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Bellovaci
The Bellovaci (Gaulish: Bellouacoi) were a Belgic tribe dwelling in the modern Picardy region, near the present-day city of Beauvais, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. After they were defeated by Caesar in 57 BC, they gave lukewarm support to the Gallic revolt led by Vercingetorix in 52 BC. The Bellovaci nonetheless organized resistance against Rome in 51 BC.
They are mentioned as Bellovacos and Bellovaci by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC), Belloákoi (Βελλοάκοι) by Strabo (early 1st c. AD), Bellovaci by Pliny (1st c. AD), and as Belloúakoi (Βελλούακοι) by Ptolemy (2nd c. AD).
The ethnonym Bellovacī is a latinized form of Gaulish Bellouacoi (sing. Bellouacos). The latter derives from the stem bello- ('strong, forceful'), but the translation of the suffix -uaco- is uncertain. It could mean 'curved' (cf. Lat. uaccilare), or else be related to the Irish fachain ('striving') and the Scottish Gaelic fachail ('fight, strife').
The city of Beauvais, attested ca. 400 AD as civitas Bellovacorum ('civitas of the Bellovaci', Belvacus in 874, Biauvais in 1132), is named after the Belgic tribe.
The territory of the Bellovaci was located in the Thérain valley, south of the Ambiani. They dominated on wooded heights, which constituted a natural frontier with the Veliocasses. To the east lived the more powerful Suessiones, who were probably able to contain potential expansions of the Bellovaci beyond the Oise river.
The capital of their civitas was known as Caesaromagus (present-day Beauvais) during the Roman era. The Bellovaci most likely controlled the hill-fort Gournay-sur-Aronde, in which sanctuary may have been a site of fairs welcoming the Ambiani and Viromandui.
Their territory straddled the route from the Seine to the Somme valleys. They were clients of the Aedui in central Gaul by the first century BC. The lack of specific gold coinage related to the Bellovaci also suggests a moderate economic power.
This campaign occurred in the Compiègne Forest, in an area that had been occupied by the Suessiones. The Bellovaci intended to conquer this territory, a situation that Julius Caesar feared would expand into a greater threat and he decided it would be useful to intervene to prove Roman superiority.
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Bellovaci
The Bellovaci (Gaulish: Bellouacoi) were a Belgic tribe dwelling in the modern Picardy region, near the present-day city of Beauvais, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. After they were defeated by Caesar in 57 BC, they gave lukewarm support to the Gallic revolt led by Vercingetorix in 52 BC. The Bellovaci nonetheless organized resistance against Rome in 51 BC.
They are mentioned as Bellovacos and Bellovaci by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC), Belloákoi (Βελλοάκοι) by Strabo (early 1st c. AD), Bellovaci by Pliny (1st c. AD), and as Belloúakoi (Βελλούακοι) by Ptolemy (2nd c. AD).
The ethnonym Bellovacī is a latinized form of Gaulish Bellouacoi (sing. Bellouacos). The latter derives from the stem bello- ('strong, forceful'), but the translation of the suffix -uaco- is uncertain. It could mean 'curved' (cf. Lat. uaccilare), or else be related to the Irish fachain ('striving') and the Scottish Gaelic fachail ('fight, strife').
The city of Beauvais, attested ca. 400 AD as civitas Bellovacorum ('civitas of the Bellovaci', Belvacus in 874, Biauvais in 1132), is named after the Belgic tribe.
The territory of the Bellovaci was located in the Thérain valley, south of the Ambiani. They dominated on wooded heights, which constituted a natural frontier with the Veliocasses. To the east lived the more powerful Suessiones, who were probably able to contain potential expansions of the Bellovaci beyond the Oise river.
The capital of their civitas was known as Caesaromagus (present-day Beauvais) during the Roman era. The Bellovaci most likely controlled the hill-fort Gournay-sur-Aronde, in which sanctuary may have been a site of fairs welcoming the Ambiani and Viromandui.
Their territory straddled the route from the Seine to the Somme valleys. They were clients of the Aedui in central Gaul by the first century BC. The lack of specific gold coinage related to the Bellovaci also suggests a moderate economic power.
This campaign occurred in the Compiègne Forest, in an area that had been occupied by the Suessiones. The Bellovaci intended to conquer this territory, a situation that Julius Caesar feared would expand into a greater threat and he decided it would be useful to intervene to prove Roman superiority.