Bituitus

Last updated
Bituit, roi des auvergnats, mis en prison, miniature medievale issue du De casibus de Boccace. XV siecle, BnF. Bituit mis en prison.jpg
Bituit, roi des auvergnats, mis en prison, miniature médiévale issue du De casibus de Boccace. XV siècle, BnF.

Bituitus ( fl. 2nd century BCE) was a king of the Arverni, a Gaulish tribe living in what is now the Auvergne region of France. The Arverni were a powerful opponent of the Roman Republic during the 3rd and 2nd centuries under the leadership of Luernius, the father of Bituitus. In 121 BCE, [1] Bituitus was defeated by the Roman general Fabius Maximus, ending the power of the Arverni in Mediterranean Gaul, or present-day southern France. The defeat of the Arverni resulted in the establishment of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis.

History

In 121 BC, the Roman proconsul Domitius Ahenobarbus undertook a war against the Allobroges, who allied with the Arverni under Bituitus. These Gallic tribes were defeated near the town of Vindalium, the current French town of Bédarrides. 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' army fell in the battle. [2]

Following his defeat, Bituitus was taken prisoner and sent to Rome, where he was sentenced by the senate to exile in Alba Fucens, one of three foreign kings known to have been held there. [3] Bituitus' son, Congonnetiacus, was also captured, and possibly held with him at Alba. 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. [4]

Fabius was awarded the honour of a triumph and given the agnomen Allobrogicus. Unlike the Arverni, who retained independence after the war, the Allobroges 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, and adorned it with a statue of himself. [5]

Bituitus is the last known king of the Arverni, and later sources, such as Julius Caesar's war commentaries, indicate that they were afterwards ruled by an oligarchy or council analogous to the Roman senate.

Related Research Articles

During the 290s BC, Hellenistic civilization begins its emergence throughout the successor states of the former Argead Macedonian Empire of Alexander the Great, resulting in the diffusion of Greek culture throughout the Levant and advances in science, mathematics, philosophy, etc. Meanwhile, the Roman Republic is embroiled in war against the Samnites, the Mauryan Empire continues to thrive in Ancient India, and the Kingdom of Qin in Ancient China, the one which in the future will conquer its adversaries and unite China, begins to emerge as a significant power during the Warring States period.

Year 121 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Opimius and Allobrogicus and the Second Year of Yuanshou. The denomination 121 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perseus of Macedon</span> King of Macedonia from 179 to 168 BC

Perseus ; c. 212 – 166 BC) was king of the ancient kingdom of Macedon from 179 until 168 BC. He is widely regarded as the last king of Macedonia and the last ruler from the Antigonid Dynasty, as his defeat by Rome at the Battle of Pydna effectively ended Macedonia as an independent political entity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gallia Aquitania</span> Roman province from 27 BC until the 5th century

Gallia Aquitania, also known as Aquitaine or Aquitaine Gaul, was a province of the Roman Empire. It lies in present-day southwest France, where it gives its name to the modern region of Aquitaine. It was bordered by the provinces of Gallia Lugdunensis, Gallia Narbonensis, and Hispania Tarraconensis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arverni</span> Gallic tribe

The Arverni 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 neighbouring Aedui.

The Allobroges were a Gallic people dwelling in a large territory between the Rhône river and the Alps during the Iron Age and the Roman period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gallia Narbonensis</span> Roman Empire province from 121 BC until 5th century

Gallia Narbonensis was a Roman province located in what is now Occitania and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra, because it was the first Roman province north of the Alps, and as Gallia Transalpina, distinguishing it from Cisalpine Gaul in Northern Italy. It became a Roman province in the late 2nd century BC. Gallia Narbonensis was bordered by the Pyrenees Mountains on the west, the Cévennes to the north, the Alps on the east, and the Gulf of Lion on the south; the province included the majority of the Rhone catchment. The western region of Gallia Narbonensis was known as Septimania. The province was a valuable part of the Roman Empire, owing to the Greek colony of Massalia, its location between the Spanish provinces and Rome, and its financial output.

<i>Via Aquitania</i>

The Via Aquitania was a Roman road created in 118 BC in the Roman province of Gaul. It started at Narbonne, where it connected to the Via Domitia. It then went toward the Atlantic Ocean, via Toulouse and Bordeaux, covering approximately 400 kilometres (250 mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Gaul</span> Gaul as a province of the Roman Empire

Roman Gaul refers to Gaul under provincial rule in the Roman Empire from the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD.

Quintus Fabius Q. f. M. n. Maximus Gurges, the son of Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus, was consul in 292, 276, and 265 BC. After a dissolute youth and a significant military defeat during his first consulate, he was given the opportunity to salvage his reputation through the influence of his father, and became a successful general, eventually holding the highest honours of the Roman state. He was slain in battle during his third and final consulate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 122 BC)</span> Roman senator, consul and general (165-c. 104)

Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus was a Roman general and senator who served as consul in 122 BC. He led a campaign to conquer southern Gaul against the Allobroges together with his successor Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus. Domitius was active in the early development of southern Roman Gaul, establishing the first Roman colony at Colonia Narbon Martius, and sponsored projects such as the Via Domitia connecting Italy to Spain through southern Gaul. He was probably also the sponsor of the Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus in the Temple of Neptune in Rome. Ahenobarbus was censor in 115 BC and became pontifex at an unknown date before dying c. 104 BC.

Quintus Fabius Maximus was a general and politician of the late Roman Republic who became suffect consul in 45 BC.

Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus, was a Roman statesman and general who was elected consul in 121 BC. During his consulship he fought against the Arverni and the Allobroges whom he defeated in 120 BC. He was awarded a triumph and the agnomen Allobrogicus for his victory over the Gauls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alba-la-Romaine</span> Commune in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France

Alba-la-Romaine is a commune in the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,464.

The Roman–Etruscan Wars, also known as the Etruscan Wars or the Etruscan–Roman Wars, were a series of wars fought between ancient Rome and the Etruscans. Information about many of the wars is limited, particularly those in the early parts of Rome's history, and in large part is known from ancient texts alone. The conquest of Etruria was completed in 265–264 BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruteni</span> Gallic tribe

The Ruteni were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the southern part of the Massif Central, around present-day Rodez, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.

The archaeological site of Alba-la-Romaine, corresponding to the Gallo-Roman city of Alba Augusta Helviorum or Alba Helviorum is located near the present town of Alba-la-Romaine. The site is in the French department of Ardèche, Rhône-Alpes. During the Roman Imperial era, Alba was the capital of the Celtic-speaking polity of Helvii, which had territory covering the area of lower Vivarais.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman–Gallic wars</span>

Over the course of nearly four centuries, the Roman Republic fought a series of wars against various Celtic tribes, whom they collectively described as Galli, or Gauls. Among the principal Gallic peoples described as antagonists by Greek and Roman writers were the Senones, Insubres, Boii, and Gaesatae.

The Battle of Vindalium took place near Vindalium, a Cavarian settlement probably corresponding to modern day Mourre-de-Sève in Sorgues, near the confluence of the Rhône and Durance rivers in Southern France. The battle opposed the Allobroges, a Gallic tribe dwelling further north between the Rhône and the Alps, to the Roman forces of proconsul Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Isère River</span>

The Battle of the Isère River 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 Vindalium, further south in the Rhône Valley, before Ahenobarbus and Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus joined their forces, defeating a confederation of Allobroges, Arverni and some Salluvii warriors at the Isère River.

References

  1. " Bituitus" The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Timothy Darvill. Oxford University Press, 2008.Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. York University. 12 October 2011
  2. Authors, Various. "Bituitus." Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Ed. William Smith. Vol. 1. London: C.C. Little and J. Brown, 1844. 491+. Google Books. Web. 12 Oct. 2011. .
  3. The others were Perseus of Macedon and Syphax of Numidia; Perseus, about whose detention more is known, was allowed to keep his friends, wealth, and lifestyle trappings with him.
  4. David C. Braund, Rome and the Friendly King: The Character of the Client Kingship (Croom Helm, 1984), pp. 168–170.
  5. 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. .