Bituriges

A map of Gaul in the 1st century BC, showing the relative positions of the Celtic tribes.
Silver denier of the Bituriges Cubi, 1780 mg. Hotel de la Monnaie.

The Bituriges (Bituriges Cubi) were a tribe of Celtic Gaul with its capital at Bourges (Avaricum).

Their name supposedly meant "kings of the world".[1] Early in the 1st century BCE, they had been one of the main Gaul tribes, especially in terms of druids and their political influence. But they soon declined in power as the druids were an important target for Julius Caesar in his conquest of Gaul. What is more, the fact that Avaricum (Bourges) was the only Celtic city that Vercingetorix did not burn, contrary to his scorched earth strategy, upon the approach of Caesar's legions is another proof of the political importance of the Bituriges. Eventually, the town was to be buried by the Roman legions.

Besides Avaricum, Argentomagus (near today's Argenton-sur-Creuse) was another oppidum of the Bituriges Cubi.

This is one of several tribes which seem to have split, with the Bituriges Cubi lived near Bourges/Berry and the Bituriges Vivisci near Burdigala (Bordeaux).

Motto

A passage from Livy, (V, XXXIV), "summa imperii penes Biturges", meaning "all the power in the hands of the Bituriges", has become the motto of the city of Bourges.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Stanley Alexander Handford, Jane F. Gardner (1983), The Conquest of Gaul By Julius Caesar, Penguin Classics, ISBN 0140444335