the Romans, but was expelled from Gergovia by the nobles, including his uncle Gobanitio. He then raised a great army in the country, and returned to the city where he ejected his opponents and was declared king. This accomplished, Vercingetorix forged an alliance with at least 15 Gallic tribes, requesting the presence of sons of chiefs to prove their alliance. He then led the majority of the Gauls and won the Gergovia battle against Julius Caesar and his cavalry did marvels in pursuing the Roman troops. Having earlier split his forces, Caesar awaited their return while receiving supplies from allied Gauls. Vercingetorix was then defeated by Caesar at the Battle of Alesia, after several months where the legions built 14 ranges of military equipment around the city to lay siege upon the Gallic soldiers. After several weeks of support from the western Gallic people with large numbers of troops coming to support Vercingetorix from outside the city, the Gauls were close to merging the inner and outer forces on 2 occasions. When the outer forces decided to depart, Vercingetorix took the decision to surrender himself to the Romans in order to save the people of Alesia.

, ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'', book 7, ch. 89.

Roman period

In the aftermath of the Gallic Wars the Arverni soldiers were pardoned and its senate was restored to power. The Arverni and the majority of other Gaulish states were pulled into the Roman political hemisphere but retained full rights and home rule. According to Gregory of Tours and his book ''Historia Francorum'' ("History of the Franks") the Arverni senators were still active in the sixth century and were deeply involved in the politics of the nascent Frankish state.

References

Bibliography

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