Orgetorix was a wealthy aristocrat among the

Helvetii The Helvetii (, , Gaulish: *''Heluētī''), anglicized as Helvetians, were a Celtic tribe or tribal confederation occupying most of the Swiss plateau at the time of their contact with the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC. According to Ju ...

, a Celtic-speaking people residing in what is now

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

during the consulship of

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 ...

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 ...

Planned migration

In 61 BC, he convinced the Helvetians to attempt to migrate from Helvetian territory to southwestern

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 ...

(modern-day

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 ...

). He was also party to a clandestine arrangement with Dumnorix of the

Aedui The Aedui or Haedui (Gaulish language, Gaulish: *''Aiduoi'', 'the Ardent'; ) were a Gauls, Gallic tribe dwelling in what is now the region of Burgundy during the La Tène culture, Iron Age and the Roman Empire, Roman period. The Aedui had an ambi ...

and Casticus of the

Sequani The Sequani were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper river basin of the Arar river (Saône), the valley of the Doubs and the Jura Mountains during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Sequanos'' by Caesar (mid-1 ...

to seize control of their respective tribes by arms and between them rule most of Gaul. The conspiracy was denounced, Orgetorix was called to a hearing in chains before the government of the Helvetii. He arrived with a small army and was released but died mysteriously in a rumoured suicide. The Helvetians went on with their plans for migration but were defeated in 58 BC and returned by Julius Caesar. The incident was the beginning of the Gallic War in which Caesar subjugated Gaul.

Etymology

Julius Pokorny Julius Pokorny (12 June 1887 – 8 April 1970) was an Austrian-Czech linguist and scholar of the Celtic languages and of Celtic studies, particularly of the Irish language, and a supporter of Irish nationalism. He held academic posts in Austrian ...

segments the name '' rgeto-rix'' in which the first element contains Gallic ''orge'' "kill", related to

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic languages, Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The ...

''orcaid'' "kill", from the

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

root *per-g-, "to hit." The second element is manifestly Celtic ''rīx'', "king:" "warrior-king", which does not imply that the owner of the name is necessarily a legal ruler. Although Orgetorix had aspirations in that direction, he was not a legal ruler.

Social position

According to Caesar's I.2 of ''De Bello Gallico'', Orgetorix was by far the wealthiest and noblest. He made himself an ambassador on behalf of the Helvetians to the other Gallic tribes, and he gave his own daughter to Dumnorix as a ''bona fide'' gesture. Orgetorix failed in his attempt to become one of three ruling triumvirs of

Plan for migration

The Helvetians made elaborate plans for making such a journey. According to Caesar, they spent two years sowing crops and buying beasts of burden and intended for the migration to start in the third year. The effort came by way of marital exchange and individual alliances among some of the young nobles from all three tribes.

Conspiracy

Orgetorix was intending to make an unlawful attempt in seizing control of all of Gaul, with Dumnorix and Casticus as his other triumvirs. Unknown to the Helvetians, Orgetorix was making a deal to involve the use of Helvetian soldiers to seize control of all of Gaul, instead of a mere migration. If the conspiracy had been carried out, the Aeduans, Sequanians and Helvetians, under the threesome, would have all of Gaul at their disposal.

Trial and death

Rivals among the Helvetii discovered Orgetorix's plot and moved to put him on trial, with the penalty of death by burning if he was found guilty. In assisting his efforts to avoid that fate, Orgetorix had meanwhile acquired a significant personal retinue, in addition to having called up an army of more than 10,000 men at arms in addition to their mobilized clients, followers and dependents. Many Helvetians suspected that Orgetorix committed suicide, rather than face death by burning. According to Roman accounts, he managed to evade pleading his case, but as the magistrates forced away the crowd of persons from the fields, Orgetorix died. Nonetheless, the Helvetians continued their attempt to migrate.

References

Sources

Dio Cassius Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history of ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

, ''Roman History'
38.31
*

, ''

Commentarii de Bello Gallico ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (; ), also ''Bellum Gallicum'' (), is Julius Caesar's first-hand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it, Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine yea ...

'' 1.2 - 1.4 *

Orosius Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in '' Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), ...

, ''Seven Books of History Against the Pagans'' 6.7 {{Authority control 1st-century BC Gaulish tribal chiefs Helvetii Unsolved deaths