Litaviccus

Litaviccus (ca. 50 BC) was a member of the

Gallic Gallic is an adjective that may describe: * ancient Gaul (Latin: Gallia), roughly corresponding to the territory of modern France **pertaining to the Gauls ** Roman Gaul (1st century BC to 5th century) **Gallic Empire (260–273) ** Frankish ...

tribe of

Aedui The Aedui or Haedui (Gaulish: *''Aiduoi'', 'the Ardent'; grc, Aἴδουοι) were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the modern Burgundy region during the Iron Age and the Roman period. The Aedui had an ambiguous relationship with the Roman Republic ...

. He played an important role at the

Siege of Gergovia The Battle of Gergovia took place in 52 BC in Gaul at Gergovia, the chief oppidum (fortified town) of the Arverni. The battle was fought between a Roman Republican army, led by proconsul Julius Caesar, and Gallic forces led by Vercingetorix, wh ...

. Though the Aedui at first supported Julius Caesar in his struggle against

Vercingetorix Vercingetorix (; Greek: Οὐερκιγγετόριξ; – 46 BC) was a Gallic king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe who united the Gauls in a failed revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. Despite ha ...

, they defected from the Romans and joined Vercingetorix. According to Caesar in his ''

Commentarii de Bello Gallico ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (; en, Commentaries on the Gallic War, italic=yes), also ''Bellum Gallicum'' ( en, Gallic War, italic=yes), is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it ...

'', the Aedui had been roused into this betrayal by

Convictolitavis Convictolitavis (''fl.'' mid-1st century BC) was a prominent member of the Celtic ''civitas'' of the Haedui during the Gallic Wars. He played a significant role in the pan- Gallic rebellion of 52 BC, as narrated by Julius Caesar in Book 7 of hi ...

, the leader of the Aedui. During the siege of Gergovia, Litaviccus was given command over 10,000 men who were sent to aid Caesar. During the march, however, Litavccus gave a speech to his soldiers where he claimed the Romans had killed the nobles of the Aedui, and that they had the same planned for the rest of the tribe. This convinced the soldiers to desert the Romans and instead join Vercingetorix. Though the army of Litaviccus was very small compared to the

Legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...

s of Caesar, Caesar was nonetheless forced to remove a part of his soldiers at Gergovia to deal with Litaviccus. Litaviccus' rebellion did not last long; when Caesar presented the (according to Litaviccus) murdered nobles of the Aedui, the soldiers realized they had been lied to and surrendered, after which Litaviccus escaped and fled to Gergovia. Celts Gaulish rulers Barbarian people of the Gallic Wars {{AncientRome-bio-stub