Editing Gaul (section)

===Roman conquest===
{{Main article|Gallic Wars}}

In the 2nd century BC Mediterranean Gaul had an extensive urban fabric and was prosperous. Archeologists know of cities in northern Gaul including the Biturigian capital of [[Avaricum]] ([[Bourges]]), [[Cenabum]] ([[Orléans]]), [[Autricum]] ([[Chartres]]) and the excavated site of [[Bibracte]] near [[Autun]] in Saône-et-Loire, along with a number of hill forts (or [[oppidum|oppida]]) used in times of war. The prosperity of Mediterranean Gaul encouraged Rome to respond to pleas for assistance from the inhabitants of [[Massilia]], who found themselves under attack by a coalition of Ligures and Gauls.{{sfn|Drinkwater|2014|page=5}} The Romans intervened in Gaul in 154 BC and again in 125 BC.{{sfn|Drinkwater|2014|page= 5}} Whereas on the first occasion they came and went, on the second they stayed.{{sfn|Drinkwater|2014|page= 6}} In 122 BC [[Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 122 BC)|Domitius Ahenobarbus]] managed to defeat the [[Allobroges]] (allies of the [[Salluvii]]), while in the ensuing year [[Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus|Quintus Fabius Maximus]] "destroyed" an army of the [[Arverni]] led by their king [[Bituitus]], who had come to the aid of the Allobroges.{{sfn|Drinkwater|2014|page= 6}} Rome allowed Massilia to keep its lands, but added to its own territories the lands of the conquered tribes.{{sfn|Drinkwater|2014|page= 6}} As a direct result of these conquests, Rome now controlled an area extending from the [[Pyrenees]] to the lower [[Rhône]] river, and in the east up the [[Rhône valley]] to [[Lake Geneva]].<ref>{{harvnb|Drinkwater|2014|page= 6}}. "[...] the most important outcome of this series of campaigns was the direct annexation by Rome of a huge area extending from the Pyrenees to the lower Rhône, and up the Rhône valley to Lake Geneva."</ref> By 121 BC Romans had conquered the Mediterranean region called ''Provincia'' (later named ''[[Gallia Narbonensis]]''). This conquest upset the ascendancy of the Gaulish Arverni peoples.[[File:GaulsinRome.jpg|thumb|upright|Gauls in Rome]]

The Roman proconsul and general Julius Caesar led his army into Gaul in 58 BC, ostensibly to assist Rome's Gaullish allies against the migrating [[Helvetii]]. With the help of various Gallic clans (e.g., the [[Aedui]]) he managed to conquer nearly all of Gaul. While their military was just as strong as the Romans', the internal division between the Gallic tribes guaranteed an easy victory for Caesar, and [[Vercingetorix]]'s attempt to unite the Gauls against Roman invasion came too late.<ref name="EB_The_Roman_Conquest">{{cite web |url=http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/215768/France/41196/The-press |title=France: The Roman conquest |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica (company)|Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=April 6, 2015 |quote="Because of chronic internal rivalries, Gallic resistance was easily broken, though Vercingetorix's Great Rebellion of 52 bc had notable successes."}}</ref><ref name="The_first_triumvirate_and_the_conquest_of_Gaul">{{cite web |url=http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/88114/Julius-Caesar/9735/The-first-triumvirate-and-the-conquest-of-Gaul |title=Julius Caesar: The first triumvirate and the conquest of Gaul |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica (company)|Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=February 15, 2015 |quote="Indeed, the Gallic cavalry was probably superior to the Roman, horseman for horseman. Rome's military superiority lay in its mastery of strategy, tactics, discipline, and military engineering. In Gaul, Rome also had the advantage of being able to deal separately with dozens of relatively small, independent, and uncooperative states. Caesar conquered these piecemeal, and the concerted attempt made by a number of them in 52 BC to shake off the Roman yoke came too late."}}</ref> Caesar was checked by Vercingetorix at a [[Battle of Gergovia|siege of Gergovia]], a fortified town in the center of Gaul. Caesar's alliances with many Gallic clans broke. Even the Aedui, their most faithful supporters, threw in their lot with the Arverni but the ever-loyal [[Remi]] (best known for its cavalry) and [[Lingones]] sent troops to support Caesar. The [[Germani]] of the [[Ubii]] also sent cavalry, which Caesar equipped with Remi horses. Caesar captured Vercingetorix in September 52 BC in the [[Battle of Alesia]], which ended the majority of Gallic resistance to Rome.

As many as one million people (probably 1 in 5 of the Gauls) died, another one million were [[Slavery in ancient Rome|enslaved]],<ref>Plutarch, Caesar 22.</ref> 300 clans were subjugated and 800 cities were destroyed during the Gallic Wars.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lsHLDAAAQBAJ&q=300+clans+were+subjugated+and+800+cities+were+destroyed+during+the+Gallic+Wars&pg=PT307|title=50 Great Military Leaders of All Time|last=Tibbetts|first=Jann|date=2016|publisher=Vij Books India Pvt Ltd|isbn=9789385505669|language=en}}</ref> The entire population of the city of Avaricum (Bourges) (40,000 in all) were slaughtered.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sights.seindal.dk/sight/766_Julius_Caesar-3.html|last=Seindal|first=René|title=Julius Caesar, Romans [The Conquest of Gaul – part 4 of 11] (Photo Archive)|date=28 August 2003|access-date=29 June 2019}}</ref> Before Caesar's campaign against the Helvetii (Switzerland), the Helvetians had numbered 263,000, but afterwards only 100,000 remained, most of whom Caesar took as slaves.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Serghidou|first1=Anastasia|title=Fear of slaves, fear of enslavement in the ancient Mediterranean|date=2007|publisher=Presses Univ. Franche-Comté|location=Besançon|isbn=978-2848671697|page=50|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZIHDaGuXkI4C&q=population+helvetii+caesar+slavery&pg=PA50|access-date=8 January 2017}}</ref>