Gaul

Map of Gaul circa 58 BC

Gaul (Latin: [Gallia] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) was the name given in ancient times to the area of Western Europe that included what are now northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine River. Many Celtic tribes lived in the region and were known by the Romans simply as "Gauls".

In English, the word Gaul (French: [Gaulois] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) may mean a Celtic inhabitant of that region or all ancient speakers of Gaulish. In that way, "Gaul" and "Celt" are sometimes used in the same sense.

Gauls under Brennus attacked Rome at the Battle of the Allia (390 BC). The Romans later conquered and ruled Gaul.

From 260 to 274, Gaul broke away from the Roman Empire and formed the Gallic Empire before it was defeated and reintegrated.

Trivia

In Greek, modern-day France is called Γαλλία (same as the Latin Gallia), and the term for a Gaulish person is Γαλατία (Galatia).

Gaul Media

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  Gaul c. 58 BC, on the eve of the Gallic Wars. The Romans divided Gaul into five parts: Gallia Celtica (largely corresponding to the later province Gallia Lugdunensis), Gallia Belgica, Gallia Cisalpina, Gallia Narbonensis, and Gallia Aquitania.

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  Map of Roman Gaul (Droysens Allgemeiner historischer Handatlas, 1886)

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  The Gauls in Rome

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  A map of Gaul in the 1st century BC, showing the relative positions of the Celtic ethnicities: Celtae, Belgae and Aquitani.

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  Expansion of the Celtic culture in the 3rd century BC.

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  Massalia (Marseille) silver coin with Greek legend, 5th–1st century BC.

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  Gold coins of the Gaul Parisii, 1st century BC, (Cabinet des Médailles, Paris).

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  Roman silver Denarius with the head of captive Gaul 48 BC, following the campaigns of Julius Caesar.

Other websites

• The Gallic Wars Archived 2011-09-26 at the Wayback Machine