''Cenabum'',

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

(sometimes written ''Cenabaum'' or ''Genabum'') was the name of the capital city of the

Carnutes The Carnutes or Carnuti (Gaulish: 'the horned ones'), were a Gallic tribe dwelling in an extensive territory between the Sequana (Seine) and the Liger (Loire) rivers during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Carn ...

, located near the present French city of

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and oppidum An ''oppidum'' (: ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age Europe, Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celts, Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread acros ...

'' and a thriving commercial town on the

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) 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 Rhône. It rises in the so ...

river. 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, and Switzerland). Gauls, Gallic, Germanic peoples, Germanic, and Celtic Britons, Brittonic trib ...

, the town was taken by Roman general

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 ...

and integrated into 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 Lugdunensis () was a province of the Roman Empire in what is now the modern country of France, part of the Celtic territory of Gaul formerly known as Celtica. It is named after its capital Lugdunum (today's Lyon), possibly Roman Europe's major city west of ...

. Acts of resistance from the locals who refused to submit to Roman law were severely repressed and resulted in several massacres and the near-total destruction of the town. In the 3rd century, emperor

Aurelian Aurelian (; ; 9 September ) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 270 to 275 AD during the Crisis of the Third Century. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited the Roman Empire after it had nearly disinte ...

visited Cenabum and decided to have it rebuilt (273-274), and named it after himself: Urbs ''Aurelianorum''. In the 9th century, it took the name ''Aurelianum'', the name later evolved into ''Orléans''. In 498, the city was conquered by Germanic invaders, the

Salian Franks The Salian Franks, or Salians, sometimes referred to using the Latin word or , were a Frankish people who lived in what was is now the Netherlands in the fourth century. They are only mentioned under this name in historical records relating to ...

and brought into the kingdom of

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...

king

Clovis I Clovis (; reconstructed Old Frankish, Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first List of Frankish kings, king of the Franks to unite all of the Franks under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a ...

Cenabum

Celtic Era

Cenabum was the most important towns of the Carnutes, its port was the commercial outlet for the grain they produced in the Beauce, north-west of the town. The town had strong fortifications, dry moats, earth palisades and also controlled a bridge over the Loire, one of considerable economic and strategic importance, attested to have been built before the Roman conquest.

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 "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

, in his ''Geography'', calls the city (Κήναβον) the emporium of the Carnutes'' (τὸ τῶν Καρνούντον ἑμπόριον ). Kenabon/Cenabum is probably a transcription of a Gallic word with the same sense. The town also appears on the

Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin Language, Latin for 'The Peutinger Map'), also known as Peutinger's Tabula, Peutinger tablesJames Strong (theologian) , James Strong and John McClintock (theologian) , John McClintock (1880)"Eleutheropolis" In: ''The Cyclopedia of Bibli ...

, the

Antonine Itinerary The Antonine Itinerary (, "Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is an , a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly in part from a survey carried out under Augustus, it describes t ...

and the works of the Roman mathematician

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

Roman Era

In 58 BC, Roman general Julius Caesar began the Gallic Wars in an effort to bring the rest of Gaul into the Roman Empire and expand West. For the Romans, it was imperative to gain control over this strategic location. Caesar eventually succeeded in establishing a protectorate over the Carnutes by allying himself with the leader of an ancient Carnuti family named Tasgetios. Caesar re-established him on his ancestors' throne in return for helping him take Cenabum. The town and its regions then became an important supplier of

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...

for the Romans. However, Tasgestios' rule came to an end after two years, when in

54 BC __NOTOC__ Year 54 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Appius and Ahenobarbus (or, less frequently, year 700 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 54 BC for this year has bee ...

he was assassinated. Caesar sent

Lucius Munatius Plancus Lucius Munatius Plancus () was a Roman Senate, Roman senator, Roman consul, consul in 42 BC, and Roman censor, censor in 22 BC with Paullus Aemilius Lepidus. He is one of the classic historical examples of men who have managed to surviv ...

to restore order in Cenabum, punish those responsible and ordered the occupation of Cenabum by the Roman legions. It was Cenabum that gave the signal for the Gallic revolt, first led by Cotuatos, then Conconnetodumnos and eventually

Vercingetorix Vercingetorix (; ; – 46 BC) was a Gauls, Gallic king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe who united the Gauls in a failed revolt against Roman Republic, Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. After surrendering to C ...

. In

53 BC __NOTOC__ Year 53 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Messalla and Calvinus (or, less frequently, year 701 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 53 BC for this year has been ...

, the Roman merchants who had established themselves at Cenabum, the overseer Gaius Fufius Cita whom Caesar had installed to control commerce and to ensure his legions' grain supply, and some Roman troops garrisoning the town were all massacred or thrown into the Loire by the Carnutes who had stormed the city. This uprising triggered Caesar's seventh Gallic campaign. In 52 BC, Caesar marched back into Gaul and reached Agedincum. His Roman legions reached Cenabum but they did not even need to besiege it. On his approach, its population attempted to flee by crossing the bridge linking the two banks of the Loire ; whilst the people tried to cross the narrow wooden bridge, the Romans scaled the ramparts. The remaining inhabitants were captured and the town was pillaged and burned down.''De Bello Gallico'', book 7, chapter 11 The Gutuater (considered to be a Carnuti representative whose role is thought to be linked to '

invocation Invocation is the act of calling upon a deity, spirit, or supernatural force, typically through prayer, ritual, or spoken formula, to seek guidance, assistance, or presence. It is a practice found in numerous religious, spiritual, and esote ...

' by modern historians) was found guilty of the uprising and executed. Before leaving Cenabum, Caesar put Caius Trebonius in charge of the city and left him two Roman legions to keep the ruined city under Roman control. The town and its regions were integrated into the

. Around 260 AD, Cenabum was pillaged first by the

Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...

and then by other

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...

after them. Cenabum stayed a ruin until 273 AD, when the 38th Roman emperor

visited the town.

Urbs Aurelianorum

Starting around the mid 3rd century, peoples from Asia and Central Europe began to invade the Roman Empire. The Franks and the Alemanni cross the '' līmitēs'' of the Rhine in 275-276 AD and sweep through Gaul. Starting around 235 AD, the Roman emperors are incapable of restoring peace. Around 273 AD, in an effort to prevent the barbarian incursions from going further into Gaul, emperor Aurelian rebuilds the town from the ground up. He detaches it from the Carnutes' territories and gives this new city the name ''Urbs Aurelianorum'' (''i.e. city of the Aurelii'') and its inhabitants are ''Civitas Aurelianorum''. New ramparts are raised, a dry moat now surrounds the city. To the south, the ramparts are built closest to the riverside, so as to prevent attacks from the Loire. In 408 AD, the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...

, along with the

Alans The Alans () were an ancient and medieval Iranian peoples, Iranic Eurasian nomads, nomadic pastoral people who migrated to what is today North Caucasus – while some continued on to Europe and later North Africa. They are generally regarded ...

, cross the Loire. One of their groups, led by

Goar Goar (born before 390, died between 446 and 450) was a leader of the Alans in 5th-century Gaul. Around the time that the Vandals and other Alans under Respendial crossed the Rhine in 405 or 406, Goar's band of Alans quickly joined the Romans, an ...

, accepts to join the Romans. Aetius settles on the Loire and in Orléans around 440 AD. According to Constantius of Lyon, a Gallic scholar, Aetius did so to punish a local uprising. The Alans are seen as unruly by the locals, and their settling in the region often results in land confiscation and eviction of the local people. Goar settles in Aurelianorum itself, while the rest of his people settle in the rest of the region (i.e. modern

Orléanais The Duchy of Orléanais () is a former province of France, which was created during the Renaissance by merging four former counties and towns. However after the French Revolution, the province was dissolved in 1791 and succeeded by five ''départ ...

). Indeed, numerous archeological finds linked to the Alans have been found in the northern part of the region and in northern France: Allaines, Allainville, Alaincourt. In 451 AD, king and chieftain of the Hunnic Empire

Attila Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...

laid siege to Aurelianorum and was defeated there by an alliance between Aetius, Merovech and Theodoric I. In the same year, the king of the Alans still resided in Aurelianorum, known then as Sangiban. Under his command, the Alans join forces with Aetius in opposing Attila and his conquest of Gaul, and they take part in the

Battle of the Catalaunian Plains The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (or Fields), also called the Battle of the Campus Mauriacus, Battle of Châlons, Battle of Troyes or the Battle of Maurica, took place on June 20, 451 AD, between a victorious coalition, led by the Roman ...

. However, according to ancient historian

Jordanes Jordanes (; Greek language, Greek: Ιορδάνης), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat, claimed to be of Goths, Gothic descent, who became a historian later in life. He wrote two works, one on R ...

, Sangiban initially tried to betray the Romans and surrender Aurelianorum to Attila, but the veracity of this intention is still disputed. Saint Euverte hotel groslot orleans

The

Fall of the Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire, also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome, was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vast ...

, beginning in 476 AD, coincided with a time of economic crisis and the christianization of the local population. Saint Euverte d'Orléans was one of the first bishops of the city. The independence of the Romans of Aurelianorum ended in 498 AD, when the city was conquered by the Germanic people of the

and eventually brought into the kingdom of

, king of the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

, heir to the

Merovingian dynasty The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...

. In 511 AD, the

First Council of Orléans The First Council of Orléans was a synod convoked by Clovis I, King of the Franks, in 511. Clovis called for this synod four years after his victory over the Visigoths under Alaric II at the Battle of Vouillé in 507. The council was attended by ...

took place, summoning 32 bishops from across Gaul, to establish a strong relationship between Merovingian rule and the (Roman) Catholic episcopate. The city had no import in Gallic conciliar affairs, but over the Merovingian period, it was to become a prominent meeting place for national church councils.

Notes and references

External links