Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume I Part 2.djvu/303

 104-r HELVETII. BELVETIL him inconvenience to be at a distance from' them : but he would not leave the rear of the Helvetii« When Caesar was within 18 M. P. of Bibracte (^AiUun), he left the rear of the Helvetii, and moved towards the town to get sapplies, for the Aedui had not kept their promise to send him com. The Hel- vetii were of course about the same distance from the phice, and probably nearly dae south of Autun ; for this position would be on their march towards the Loire through Bourbon VAncL They were thus on the road to the Santones. The Helvetii, perceiving Caesar^s movement, Ikced about and were upon his rear. This brought on a general battle. The Helvdtii fought desperately: though the battle lasted from about mid-day to night-iall, no one saw an Helvetian turn his back on the Romans. The fight was continued till late in the night, at the place where the Helvetii had their bi^gage, for they had put their carts (carri) as a fence all round. The Romans at last got possession of the baggage and the camp, as Caesar calls it; and we know what took place, though he does not toll us. Women and children were massacred without mercy. A daughter and son of Oigetorix were taken prisoners. About 130,000 men (horainum, a term which may include women), who survived the battle, moved from the field, and without halting in the night reached the country of the Lingones. Caesar was employed for three days in burying his dead and looking after his wounded men, and could not ibilow immediately. But he sent a threatening message to the Lingones, if they should venture to assist his enemies ; and after the third day he marched •in pursuit of them. On his road he was met by a deputation of the Helvetii, who prayed for mercy. The proconsul ordered them to tell their people to atay where they were, and wait for him. On his arrival he demanded their arms, hostages, and the slaves who had run away to join them. During the night 6000 men of the Pagus Yerbigenus ran away. towards the Rhine and the borders <^ the Germans. Caesar sent an order to the people through whose territory they were roovuig to bring them back; and they brought them back — 6000 men with arms in their hands, but dispirited, and probably perishing ■of hunger. Caesar treated these men as enemies: they M'ere all massacred. Dion Cassius (zxxviii. 33) speaks of the 6000 being destroyed, but his narrative does not quite agree with Caesar's. The rest of the Helvetii were sent home, to the places they came from, and told to rebuild their towns and vilbtges. They had lost all their com, and the AUobroges were required to supply them. Caesar would not Allow the Helvetic territory to be unoccupied, for iear of the Germans from the other side of the Rhine coming over and seizing it, and so becraiing neigh- bours of the Provinda and the AUobroges. But the Germans now occupy the largest part oi Switzerland, «Ad it is very probable that they did come over and occupy many of the parts which had been depopulated. It does not appear that Caesar ever went into the country to see what was going on. [Bou.] Tablets were found in the Helvetic camp^ written in Greek characters, and were brought to Caesar; in which tablets were registered the whole number of the Helvetii able to bear arms who had left their homes, and there was a separate register of children, old men, and women. The numben were as follows: Tulingi, 36,000 ; Latobrlgi, 14,000 :Rauraci, 23,000; Boii, 32,000; Helvetii, 263,000: in aU 368,000. The fighters were 92,000^ about one fourth of the whole number. A ceosuB was takes of all wb^ returned, and the number was found to be 110,000. If all the numbers are right in Caesar, vre find tame inconsistency here; for 180,000 escaped into the country of the Lingones, of whom 601I0 were mss- aacred: the remainder would be 124.000L Oot of this number, however, many might die before tbey reached their home, said some noight mn awaj. Wt can hardly suppose that all the children and woaa perished in the camp near Bibracte, tboag;fa it u possible they might get hard treatment iron the Aedui, whose Umds the Helvetu had pillaged. However, the result was that leas than a tfaiid of the whole number returned home, and the nnntber ef women that perished most have been so large as to leave very few for the men who sornved tkk calamity. Most of the Gallic states sent to eoogntohtB Caesar on his victoiy, which they afibcted to eoa- sider as mudi for their own ioterest as that of the Romans; for the Helvetii, they said, or so Caesar makes them say, though prosperous at hone^ had left their country to conquer all Gallia, to choose fior thdr residence such part as thej shoold like bert, and to make all the states tribntaij. Great refo> lutions had taken place in Gallia before ; bat a whole nation, who possessed towns and vfll^ei^ quitting their home to look out for a new ooe, mast have been moved by some strong motlTcs. The proximity to the Germans, who were troabkanaa neighbours, and the want or the wish for man room, are reasons fiur the migmtion which we csa deduce from Caesar. The Helvetii were a waifike people, and their men wanted a wider field than a countiy which was shut in by natural bonndaries. The restlessness of the wealthy Helvetii, and ezafc- gerated notions among the people of a better oonatiT m the south and west of Galha, were probably the strongest motive for the emigration. A few oca- turies earlier they might have taken the road to Italy, and Iiave got there: but that conntiy had beea closed against adventurers by the Ramans; and if the Helvetii did emigrate, there is no ooontij that we can name to which they were more likelj to go than that which they set out for. Caesar does not mention the name of a sz^le town in the Helvetian country. A few names of towns appear later, and the names seem to be Gallic: Noeodunum or Colonia Equestris [Coloxia Eqiteb- TRis]; Salodurum; Ebnrodunnm; Aventicum; and Minnodunum. Augusta Ranracorum (^Aufftt) was founded in the time of Augustus; the name is only Roman, and it is not within the limits of Caesar^s Helvetii. Basilia {Bask) is also a late fbondatiiBi. Yitodurum, in the east part of Switzerland, may be a Gallic name also ; but Switzerland does not re- tain a great many names of Gallic originaL It seems t^t the boundary between the ooontiy of the Helvetii on the east, and Rhaetia under the later em- pire, was not the Rhine above the lake of Constamt^ but the boundary was west of the Uke. [Ftxsa, Na 15.] The name Helvetia bekogs to a lata period, though Caesar uses the expression **fid- vetia Civitas." The Romans made several roads in the Hehetiaa territory. That which was made over the Jora [Gallia, p. 966] is probably the road from Orba (^Orbe) to Ariolica [Ariouca]. There was a road from Orba, through Lacos Lausonius (^Lanwmnui) and Equestris, to Geneva. There was a road from Yiblsciun ( Veoay)^ through Bromagos [Brohagus]