Aedui: Difference between revisions

The '''Aedui''' or '''Haedui''' ([[Gaulish language|Gaulish]]: *''Aiduoi'', 'the Ardent'; {{lang-langx|grc|Aἴδουοι}}) were a [[Gauls|Gallic]] tribe dwelling in what is now the modernregion of [[Burgundy]] region during the [[La Tène culture|Iron Age]] and the [[Roman Empire|Roman period]].

The Aedui had an ambiguous relationship with the [[Roman Republic]], andas withwell as other Gallic tribes. In 121 BC, they appealed to Rome against the [[Arverni]] and [[Allobroges]]. During the [[Gallic Wars]] (58–50 BC), they gave valuable though not whole-hearted support to [[Caesar]], before eventually giving lukewarm support to [[Vercingetorix]] in 52. Although they were involved in the revolts of [[Julius Sacrovir|Iulius Sacrovir]] in 21 AD and [[Gaius Julius Vindex|Vindex]] in 68 AD, their aristocracy became highly Romanized under the Empire.{{Sfn|Drinkwater|2016|p=}}

They are mentioned as ''Ardues'' (Ἄρδυες) by [[Polybius]] (2nd c. BC),<ref>[[Polybius]]. ''Historíai,'' 3:47:3.</ref> ''Haedui'' by [[Cicero]] (mid-1st c. BC) and [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]] (mid-1st c. BC),<ref>[[Cicero]]. ''Epistulae ad Atticum'', 1:19:2.; [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]]. ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'', 1:11:2</ref> ''Haeduos'' by [[Livy]] (earlylate 1st c. BC),<ref>[[Livy]]. ''Ab Urbe Condita Libri'', 5:34:3.</ref> ''Aedui'' by [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] (mid-1st c. AD),<ref>[[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]]. ''Naturalis Historia,'' 4:107.</ref> ''Aidúōn'' (Αἰδύων) by [[Ptolemy]] (2nd c. AD),<ref>[[Ptolemy]]. ''Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis,'' 2:8:12.</ref> and as ''Aídouoi'' (Aἴδουοι) by [[Cassius Dio]] (3rd c. AD).<ref>[[Cassius Dio]]. ''Rhōmaïkḕ Historía'', 38:32.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Falileyev|2010}}, s.v. ''Aedui'' and ''Haedui''.</ref>

The [[ethnonym]] ''Aedui'' is a Latinized form of [[Gaulish]] *''Aiduoi'' (<small>sing.</small> *''Aiduos''), which means 'the Ardent ones'. It stemsderives from the [[Proto-Celtic language|Celtic]] rootstem ''*aidu-'' ('fire, ardour'; cf. [[Old Irish]] ''áed'' 'fire', [[Welsh language|Welsh]] ''aidd'' 'ardour'; also the Irish deity ''[[Aed (god)|Aéd]]'' or ''[[Aodh (given name)|Aodh]]''), itself from [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] ''{{PIE|*h₂eydʰos}}'' ('firewood'; cf. [[Sanskrit]] ''édhas'' 'bonfire', [[Latin]] ''aedes'' 'building, temple'; cf. also [[Ancient Greek]] ''[[Aether (mythology)|Aether]]'' 'god of the upper sky' and ''[[Aethra (mythology)|Aethra]]'' 'bright sky', from ''aíthō'' 'to ignite, to kindle').{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=35}}{{Sfn|Matasović|2009|p=51}}

The territory of the Aedui was situated in a strategic economic position between the [[Saône]] and [[Loire]] rivers, andin a strategic position regarding trade routes. It included most of the modern [[Departments of France|départements]] of [[Saône-et-Loire]] and [[Nièvre]], the southwestern-part of [[Côte-d'Or]] between [[Beaune]] and [[Saulieu]], and the southern part of [[Yonne]] around [[Avallon]],{{Sfn|Barral|Guillaumet|Nouvel|2002|p=276}} corresponding to the Saône plains, the [[Morvan]] granitic massif, and the low [[Nivernais]] plateau, from east to west.{{Sfn|Barral|Guillaumet|Nouvel|2002|p=271}} They dwelled between the [[Arverni]] in the west, the [[Segusiavi]] and [[Ambarri]] in the south, the [[Sequani]] in the east, and the [[Lingones]] and [[Senones]] in the north.{{Sfn|Barral|Guillaumet|Nouvel|2002|p=273}}

During the Roman period, Bibracte was abandoned for [[Augustodunum]] ('fortress of Augustus'; modern-day [[Autun]]).{{Sfn|Drinkwater|2016|p=}}

The country of the Aedui is defined by reports of them in ancient writings. The upper [[Loire|Liger]] formed their western border,<ref>{{harvnb|Caesar|BG|loc=Book vii, Section 5}}.</ref> separating them from the [[Bituriges Cubi|Bituriges]]. The [[Saône|Arar]] formed their eastern border, separating them from the [[Sequani]].<ref>{{harvnb|Caesar|BG|loc=Book I, Section 12}}.</ref> The Sequani did not reside in the region of the confluence of the [[Doubs|Dubis]] and the Arar, and of the Arar into the [[Rhône|Rhodanus]], as Caesar says that the [[Helvetii]], traveling southward along the pass between the [[Jura Mountains]] and the Rhodanus, which belonged to the Sequani, plundered the territory of the Aedui.<ref>{{harvnb|Caesar|BG|loc=Book I, Section 11}}.</ref> These circumstances explain an apparent contradiction in [[Strabo]], who in one sentence says that the Aedui lived between the Arar and the Dubis, and in the next, that the Sequani lived across the Arar (eastward).<ref>{{harvnb|Strabo|Geography|loc=Book 4, Chapter 3, Section 2}}.</ref> Both statements are true: the first in the south, and the second to the north.

By the early 3rd century BC, the emergence of grouped settlements with diversified functions, along with the creation of sanctuaries, suggest the beginning of a continuouscivilization [[Lacentered Tènearound culture|Lathe Tène[[oppidum]] settlement in the region.{{Sfn|Barral|Guillaumet|Nouvel|2002|p=271}}

Outside of the Roman province and prior to Roman rule, [[Gaul]] was occupied by self-governing tribes divided into cantons, and each canton was further divided into communes. The Aedui, like other powerful tribes in the region, such as the [[Arverni]], [[Sequani]], and [[Helvetii]], had replaced their monarchy with a council of magistrates called grand-judges. The grand-judges were under the authority of a senate. This senate was made up of the descendants of ancient royal families. Free men in the tribes were [[vassals]] of the heads of these families, in an exchange of military, financial, and political interests.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Malleson|first1=G.B.|title=Vercingetorix|journal=Transactions of the Royal Historical Society|date=1889|volume=4|pages=1–40|doi=10.2307/3678158|jstor=3678158|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1449763}}</ref>[[File:Eduens denier 1st century BCE 1940mg.jpg|thumb|[[Denarius]] of the Aedui, first century BC, 1.94 grams. [[Hotel de la Monnaie]].|300x300px]]

In AD 21, during the reign of [[Tiberius]], the Aedui [[Revolt of Sacrovir|revolted]] under [[Julius Sacrovir]], and seized Augustodunum, but they were soon put down by [[Gaius Silius]] ([[Gaius Cornelius Tacitus|Tacitus]] ''[[Annals (Tacitus)|Ann.]]'' iii. 43–46). The Aedui were the first of the Gauls to receive from the emperor [[Claudius]] the distinction of ''[[jus honorum]]'', thus being the first Gauls permitted to become senators.<ref name="test">Peoples, Nations and Cultures. General Editor Prof John Mackenzie. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. 2005.</ref>

The oration of [[Eumenius]], in which he pleaded for the restoration of the schools of his native Augustodunum, suggests that the district was then neglected. The chief magistrate of the Aedui in Caesar's time was called the [[Vergobret]]us (according to [[Theodor Mommsen|Mommsen]], "judgment-worker"). He was elected annually, and possessed powers of life and death, but was forbidden to go beyond the frontiers of his territory. Certain clientes, or small communities, were also dependent upon the Aedui.<ref name="EB1911"/>