Gaul was a large historical region of Western Europe inhabited by the Gauls, who were Celtic peoples that formed confederation of tribes. It was located between the Rhine River and the Alps in the east, and the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees in the west and southwest, comprising present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and a portion of northern Italy. The region was conquered by Gaius Julius Caesar between 58 and 51 BC in a military campaign known as the Gallic Wars. Anthropologically, these Celtic tribes belonged to La Tène culture, which developed and flourished in Europe during the Iron Age. In Latin, this region was called Gallia.
From the sixth century BC, the territory of Gaul was inhabited by Celts, whom the Romans called Gauls, hence the name Gaul. Around 220 B.C. the territory between the Po River and the Alps was conquered by the Romans. It became the province of Cisalpine Gaul, with its capital at Mediolanum (Milan). Under Caesar in the mid-first century B.C. the people of Cisalpine Gaul received the rights of Roman citizenship. Meanwhile, the large territory stretching to the north and west of the Alps was called Transalpine Gaul, which means 'beyond the Alps'. The province became a part of Italy, although it maintained its previous name. In the second decade of the second century BC the Romans started a war against the tribes in southern Gaul. Around 120 BC, the war ended with the formation on the territory of present-day Provence of a Roman province with its center at Narbo Martius (Narbonne). During 58-51 BC under Julius Caesar the remainder of Gaul was conquered. In 16 BC, under Emperor Augustus, Transalpine Gaul was divided into four provinces: Gallia Narbonensis, Gallia Lugdunensis, Aquitania, and Belgica.
The burden of Roman taxes and the cruelty of the usurers repeatedly caused revolts by the indigenous tribes. (Revolts occurred in 52-51 BC, 12 BC, and 21 AD. The most important revolt was led by Civilis in 69-70 A.D.) The spread of Roman forms of economy strengthened the economy of Gaul. At the end of the first and second centuries there was an increase in the number of slaveholding villas, and the large towns such as Narbo Martius (Narbonne), Lugdunum (Lyon), Nemausus (Nîmes), Arelate (Aries), and Burdigala (Bordeaux) developed. Agriculture, metallurgy, and ceramic and textile production as well as domestic and foreign trade reached a high level of development. However, the economic upsurge based on the exploitation of the slaves and colony was short-lived.
By the beginning of the third century trade and commerce began to decline, and the cities became impoverished. This was accompanied by the growth of large landowning and the enslavement of those peasants who had been turned into colonies. By the mid-third century the crisis was exacerbated by the increasing pressure of the German tribes on Gaul. In 258, when the Roman Empire was in a difficult domestic and foreign position, Gaul as well as Britain and Spain seceded from Rome. They created their own empire headed by Postumus, who ruled from 258 to 268. The Gallic Empire lasted for 15 years. Its last ruler, Tetricus (270-73), who was unable to cope with the soldier mutinies and the incipient revolt of the Bagaudae, surrendered to Emperor Aurelius, and Gaul was again annexed by the Roman Empire.
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| Above, map of Gaul at the time of Julius Caesar's conquest. It was divided into four regions. The word 'Gallia' means Gaul. |