Bituitus (''

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

'' 2nd century BCE) was a king of the

Arverni The Arverni (Gaulish: *''Aruernoi'') were a Gallic people dwelling in the modern Auvergne region during the Iron Age and the Roman period. They were one of the most powerful tribes of ancient Gaul, contesting primacy over the region with the n ...

, a

Gaulish Gaulish is an extinct Celtic languages, 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, ...

tribe living in what is now the

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; or ) is a cultural region in central France. As of 2016 Auvergne is no longer an administrative division of France. It is generally regarded as conterminous with the land area of the historical Province of Auvergne, which was dis ...

region of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The Arverni were a powerful opponent of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

during the 3rd and 2nd centuries under the leadership of Luernius, the father of Bituitus. In 121 BCE, Bituitus was defeated by the Roman general Fabius Maximus, ending the power of the Arverni in Mediterranean Gaul, or present-day

southern France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...

. The defeat of the Arverni resulted in the establishment of the

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) 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 ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

Gallia Narbonensis Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in Occitania and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the first ...

History

In 121 BC, the Roman proconsul Domitius Ahenobarbus undertook a war against the

Allobroges The Allobroges (Gaulish language, Gaulish: *''Allobrogis'', 'foreigner, exiled'; ) were a Gauls, Gallic people dwelling in a large territory between the Rhône river and the Alps during the Iron Age Europe, Iron Age and the Roman period. The Allob ...

, who allied with the Arverni under Bituitus. These Gallic tribes were defeated near the town of Vindalium, the current French town of

Bédarrides Bédarrides (; Provençal: ''Bedarrida'') is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Name The settlement is attested as ''villa Betorrida'' in 814, ''Biturrita'' in 898, ''Bistur ...

. After this defeat, the Allobroges and Arverni made preparations to re-enter battle with the Romans. Bituitus again took the field with a large army. Where the Isère river meets the river Rhone near current-day Valence in the south of France, the consul Fabius Maximus, the grandson of Paullus, met them in battle in the autumn of 121 BC. The Romans were greatly outnumbered, yet managed to gain a complete victory. It was estimated that 120,000 of Bituitus's army fell in the battle. Following his defeat, Bituitus was taken prisoner and sent to Rome, where he was sentenced by the senate to exile in

Alba Fucens Alba Fucens was an ancient Italic people, Italic town located at elevation at the base of Monte Velino, approximately north of Avezzano, Abruzzo, central Italy. Its ruins can be found in the ''comune'' of Massa d'Albe. The city is largely vis ...

, one of three foreign kings known to have been held there. Bituitus' son, Congonnetiacus, was also captured, and possibly held with him at

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English-language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingd ...

. It was the last time that a foreign king was detained at Alba, and throughout the rest of the Late Republican period, kings are known to have been detained at Rome, often in the homes of high-ranking officials, and to have agitated actively in political affairs. Fabius was awarded the honour of a triumph and given the

agnomen An ''agnomen'' (; : ''agnomina''), in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the ''cognomen'' had been initially. However, the ''cognomina'' eventually became family names, and so ''agnomina'' were needed to distinguish between sim ...

''Allobrogicus''. Unlike the Arverni, who retained independence after the war, the

were brought under Roman rule at this time. Bituitus, wearing his silver ceremonial armor, was paraded at Fabius's triumph. From the plunder of the Auvergne, Fabius erected his victory arch, the Fornix Fabianus along the

Via Sacra The Via Sacra (, "''Sacred Street''") was the main street of ancient Rome, leading from the top of the Capitoline Hill, through some of the most important religious sites of the Forum (where it is the widest street), to the Colosseum. The road ...

, and adorned it with a statue of himself.Authors, Various. "Fabius Q. Amelliani." ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology''. Ed. William Smith. Vol. 2. London: C.C. Little and J. Brown, 1861. 994-95. ''Google Books''. Web. 12 Oct. 2011

Bituitus is the last known king of the Arverni, and later sources, such as

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 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 Caesar's civil wa ...

's war commentaries, indicate that they were afterwards ruled by an

oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or t ...

or council analogous to the

Roman senate The Roman Senate () was the highest and constituting assembly of ancient Rome and its aristocracy. With different powers throughout its existence it lasted from the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in 753 BC) as the Sena ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bituitus 2nd-century BC monarchs in Europe Gaulish tribal chiefs Arverni