Aedui: Difference between revisions

{{shortShort description|Gallic tribe}}
{{distinguishDistinguish|Aedi}}

The '''Aedui or''' 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|LaIron TèneAge]] and the [[Roman Empire|Roman period]] periods.{{Sfn|Drinkwater|2016|p=}}

The Aedui had an ambiguous relationship with the [[Roman Republic]], andas well 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 empireEmpire.{{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 [[Gaulish language|Gaulishethnonym]] ''Aedui'' is a Latinized form of [[ethnonymGaulish]] *''AeduiAiduoi'' (<small>sing.</small> *''AeduosAiduos''), literallywhich means the 'the Ardent ones'. It derives from an earlier *''aiduoi'', a derivative of 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]]'' andor ''[[Aodh (given name)|Aodh]]''), ultimatelyitself 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}}

Three [[Oppidum|oppida]] are known from the lateend of the [[La Tène culture|La Tène]] period: Vieux-Dun ([[Dun-les-Places]]), Le Fou de Verdun ([[Lavault-de-Frétoy]]), and [[Bibracte]], which occupied a central position in the Aedian economic system.{{Sfn|Barral|Guillaumet|Nouvel|2002|p=|pp=272, 274}}

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.

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]]

According to [[Livy]] (v. 34), the Aedui took part in the expedition of [[Bellovesus]] into Italy in the sixth century BC. Before [[Caesar]]'s time, they had attached themselves to the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] and were honoured with the title of brothers and kinsmen of the Roman people.<ref>{{harvnb|Caesar|BG|loc=Book I, Section 33}}.</ref> When the Sequani, their traditional rivals, defeated and massacred the Aedui at the [[Battle of Magetobriga]] in 12163 BC, with the assistance of the [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] chieftain [[Ariovistus]], the Aedui sent the [[Druidry|druid]] [[Diviciacus (Aedui)|Diviciacus]] to Rome with an appeal to the [[Roman Senate|senate]] for help; but his mission was unsuccessful.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=1|wstitle=Aedui|volume=1|pages=244–245}} This cites:

After his arrival in Gaul in 58 BC, Caesar restored the independence of the Aedui. In spite of this, they subsequently joined the Gallic coalition against Caesar (''B. G.'' vii. 42), but after the surrender of [[Vercingetorix]] at the [[Battle of Alesia]], the Aedui gladly returned to their allegiance. [[Augustus]] dismantled{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}} their capital, [[Bibracte]], on [[Mont Beuvray]], and constructed a new town with a half-Roman, half-Gaulish name, [[Augustodunum]] (modern [[Autun]]).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Alpheus--Bibracte: Last Center of Celtic Occultism|url=https://www.alpheus.org/html/articles/esoteric_history/Bibracte.htm|access-date=2021-06-04|website=www.alpheus.org}}</ref>

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. 43-4643–46). 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"/>

The [[Temple of Janus (Autun)|Temple of Janus]] was located just outside the Aedian town of [[Augustodunum]]. It probably dates back to the second half of the 1st century AD.{{Sfn|Goudineau|Rebourg|19861987|p=106}}

InAt the lateend of the [[La Tène culture|La Tène]] period, religious convergences occurred between the Aedui and the neighbouring [[Lingones]] and [[Sequani]] in the [[Saône]]-[[Doubs (river)|Doubs]] area, as evidenced by the similarity in the practices at the sanctuaries of [[Nuits-Saint-Georges]] (Aedui), [[Mirebeau-sur-Bèze]] (Lingones) and [[Mandeure]] (Sequani).{{Sfn|Barral|Guillaumet|Nouvel|2002|p=274}}

According to Julius Caesar in his writings on the [[Gallic Wars]] in [[Commentarii de Bello Gallico]], the Aedui were one of the strongerstrongest Gallic tribes, them being the target of jealousin peoplesrivalry likewith the [[Helvetii]], [[Sequani]], [[Remi]], and [[Arverni]]. Furthermore, the Aedui seemed to work in a semi-republican state, with the powerful [[Vergobret]] at least slightly being at the will of the people, similar to the [[Roman Senate|senators of Rome]].<ref name="Hamm">{{cite book|last1=Caesar-Translated by Hammond|first1=Carolyn|title=The Gallic War|publisher=Oxford World's Classics|pages=3–34}}</ref>

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*{{Cite journalbook|last1=Barral|first1=Philippe|last2=Guillaumet|first2=Jean-Paul|last3=Nouvel|first3=Pierre|date=2002|editor-last=Garcia|editor-first=D.|editor2-last=Verdin|editor2-first=F.|titlechapter=Le territoire des Éduens d'après les dernières découvertes|url=https://www.academia.edu/10045509|journaltitle=Territoires celtiques, espaces ethniques et territoire des agglomérations d'Europe occidentale, actes du XXIV° congrès de l'AFEAF, Martigues, 1er - 4 juin 2000|publisher=Errance|pages=271–296|isbn=978-2877722193}}

*{{Cite book|last=NègreMatasović|first=Ernest|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rsNpi7IVulECRanko|title=ToponymieEtymological généraleDictionary deof la FranceProto-Celtic|date=19902009|publisher=Librairie DrozBrill|isbn=978-2-600-02883-79789004173361|author-link=ErnestRanko NègreMatasović}}

===Primary=Further reading==

{{PeoplesGallic of Gaulpeoples}}