Arverni
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the hazardous lakes, see Avernus.
The Arverni were a Gallic tribe that inhabited the present-day region of Lyon, France. They gave their name to the French region of Auvergne.
The Arveni were a very powerful tribe living in the Auvergne, with their most important stronghold being Gergovia (somewhere near Clermont-Ferrand). They had been the most powerful Gallic tribe in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC under their king, Luernios, but when his son Bituitus was defeated by the Romans in 123BC and the Roman ‘Provincia’ (that is the origin of the French word "Provence") established, their ascendancy passed to the Aedui and Sequani.
One of the most famous princes in the history of Gaul belonged to the Arverni tribe: Vercingetorix. He was responsible for leading the last major rebellion against the Roman occupation of the Gaul homeland, but was defeated decisively at the Siege of Alesia by Gaius Julius Caesar.
