The Aedui (Haedui in Latin) were a people of Celtic Gaul.
The Aedui were established in the current French departments of Saône-et-Loire and Nièvre, and Bibracte was their capital. They have the rich lands of the Saône valley, and are neighbors (and enemies) of the Séquanes to the east and the Arvernes to the west.
They were governed by an elective chief, the vergobret.
The Romans made an alliance with them, and the senate proclaimed them brothers of the republic. Rome took advantage of the rivalry that divided the Aedui and the Arverni to intervene in the affairs of Gaul and enslave it more easily in 57 years BC. AD
Allies of the Romans who considered them "blood brothers", they had called them to their aid in the face of the threat of the Helvetii. Suppliers of military contingents to Caesar, they rallied belatedly (and not without reluctance) to Vercingetorix in 52 BC. J.-C..
The Aedui city was integrated into Lyon Gaul after the Roman conquest, with the new capital Autun (Augustodunum). The Emperor Claudius granted them full citizenship in 48, in a famous speech transcribed on the Claudian Tables.
Etymology
Aedui (or Hedui, Haedui) among the Romans, Aidousioi in the Chronicles of the Athenian Appolodorus. All these terms come from the same root which gave both Greek terms and Celtic language words:
* aithô (to ignite, to burn) in ancient Greek
* aed (fire) in Irish
* aidd (zeal) in Welsh
Thus, the Aedui would be The Ardent, The Men of Fire
The Aedui people
According to Caesar, the Aedui were the most powerful people in Gaul since they had many clients as well as the principate of all Gaul. This was to be a temporary function assigned to the chief of a tribe by the Assembly of Gaul. Unfortunately, there are few or no sources on this. We only know from the Commentaries on the Gallic Wars that Caesar summoned it and that it was not the first time that the chiefs of the tribes met. On the other hand, we know of a similar assembly in Ireland:Lugnasad.
During the period known to historians (beginning of the alliance with Rome), their power was contested. Indeed, the Arverni threatened their power but were beaten in -121 by the Roman armies who came to the aid of the Aedui. It will then be necessary to wait -60 to see the Aedui power threatened by the Sequani.
Political system
Just as in Rome, there was a senate uniting the Aedui aristocratic families. Only one member of each family could sit there, thus avoiding the domination of a single family over the tribe. Above this assembly, the vergobret, publicly elected by a council led by the Druids, exercised his functions for one year. During his functions, he was forbidden to leave the borders of the Aedui territory. Thus, he could not command the army and therefore establish a monarchy. Among the Aedui, it seems that the vergobret also exercised a judicial role.
The druids also occupied high office since Diviciacos was the ambassador of the Aedui people to the senate to ask for help against the alliance of the Sequani and the siblings of Ariovistus. He even led the Aedui cavalry during the Gallic Wars.
Known Aedui
A few names of Aedui have come down to us through the work of César or objects found on the Bibracte site:
* Dumnorix
* Diviciacos
The Aedui territory in Gaul
Geographic location
The Aedui lived south of the Lingones and west of Grande-Séquanaise; their country corresponded to a part of Nivernais and Burgundy; it was, with the Arverni, the most powerful people of Gaul. Their main towns were Bibracte (Mont Beuvray), Çabillonum (Châlons), Matisco (Mâcon), Nevirnum (Nevers). Their capital, Bibracte, was abandoned after the Gallic Wars in favor of Augustodunum (Autun).
Allied and subordinate peoples
We call here by allied peoples, those whom Caesar called "brothers and of the same blood" in the Gallic Wars", which implies a close alliance, on an equal footing. There lies between these peoples a good understanding and links cordial. Only the people of Ambarres (in the Ain) had this title.
Then come what Caesar calls the clients who are peoples politically subordinate to the Aedui. Among them are the Séquanes and the Mandubiens (from Alesia). The ancient texts do not specify their relationship. However, historians consider it plausible that the Mandubians were clients, if not a fraction of the Aedui.
The Aedui were part, on a larger scale, of a confederation of Celtic tribes with reports that are however more distended:
* Ambars
* the Segusiaves
* the Mandubians
but also
* the Brannovic Aulerci
* the Bellovaci
* Bituriges Cubes (Berry)
* the Sénons (Sens region) and therefore their ally, the Parisii
We can also add the Ambluaretes and the Blannovi[8]. However, the name of the Ambluaretes is known to us only by Caesar. We therefore do not know their exact territories or the real links they have with the Aedui.
It should be noted that many peoples join or return to the allegiance of the Aedui when they see the fate reserved for the allies of the Romans at the beginning of The Gallic Wars.
Finally, the Aedui, through the Romans, had alliances of convenience with the confederation of the Suessions and the Remes (their former enemies) during the Gallic Wars.
The alliance with Rome
Genesis
According to Greek sources, it is prior to 138 BC. J.C. According to some historians, the alliance would have been concluded in the 3rd century or at the beginning of the 2nd century, when the Romans forged their divine legends and therefore their blood ties with Troy, as well as their alliances with cities such as Massalia . It is therefore not impossible that the Aedui were integrated into these legends and therefore considered blood brothers by the Roman Senate. Indeed, the Arverni also claimed this relationship with Rome although Rome never accepted it.
Historians have conjectured some reasons for this alliance with Rome. The most likely hypothesis is to think that the Aedui territory (which controlled the Loire, the Saône and the Yonne) was conducive to encounters with Italian merchants traveling up these rivers. Others think they met through alliances with peoples from Narbonne and Cisalpine. According to Caesar, the alliance was due to the greatness of this people who held the principate of all of Gaul. Conversely, the Aedui would have acted in the same direction, no doubt knowing the power of Rome and the prestige they could derive from it to compete with the other peoples of Gaul.
How the alliance works
It is the historian Florus (2nd century who was inspired by the work of Livy who informs us about the military aid that the Romans will bring to the Aedui in 121 BC by crushing the Allobroges and the Arvernes at the confluence of the Rhône and the Isère:The first transalpine nation which felt the force of our arms was that of the Saliens, whose incursions had forced the city of Marseilles, our very faithful friend and ally, to complain to We then subdued the Allobroges and the Arvernes, against whom the Aedui addressed similar complaints to us, and implored our help and aid.We had as witnesses of our victories, and the Var, and the Isère, and the Sorgue, and the Rhone, the swiftest of rivers. The Barbarians felt the greatest terror at the sight of the elephants, worthy to measure themselves against those fierce nations. Nothing in the triumph was so remarkable as King Bituitus, covered with arms of various colors, and mounted on a chariot of silver nt, as he had fought. We do not know if this victory allowed the return of Aedui hegemony over Gaul, but according to Caesar, it was only around -60 with the arrival of Ariovistus.