Brenn (lat. Brennus) - leader of the Gallic Senone tribe, leader of the victorious campaign against Rome in 387 BC. e. (according to another dating, in 390). His etymologically obscure name, known only from Roman sources, may represent not a proper name but a title. The invasion led by Brennus was the last capture of Rome by foreign troops until 410. Descriptions of this campaign have been preserved by Titus Livy in Book V of the History of Rome from the Founding of the City and by Plutarch in the biography of Camillus.

Bust of Brenn in the National Museum navy, Paris.

The Gauls were a numerous people. They left their homeland long ago and moved in search of new lands. Some tribes occupied northern regions Western Europe, others settled on the plains between the Pyrenees and the Alps. Later, tens of thousands of Gauls crossed the Alps and invaded the fertile valleys of northern Italy.

Gaul soldiers. Larousse Illustre 1898.

Many Gaul tribes still led a nomadic life. They moved in search of prey and new lands. They considered campaigns, battles, and feasts to be the only activities worthy of men. Small in stature, strongly built, they were born warriors. When fighting, the Gauls did not cover their heads with mud: their long, shaggy hair fluttered in the wind, and their long mustaches drooping down gave them a wild, warlike appearance. Before the battle, the Gauls wore bright festive clothes and decorated their necks with gold necklaces. Their weapons were a long sword, a dagger and a pike. The Gauls fought mainly on foot.

A. De Neuville.

A. De Neuville.

At the beginning of the 4th century. BC e. one of the numerous Gaul tribes invaded Etruria and besieged the city of Clusium, friendly to Rome. Residents turned to the Romans for help. The Roman Senate sent envoys to the Gauls. Roman ambassadors tried to resolve the conflict. Plutarch puts into the mouth of Brenn a speech in which he states that the Romans in their policy themselves follow “the most ancient of laws, which gives the property of the weak to the strong and to which everyone, from God to the wild beast, obeys.”
The ambassadors realized that they could not convince the Gauls. They left their camp and went to Clusium to report the result of the negotiations.

Soon the besieged made a sortie. A battle ensued under the city walls. One of the Roman ambassadors, Quintus Fabius Ambustus, joined the Clusians and attacked the Gallic warrior - a tall, agile and handsome horseman. The fight passed quickly. Weapons rang, horses colliding with each other snored. The dust raised by the horses made it difficult to distinguish who was fighting on the side of the Clusians. But then the Gallic warrior fell to the ground. The winner jumped off his horse and, according to custom, began to remove the weapon from the dead man. And then the leader of the Gauls recognized the winner as Quintus Fabius.
“Gods are witnesses! - Brenn shouted. “This Roman has violated a sacred custom!” He came to us as an ambassador, he was greeted as an ambassador, he was given honors, he was allowed into the besieged city. And now he fights against us like an enemy!”
For such a gross violation of international law, Brenn demanded that the Romans hand over all three Fabii. The people not only rejected this demand, but appointed Fabiyev as military tribunes. Then the Gauls moved towards Rome.

Brennus, the Battle of Allia and the First Sack of Rome.

The Romans, under the command of three Fabii, came out to meet them and met with them on the Allia River, eleven miles from Rome. Here on June 18, 390 a battle took place. The Romans were completely defeated, and from then on Allius's day was considered unfortunate in Rome.

A. De Neuville. Gauls in Rome.

In Rome, everything was considered lost, the city was abandoned. Whole crowds of people fled to Etruria. Many senators, dignitaries and others officials They armed themselves and occupied the Capitol, collecting as much food as possible into it and putting there all the treasures that they managed to save. Only the most elderly senators, numbering eighty people, did not want to leave the city. They wrapped themselves in togas and, awaiting death, sat in their chairs made of ivory in the square in front of their houses. On the third day after the Battle of Allia, the Gauls entered unprotected Rome. The senators and the first of them, Marcus Papirius, were killed, all the remaining inhabitants of the city were killed, too, and Rome burned and after a few days turned into a pile of smoldering ruins.

Paul Joseph Jamin (French, 1853 - 1903). Brennus in Rome.

Paul Joseph Jamin (French, 1853 - 1903). Le Brenn et sa part de butin 1893.

Fragment. What a pose, what a look!

A softened and kitschy interpretation. d'Allen Hatch, 2006.

The soldiers hiding behind the walls of the Capitol looked at the death of their hometown with excitement and sorrow. They rejected the offer to surrender and prepared to defend to the last man.
The siege of the Capitol turned out to be long: months passed, but the fortress could not be taken.

ITALIAN SCHOOL, 19с. Repelling the Gauls from Rome.

At midnight, a large detachment of Gauls gathered at the foot of the Capitoline Hill. Silently, helping each other, they began to climb the rock. With great difficulty, the first Gauls reached the top, followed by others who rose and began to prepare for the assault at the foot of the wall. There was silence inside the citadel: the tired defenders of the fortress were sleeping. The sentries also fell asleep. Even dogs, sensitive to any rustle, did not smell anything. Suddenly, in the silence of the night, the sacred geese located in the temple of the goddess Juno began cackling and flapping their wings. This noise woke up the Roman sentries. The brave warrior Marcus Manlius was the first to rush towards the enemy. Soon other Romans arrived. A furious fight ensued. With swords, spears, stones, darts, hands, shields, they threw enemies into the abyss. Soon all the Gauls who climbed the rock were killed, the rest retreated. The Capitol was saved.
At dawn, a signal trumpet gathered the defenders of the Capitol. The brave Manlius received the highest reward that could be given in a besieged fortress: each warrior gave him his one-day ration of bread and wine. The chief of the guard, who almost missed the enemy, was sentenced to death. He was thrown off a cliff.

by Paul Lehugeur, Paris, 1886.

After unsuccessful attempt The Gauls took the Capitol and intensified the siege. They surrounded the fortress in a tight ring. The besieged experienced severe hunger. Having consumed their meager food supplies, they were forced to boil the leather of their shields and sandals. The exhausted Romans decided to start negotiations. The Gauls were also exhausted by a long siege, disease and hunger, for Camillus destroyed the troops sent for food. The Gauls wanted to end the war as quickly as possible and agreed to negotiations. They promised to cleanse the city and Roman possessions if the Romans paid them a huge ransom, 350 kilograms of gold. The Romans accepted these terms. According to the Roman historian: “This deal, disgusting in itself, was aggravated by another heinous thing: the weights brought by the Gauls turned out to be false, and when the tribune refused to measure them, the arrogant Gaul put a sword on the scales. It was then that sounds unbearable for Roman words: "Vae victis!" - Woe to the vanquished!

P.D. Shmarov. Woe to the vanquished! 1899, fragment.

But, according to Roman historiography, the Romans managed to save both the city and the gold: Mark Furius Camillus, endowed with the powers of a dictator, interrupted the conclusion of the treaty (referring to the fact that the military tribune Sulpicius did not have the appropriate powers), attacked the Gauls with a fresh army and expelled them from the borders of Rome; Whether Brenn himself died in this case is unknown.

Sebastiano Ricci. Marcus Furius Camillus liberates Rome from Brennus. 1716-20.

It should be said that the history of the invasion of the Gauls, compiled by Livy from the chronicle of Fabius Pictor, written in the Greek spirit, is embellished with romantic fiction. All details are fabricated for the purpose of glorifying Camille. The story of the salvation of the Capitol by geese and the courage of Manlius equally belong to the realm of myth. Therefore valid historical events All that remains is the Gaulish invasion, the Roman defeat at Allia, the destruction of Rome and the failed siege of the Capitol. (c)

Wars of Rome with neighboring tribes and Gauls

Roman army. From the day of its founding, Rome waged constant wars with external enemies. The Roman army was called legion. Citizens from 17 to 46 years old were enrolled in the legion. They had to purchase weapons and armor at their own expense. Wealthy, heavily armed peasants served in the infantry, and rich and noble people served in the cavalry.

Legionnaires (reconstruction)

The poor armed themselves with bows and slings (a device for throwing stones). On the battlefield, they acted as skirmishers, showering the enemy from the air at the beginning of the battle.

During the time of the seven kings, the Roman legion consisted of 3,000 infantry and 300 horsemen; under the Republic, from 3 to 6 thousand soldiers were recruited into it. Each consul commanded one or two legions.

The legion was divided into 10 “regiments”, which were called cohorts.“Regiments”-cohorts, in turn, were divided into hundreds - centuries. The commander personally appointed the commanders of the centuries - centurions. These were simple, but brave and experienced warriors, decorated with scars and awards. More than once their experience and perseverance rescued the Roman army in difficult moment. Consuls usually knew their centurions by sight and name. Instead of banners, individual detachments of the Roman army used special badges attached to poles. The “banner” of the entire legion was the image of an eagle.

Ancient consul generals were known as strict, stern commanders. Outside the city wall, on the march, they had unlimited power over the citizen-soldiers. They could order their lictors to flog and behead any careless soldier or officer. The Roman army was famous for its discipline. They say that when the legion once set up camp near an apple tree, not a single apple was missing from the tree.

Stern commanders and obedient brave Roman soldiers won many victories. After great successes, the victorious army, with the permission of the Senate, celebrated triumph. The legionnaires then entered Rome in battle formation, with laurel branches in their hands, singing heroic and humorous songs. Ahead of the army rode a commander in a chariot drawn by four white horses. Wearing a laurel wreath, with a painted face, and in a purple royal robe, he stood on a chariot, looking more like a formidable idol than a living person. Here they carried the spoils of war, exhibited for public viewing. Along the Sacred Street, the triumphal procession ascended the Capitoline Hill, to the main temple of the city, where the solemn sacrifice was performed.

Triumphal procession (reconstruction)

The Romans, distinguished by their piety, tried to fight honestly in order to earn the help of the gods. They had priests - fecials, who interpreted every war as legitimate on the part of Rome. They declared military action by throwing a special sacred spear onto enemy soil. The Romans always called all their wars, both defensive and aggressive, “just wars.”

In the first hundred years of the struggle between the patricians and plebeians (5th century BC), the Romans annually fought with their closest neighbors who lived near the borders of Latium - with the tribes of the Etruscans, Volscians, and Aequians. From these wars, historical legends remain that tell about Roman victories and defeats, and also depict the character of the ancient Romans.

Wars with the Volscians. Coriolanus. At the very beginning of the Republic, shortly after the expulsion of the kings, the young patrician Gaius Marcius became famous in Rome for his military exploits. For the courage shown during the capture of the Volsky city of Koribly, he received the nickname Coriolanus. In those ancient times, all Roman youths respected and obeyed their parents, but Coriolanus was distinguished by his special filial piety, tenderly attached to his mother, Volumnia, who raised him after the death of his father in love and severity. “Others,” writes the ancient historian, “were brave in battle for the sake of glory, but he sought glory to please his mother.”

Coriolanus had a noble soul, but at the same time he was proud and unrestrained in anger. He despised the common people and often acted at the head of the patrician youth against the plebeians. When, in retaliation, the people failed Coriolanus in the consular elections, and the tribunes of the people summoned him to trial, the arrogant aristocrat left the city and, offended by his fellow citizens, betrayed his homeland, going over to the side of the Volscians.

Under the leadership of Coriolanus, the Volscians began to win victories over the Romans and finally approached the very walls of Rome. In vain did the Roman ambassadors come to their camp, begging Coriolanus for forgiveness and peace - the traitor did not want to listen to either the venerable senators or the pious priests. Then noble Roman women, led by Volumnia, went to the enemy camp. As soon as he saw his mother from afar, Coriolanus rushed to meet her and cried for a long time in her arms, and she affectionately reproached her son, begging him to lift the siege from the city. “Is it good to give in to anger and rancor,” said Volumnia, “but to give in to the requests of the mother is bad? Or is it appropriate for a great husband to remember grievances, but sacredly honoring the benefits that children owe to their parents is not the job of a great and valiant husband?” The mother’s pleas broke the commander’s unyielding spirit, and he led the enemy army away from the walls of Rome. After some time, the Volscians killed Coriolanus, and the Romans, in memory of the salvation of the city, erected a temple to Female Luck.

War with the Aequi. Cincinnatus. In the middle of the 5th century. BC flared up big war between the Romans and the Aequi. The consular army, which advanced to meet the enemy, was surrounded. In such trouble, the Romans decided to appoint a dictator. Their choice fell on a strict, experienced commander Lucia Quinctius Cincinnatus, who lived outside the city, not taking part in public affairs.

It so happened that several years before the war, the commander’s son, whose character resembled Coriolanus, quarreled with the tribunes of the people, and his father was forced to pay a large fine to save the young man from the court of the plebeians. Having sold almost all his property, old Cincinnatus settled in a hut beyond the Tiber, where he had the last piece of land left.

The messengers sent for the dictator found the high-born patrician in the field, where he was plowing the ground in his shirt. Seeing the state ambassadors, Cincinnatus hastily donned an old toga in order to listen to the message of the Senate in decent attire. He greeted the news of his high appointment with equanimity and immediately accepted the signs of supreme power on the spot. When the dictator appeared in the city, accompanied by lictors carrying axes and rods, the plebeians were afraid of the formidable power of one who had recently suffered a cruel insult from them. But Cincinnatus, not thinking about revenge, hastily carried out military recruitment and set out on a campaign. Having quickly defeated the Aequs, he saved the consular army from death. Then Cincinnatus celebrated a triumph and, already on the 16th day, resigned the dictatorial power given to him for six months.

Without lictors, without retinue, he returned to his house as an ordinary citizen to peaceful rural work.

Wars with the Etruscans. Battle of Kremer. For about a hundred years, the Romans fought with the richest Etruscan city named Veii, which was located across the Tiber, not far from the Roman border. The Veientes attacked the lands beyond the river of Rome, ravaging fields and stealing cattle. At the beginning of the 5th century. BC, shortly after the story of Coriolanus, a populous noble family Fabiev volunteered to repel the Etruscan raids on his own. One fine day, 306 Fabii, all patricians, set out on a campaign, solemnly marching from the Capitol to the city gates along the street, which was later called Unhappy. Having set up a camp across the river, they successfully carried out border service for about a year. But one day the Veientes, having received reinforcements from their fellow tribesmen, lured the Roman guards into an ambush. On the river bank Kremers, flowing into the Tiber, all the noble Roman warriors were killed in an unequal battle with the Etruscans. Only one Fabius survived, thanks to whom this noble family did not fade away.

The last war with Veii. The last fierce war with Veii began at the end of the 5th century. BC and lasted for 10 years. In the end, the Romans installed a dictator at the head of their army. Was elected to this position Mark Furius Camillus- a valiant patrician, the best commander of those years. By order of the dictator, the Romans dug under the walls of the besieged city and thus captured it, launching an attack from inside and outside. Victory over Veii brought Camilla great glory and even greater trouble. When dividing the spoils, he quarreled with the plebeians and was forced to go into exile. Leaving Rome, Camillus stretched out his hands to the temples of his fatherly gods and prayed that someday his ungrateful fellow citizens would regret his departure. This spell was fulfilled within five years.

Invasion of the Gauls in 390 BC In the 5th century BC From the northern countries, warlike Gaul tribes penetrated the Apennine Peninsula through the Alps. They say that the barbarians moved to Italy, attracted by the sweetness of Italian wine, which was brought to their country by an Etruscan. Gradually they populated the Po River valley and began to make campaigns deep into Etruria, attacking rich Etruscan cities. Tall, blond Gallic warriors struck fear into the inhabitants of Italy. Their appearance was unusual - instead of beards they wore mustaches; The barbarians went into battle with wild songs, and fought without armor, half naked, boasting of their insane courage. At the same time, the Gauls were not distinguished by their strength of character and easily abandoned the work they started if it did not succeed at the first onslaught.

IN 390 BC The Gauls besieged the Etruscan city of Clusium, which requested help from Rome. The Roman ambassadors who arrived for negotiations, the three Fabi brothers, violated international rules and intervened in the battle on the side of the Etruscans. Then the offended Gauls left the Clusians alone and marched on Rome. Walking past the closed cities with hubbub and songs, they shouted that they would not harm anyone, that they were going against only the Romans.

The Roman army met the barbarians on the river Allia, beyond the Tiber. The mood of the Roman soldiers was sluggish - the fecial priests explained this by the fact that the people had angered the gods by not handing over the guilty ambassadors to the enemy. The battle took place July 18- on the very day when the Fabi family died on Kremer about a hundred years ago. And this time the Romans suffered a terrible defeat: part of their army was killed on the battlefield, some fled to the recently conquered Veii, and many drowned in the river. Subsequently, for many centuries, the day of the Battle of Allia was celebrated in Rome with deep mourning - as the most unlucky day of the Roman state.

On the day of victory, the Gauls were careful not to enter Rome - and the defeated took advantage of the respite: selected warriors, senators and magistrates settled in the fortress on the Capitol, the common people fled to neighboring cities. Only the noble old people did not want to survive the destruction of the city: in the halls of their houses and in the Forum they sat on curule chairs in the attire of consuls and triumphants, courageously awaiting their fate. Entering Rome in the morning, the Gauls killed the venerable elders, plundered and burned most of the city and besieged the Capitol. The siege of the fortress continued for a long time, and one day the Gauls almost took it by surprise. At night they climbed up a steep cliff in the place that was least guarded. Watch dogs They did not hear the approach of strangers, but sensitive geese - birds dedicated to the goddess Juno, raised a hubbub and woke up the guards in time. The Gallic warriors were thrown down, and from then on the saying began: “Geese saved Rome.”

Many Roman fugitives flocked to newly conquered Veii. They organized new army and Camillus was summoned from exile, proclaiming him dictator. But the commander agreed to accept power only by law, and for the legal election of a dictator, the consent of the authorities remaining in Rome was required. Then one brave young man swam at night along the Tiber to the Capitol and, slipping between the Gallic guards, made his way into the fortress. The Senate and magistrates approved the army's decision, but while Camillus was preparing for battle, the defenders of the Capitol, suffering from hunger, tried to pay off the Gauls with gold. When the ransom began to be weighed on the scales, the Gallic leader Brenn threw his heavy sword onto the bowl next to the weights. The Romans indignantly asked what this meant, and the Gaul exclaimed: “Woe to the vanquished!”

During this dispute, Camillus' army appeared at the gates. The Romans fought the Gauls on the ruins of their city and won. Rome was liberated and soon rebuilt again - however, its streets after the Gallic fire became confused and crooked, as the houses were built hastily. In subsequent years, Marcus Furius Camillus was repeatedly elected commander and won glorious victories over the Etruscans, Aequians and Volscians, who were attacking weakened Rome. IN last year In his life, elected dictator for the fifth time, Camillus repelled another invasion of the Gauls from the borders of Latium. In the same year, he reconciled the patricians and plebeians by supporting the election of the first plebeian consul. In memory of this event, he built the Temple of Concord.

There is a story about the beginning of the Romans' acquaintance with the Gauls, which is told in similar ways by many authors. One morning, a certain Marcus Tseditsius, an unremarkable man, a plebeian, appeared before the city magistrates and told them that the previous evening, when he was walking along New Street behind the city Forum, someone suddenly called out to him. He turned towards the voice, but did not see anyone, then, however, he heard a voice louder than human, a voice that said to him: “Marcus Caedicius, go tell the magistrates at dawn that we must soon expect an invasion of the Gauls.” The magistrates did not believe the messenger of misfortune and drove him away with ridicule, but soon news came of the appearance of a new, hitherto unknown enemy near the northern borders of the Roman possessions...

Gauls in northern Italy

For a long time the Romans knew nothing about the Gauls (the Roman name for the Celts), even their name was not known to them. On the contrary, their neighbors the Etruscans had long been engaged in trade with the Gauls. The Gauls lived north of the Alps and supplied the Etruscans with metal, wool, cattle and slaves in exchange for wine, olive oil and other fruits of their country.

Etruscan stela from Felzina with the image in the lower part of a duel between an Etruscan horseman and a Gaul on foot. The Gallic warrior is depicted in accordance with the tradition of “heroic nudity.” His weapons are typical for this time. Beginning of the 4th century BC Museum of Archeology, Bologna

The Gauls were first invited to Italy by the Etruscan Arruntus, a noble and not bad man. As many historians say, Arrunt was the guardian of the rich orphan Lucumon, whom he cared for as if he were his own son. The young man responded to his concern with black ingratitude, seducing Arrunt’s wife and getting his fellow citizens to expel him. Arrunt left his homeland and headed north to the Gauls, whom he first introduced to the fruits of his country. Dionysius of Halicarnassus reports:

“Until that moment, the Gauls did not know the taste of wine at all, but instead used a fetid drink made from barley fermented in water, and as oil they used old lard with a strange smell and taste.”

The Gauls liked the wine so much that they, as Plutarch writes,

“they armed themselves, took their relatives with them and moved towards the Alps, looking for the land that produced such fruits; they considered all others to be barren and uncultivated.”

Arrunt volunteered to be their guide on the trip. Having crossed the Alps, the Gauls found themselves in northern Italy, which at that time was inhabited by the Etruscans (Tusci). Titus Livius, speaking about these events, writes:

“Even before the emergence of the Roman state, the power of the Tusci extended widely both on land and at sea. Proof of how great their power was are the names of the upper and lower seas, with which Italy, like an island, is surrounded; The Italian tribes call one of them Tusk after the common name of this people, and the other Adriatic - from Adria, a colony of the Tusk. The Greeks call these seas the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic. The Tusks settled the lands from one sea to the other, first founding twelve cities on this side of the Apennines, and then bringing colonies to the other side according to the number of cities. These colonies occupied all the land beyond the Padus up to the Alps, except for a corner of the Veneti who lived along the bend of the sea.”

The Etruscan country, according to Plutarch, was at that time a continuous garden. There were vast pastures, beautifully watered by rivers, and there were eighteen magnificent large cities with a rich and active population. Once in Italy, the Gauls defeated the Etruscans in battle, drove them out of the land they occupied and settled on their lands themselves.

Dispersal of Gauls

Greek and Roman historians describe several successive waves of migrations. The first, according to Titus Livy, through the Western Alpine passes, perhaps through Montgenevre with a height of 1854 meters, were the Gauls of Belovez, which included the youth of the Biturigs, Arverni, Aedui, Carnutes and many other tribes, into Italy. They occupied the country between the left bank of the Po and the southern slopes of the Alps. Livy tells a curious story related to their appearance:

“Having learned that the place they had chosen for settlement was called the Insubrian field, they considered this a good omen, since one of the branches of the Aedui tribe is called the Insubrians. They founded the city of Mediolan there."

Mediolan, ancient name Milan, like the name of the Irish province of Mide, indicates the symbolism of the middle, perhaps the center of the domain. The toponym “Field of Insubra,” mentioned by Livy, may be an echo of even earlier migrations from beyond the Alps, as a result of which the Lepontii settled in the canton of Ticino in southern Switzerland. The fragments of their language known from inscriptions today mainly belong to the Celtic group, although a number of words, such as the common word pala "stone", show a very archaic origin, going back to the middle of the first millennium BC.

Next after the Insubri, the Cenomanians came to Italy under the leadership of Elitobius, who, following the trail of the first settlers, crossed the Alps along the same pass. They settled downstream the Po, in the area of ​​Brixia (Brescia) and Verona. Archaeologists here clearly distinguish their La Tène culture, which differs sharply from the archaeological culture of the local population.

Map of the settlement of Gallic tribes in northern Italy

Then the Boii and Lingons appeared through the Penine Pass (Great St. Bernard). Since the transpadan region was already inhabited by other tribes, the new arrivals crossed the Po and settled on the southern bank of the river all the way to the foothills of the Apennines. The capital of the Boii was Bononia (Bologna). In the west, the area of ​​their possessions extended to Mutina (Modena) and Parma, in the south - to the shores of Utent (Montoye). The Lingons were their neighbors and lived south of the mouth of the Po.

The last to come were the Senones, who settled even further south than the Lingones and captured the land of the Etruscans and Umbrians between Utent and Esis (Esino). Over time, after the name of the new owners, this entire area began to be called the “Gallic Field”. Here they are known thanks to striking archaeological finds and numerous La Tène weapons from Montefortino d'Arcevia. It was the Senones in 396 BC. destroyed the rich Etruscan city of Melpum, and even later besieged Clusium and attacked Rome.

Battle of Allia

The legend about the capture of Rome by the Gauls has been preserved by many historians and, in general terms, looks like this. In 390 BC, according to Livy, or, more likely, in 387 BC, as Polybius dates this event, the Gauls besieged the Etruscan city of Clusium. The Etruscans sent an embassy asking for help to Rome, although they had previously had no treaty or friendship with the Romans. However, the Roman Senate took upon itself mediation responsibilities and sent an embassy of three Fabian brothers to Clusium with instructions to settle the matter peacefully.

The Gauls received the ambassadors with honor, but flatly refused to leave the Etruscans alone. When asked by what right they attacked the friends of the Roman people and demanded land from them, the leader of the Gauls Brennus replied:

“Our right is in arms, and for brave men there are no prohibitions.”

Military operations continued. The ambassadors, violating the then international law, took part in them on the side of the Etruscans. One of them even killed a Gallic leader and was identified when he removed his armor.

The angry Gauls demanded that the Senate hand over the perpetrators. The Senate refused, citing the fact that the Fabii were elected military tribunes for the next year. Then the enraged Gauls lifted the siege of Clusium and quickly moved straight towards Rome.

The Romans hastily gathered an army and marched out to meet them. On July 18, on the banks of the Allia, a small tributary of the Tiber, which flowed into it from the left side near the city of Fiden, a battle took place in which the Romans, without taking care either to fortify the camp or the escape routes, were completely defeated. Their army mainly consisted of recruits, who were horrified by the mere ferocity of the Gauls and their battle cry, and fled, unable to withstand even the first onslaught. Livy writes:

“No one died in the battle, all those killed were hit in the back when the stampede began, and the crush made escape difficult. A terrible massacre occurred on the banks of the Tiber, where, throwing away their weapons, the entire left wing fled. Many who could not swim or were weakened by the weight of armor and clothing were swallowed up by the abyss. However, the majority reached Vei without difficulty, from where they did not send not only help to Rome, but even news of the defeat.”

The Gauls defeat the Romans at the Battle of Allia in 387 BC.

The day of the disaster at Allia was forever included in the Roman calendar as a day of mourning.

Gallic pogrom of Rome

In Rome itself there was terrible confusion. The majority of the population, along with the most revered objects of worship, were evacuated to neighboring cities. Only a small part of the army, together with the young members of the Senate, took refuge on the Capitol. The elderly senators did not want to leave their homes and remained in their homes.

The Gauls appeared near the city the day after the battle. The city was plundered and burned, the remaining inhabitants, including old senators, were killed. The Gauls' attempt to immediately capture the Capitol was unsuccessful due to the steep slopes of the hill. Then the enemies launched a night attack, described in the famous legend.

“Under the cover of darkness, they first sent an unarmed spy ahead to reconnoiter the road, and then they all climbed up. Where it was cool, they passed weapons from hand to hand; some offered their shoulders, others climbed on them in order to then pull the first out; if necessary, everyone pulled each other up and made their way to the top so quietly that they not only deceived the vigilance of the guards, but did not even wake up the dogs... But their approach did not hide from the geese, which, despite the acute shortage of food, have not yet been eaten, for they were dedicated to Juno. From their cackling and the flapping of their wings, Marcus Manlius, the famous warrior who was consul three years ago, woke up. Grabbing his weapon and at the same time calling the others to arms, he, amid general confusion, rushed forward and, with a blow from his shield, knocked down the Gaul, who was already standing on the top. Rolling down, the Gaul carried those along with him in his fall. who rose after him, and Manlius began to strike the rest... Soon other Romans came running: they began to throw arrows and stones, throwing enemies off the cliffs. Amidst the general collapse, the Gallic detachment rolled towards the abyss and fell down.”

So geese entered history (and the famous saying) as the saviors of Rome. Manlius, nicknamed Capitoline, received a great reward for his feat: each soldier on the Capitol gave him half a pound of flour and a quart of wine from his ration. The sentry, who had fallen asleep at his post, was thrown down from the top of the cliff.

Gallic horseman on a Greek vase painting from Apulia, 4th century BC.

The siege of the Capitol lasted seven months. The besieged suffered from hunger, but the position of the besiegers was little better. Due to the lack of food and the summer heat, illness began among them. In addition to this, the Gauls received news that the Veneti had invaded their region. Therefore, when the Romans proposed to start peace negotiations, the Gauls agreed to leave the city for a ransom of 1 thousand pounds of gold.

During the weighing procedure, the Romans noticed that the weights brought by the Gauls were fake. They began to protest, and then the Gallic leader Brennus said "Woe to the vanquished"! threw his belt with a sword onto the scales. Having received the gold, the Gauls left Rome.

The patriotic feeling of the Romans could not come to terms with the shame of defeat, so they subsequently decorated the story of these events with fiction. Allegedly, during a dispute over weights, an army appeared in the vicinity of the city, consisting of fugitives from the battlefield of Allia, commanded by the famous exile Marcus Furius Camillus.

Camillus proudly declared to the barbarians that the Romans were accustomed to saving their fatherland with iron, not gold. In the battle, which took place right on the ruins of the burned city, the Gauls were put to flight, and the next day they were completely destroyed, so that there was no one left who could tell about this defeat. Grateful fellow citizens called Camillus “the father of the fatherland” and the second founder of Rome after Romulus. Most likely, this legend belongs to the realm of fantasy.

Roman fear of the Gauls

Although the Gauls left Latium, this did not mean that the danger was over. As mentioned above, at least from the beginning of the 4th century BC. The Gauls settled in northern Italy as permanent residents. From here they carried out military campaigns in various directions, mainly against rich Etruscan cities. The Gauls were accepted as mercenaries military service rulers of the cities of Magna Graecia.

In 387 BC. The Syracusan tyrant Dionysius the Elder founded a colony in Ancona, on the Adriatic coast, near the territory occupied by the Senones. An alliance was soon concluded with them, so that the Senones took part as mercenaries in the expedition of Dionysius against the Etruscan port of Pyrgi in 384–383 BC.

After this, Ancona continued to be a traditional recruiting ground for Gallic mercenaries for at least the next 30 years. Most of them served in the south of Italy and Sicily, where clear traces of their long-term stay remain.

Celtic helmet from a rich burial at Canosa di Puglia, southern Italy, 4th century BC. The warrior buried in the grave was most likely the leader of the Celtic mercenaries in Greek service

In 367 BC. Dionysius transported a detachment of Gallic mercenaries to Greece to help his allies, the Spartans. Their unusual appearance and military techniques made a strong impression on the Greeks. Having successfully fought in Greece for a year, the mercenaries then returned to Italy.

Several times large groups The Gauls on their way south passed dangerously close to Rome. In 366 BC. They tried to attack the city again, but this time they were repulsed by Mark Furius Camillus. In 360 BC. a large army of Gauls heading to Campania passed within one mile of the city outskirts. And in 348 BC. they even set up camp on Mount Alban until Lucius Furius Camillus, the son of the famous savior of Rome, drove them out of there.

An Italian horseman hits a Gallic infantryman with a spear. Relief of an Etruscan sarcophagus from Chiusi, 3rd century. BC

In 295 BC. The Etruscans contracted the Senones for the war, which they, in alliance with the Umbrians and Samnites, waged against Rome. The decisive battle took place at Sentin, southwest of Ancona. The Roman forces included two consular armies consisting of 4 legions and equal numbers of allied contingents, totaling about 38 thousand soldiers. Their opponents had comparable forces.

At the beginning of the battle, the Gauls, with the help of their chariots, managed to break through wide gaps in the Roman ranks on the left flank. In this battle, the consul Publius Decius Mus, who commanded here, also fell. Meanwhile, another consul, Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus, overthrew the Samnites who stood against him, and then struck the advancing Gauls in the rear. They could not withstand the blow and fled. 25 thousand Gauls died, 8 thousand were captured. Roman losses in the battle amounted to almost 9 thousand people

Stele from Bormio in northern Italy depicting a Gallic trumpeter and standard bearer

In 284 BC. The Senones attacked the Etruscan city of Arretium (Arezzo), allied with the Romans. The Roman consul Lucius Caecilius came to the aid of the allies, but was defeated and died in a battle near the city walls. In his place, the Romans sent Manius Curius, and sent an embassy to the Senones to negotiate about the prisoners. The Gauls did not negotiate for peace, and the ambassadors were treacherously killed. Then the Romans gathered a new army, invaded the possessions of the Senones and defeated them in a great battle. Many Gauls died, the rest were expelled from their land by the victors. The next year, the Romans brought three colonies to new possessions at once: Seine, Castres and Adria.

The Senones who survived the massacre fled to their neighbors, the Boii, who in 282 BC. with all their troops came out in their defense. In a great battle near Lake Vadimon they were completely defeated, after which they asked the Romans for peace.

Literature

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2. Collis J. Celts: origins, history, myth. - M., 2007.
3. Powell T. Celts. Warriors and magicians. M., 2003.
4. Shirokova N. S. Relocations of the Celts // City and State in Ancient Societies. L., 1982.
5. Phillip Y. Celts and Celtic civilization. Prague. 1961.
6. Collis, J. R. The European Iron age. London, 1984.
7. Cunliffe B. Ancient celts. Oxford, 1997.

Which a century and a half earlier occupied the Pada Valley. This invasion was one of the predatory campaigns that are often found in the history of the Celts, a warlike people who loved movement and did not know how to live peacefully in their homeland (pages 2 and 3). The border Etruscan fortress of Melp was taken by these Gauls; they now moved further south; they terrified the residents Central Italy, this impression is reflected in the features with which ancient historians describe them. They were tall; their wild expression, long shaggy hair and large mustaches gave them a terrible look; their swift courage, their numbers, the noise of many trumpets and horns instilled awe in the troops marching against them. But if the opponents did not succumb to fear, then even though they were small in number, they were overcome by countless crowds of these barbarians who lacked discipline, order and stamina. Their armament was poor: only a few had armor; their shields, the height of a man, were narrow, weak and uncomfortable; They rushed at the enemy with wide, thin, poorly tempered swords, which often became jagged and spoiled at the first blow to the iron. They were vain, loved gold outfits, loved to decorate their weapons with gold. A noble Gaul, when he went into battle, certainly had valuable gold bracelets on his hands and heavy gold rings on his neck; but sometimes upper part his body was naked: the Gauls often threw off their colorful checkered cloaks bright colors. They usually fought on foot; but they also had mounted detachments; Each free mounted warrior was followed by two servants, also on horses; The Gauls also had military chariots, which were driven by servants who covered the master in battle with their bodies. In many features the Gauls resemble medieval knights; for example, they had a custom, alien to the Romans and Greeks, of fighting each other in duels and, like knights, they loved to feast wildly; They had no wine, they drank beer and honey. Before a battle, a fighter would often step forward, mock the enemy with words and gestures, and challenge the bravest to fight him one on one; but also in peacetime They, wearing shiny armor, fought among themselves in duels. Having received a wound, the Gaul lengthened its cut in order to boast of a long scar. In the conquered lands they exterminated the population, destroyed cities and fields. They cut off the heads of killed enemies and tied them by the hair to the manes of their horses; They nailed the skulls of noble killed enemies to the walls of the house and these trophies were preserved by descendants. Such was the enemy who now besieged the walls of Clusium.

Legend says that one of the citizens of Clusium, whose family honor was insulted by a noble libertine, called for revenge on the Gauls from beyond the Alps: by pack route through the mountains he brought them furs with wine and oil, baskets of dried figs and excited them to take possession of the country that produces such beautiful things, told them that it was easy, because its inhabitants were not warlike people; Having obeyed him, the Gauls rose with their wives and children and went through the mountains to Clusium.

Siege of Clusium

According to the story of Roman historians, the inhabitants of Clusium asked the Romans for help. The Senate believed that it would be enough to send ambassadors that the Gauls, at their request, would retreat, and sent three Fabii to announce to the Gauls that Clusius was under the protection of Rome, and to demand that they retreat from him. The Gauls said that they agreed to reconcile with Clusium if its inhabitants ceded to them part of their region, that they had the right to this, because the land belonged to the sword of the brave. The ambassadors took this answer as a mockery and, entering Clusium, took part in the sortie of the besieged; one of the ambassadors, Quintus Fabius, killed a noble Gaul in battle and was recognized when he removed his weapons. The Gaul commander Brennus immediately ordered a retreat to be sounded so that the blood of the ambassadors would not be shed by his people, and decided to demand satisfaction from the Romans for the fact that the ambassadors had violated international law. He chose the three largest from his huge warriors and sent them to Rome to demand the extradition of the perpetrators. The majority of senators believed that the demand was fair, that they should fulfill it and clear the republic of complicity in the violation international law; but the people, who were left to decide the case, refused justice to the foreigners, taking pity on the citizens. He chose all three accused as military tribunes with consular power and announced to the Gaul ambassadors that while a Roman held this rank, he was not subject to any trial; and when a year will pass, then, if the anger of the Gauls still continues, let them renew their demand.

Battle of Allia

When this answer, similar to a mockery, was conveyed to Brennus, he immediately abandoned the siege of Clusium and marched on Rome. Countless hordes of infantry and cavalry covered the fields. Their wild scream filled the air; trembling villagers fled to the cities; but the Gauls walked by without harming anyone; They shouted to the guards standing on the walls that they were going to Rome. They had already crossed the Tiber, reached the stone of the eleventh mile from Rome, when the Roman army met them, at the confluence of the small river Allia into the Tiber. The huge Gauls with swords in strong hands, fiercely rushing into battle, terrified the Romans so much that the ranks of the legions quickly collapsed. The defeat at Allia was so complete that almost the entire Roman army was exterminated; only a few managed to hide in the neighboring forest, or cross the Tiber and go to Veii, standing empty. Many, throwing themselves in armor into the river running into the Tiber from the Crustumeria mountains between the steep banks, drowned in its fast waters, others fell under the darts of the Gauls. The entire Roman army was sent on the campaign due to the incomprehensible carelessness and inability of the military leaders, who did not prepare a fortified camp, did not leave a reserve to cover the retreat: they all died, except for a few who managed to escape in scattered crowds. Rome remained defenseless against the irritated victors; if they had immediately moved against him, the Roman state would have perished; perhaps every memory of Rome would have disappeared without a trace. But, fortunately, the Gauls, who did not know discipline, scattered throughout the surrounding area and spent two days in robbery, drunkenness and murder. This gave the Romans time to take away sacred things from the city, or hide sacred things, collect several food supplies in the Capitol, set up a garrison there, remove women, children, old people from the city, and take away the most valuable property. Those fleeing crossed the bridge to the Janiculum in a long line and dispersed to neighboring cities. But there were several old men who could not be persuaded to leave; they wanted to die as atoning sacrifices for the fatherland.

Gauls in Rome

On the third day the Gauls appeared in front of the Collin Gate; meeting no resistance, they entered the defenseless city. They were scared as they walked through the empty streets where the silence of death reigned. The houses were locked; The enemies moved slowly and carefully until they reached the forum. Having reached it, they saw that on a steep height in the fortress there were armed men, and on the far side of the forum they saw eighty old men sitting on curule chairs; these old men had such a majestic appearance that they seemed like creatures upper world. The Gauls at first thought whether it was the gods who had come to Rome to save him, or to avenge him. Finally, one Gaul approached the old men and touched the gray beard of one of them; old man, former consul Manius Papirius angrily hit the Gaul on the head with his ivory staff. The barbarians rushed at the old men and killed them all. Then they dispersed through the empty streets, looting and burning houses. The entire city turned to ashes, except for the stone temples and a few houses on the Palatine Hill, which the military leaders kept for themselves to live in.

Siege of the Capitol

But soon the Gauls had to regret that they burned the city. They wanted to take the Capitol by storm, but the remaining soldiers in it, numbering about a thousand people, bravely defended themselves and repelled several attacks; the Gauls decided to force them to surrender by starvation. But the position of the besiegers became difficult. The besieged had water because there was a well on the Tarpeian rock; they also had some supply of food supplies, and the Gauls in the empty ashes of Rome soon began to suffer from hunger; Diseases appeared in their army. The heat of summer and fatal to northern people autumn air Rome was afflicted with fever and infection, and the Gauls died in droves, like herds from pestilence. The place where they burned the dead retained the name of the Gallic cemetery. Detachments of Gauls went south into the Latin land, plundered, devastated it, burned villages and cities. One night the Gauls wanted to climb to the Capitol along a steep rock, which the brave Roman Pontius Cominius had climbed the night before, bringing the news to his compatriots that the soldiers gathered in Veii would soon come to their aid. The Gauls managed to climb up, but the courageous Marcus Manlius, awakened by the cry and noise of the wings of the geese who were at the temple Juno, ran and knocked down the Gaul, whose head was already above the rock terrace; falling, this Gaul overthrew those who climbed up after him. Thus, the Gauls' attempt ended in failure. The captain of the guard, carelessly performing his duty, had his hands tied and pushed off a cliff; and each Roman gave half a pound of bread and a quarter of a mug of wine to the savior of the Capitol. – The Gauls showed great firmness; For seven months they stood around the Capitol, hoping by hunger to force the besieged to surrender. And indeed, the famine in the Capitol reached the point that the besieged ate the skin of shields, ate soles; By cunning, they were able to instill in the Gauls the opinion that they had food supplies in abundance, and the Gauls at that time received news that the Veneti, taking advantage of their absence, attacked their land; so they agreed to leave, receiving a thousand pounds of gold for it.

The Treaty of Brennus and the Gauls' Retreat

When, when weighing gold, the Romans complained that the Gauls were using false scales, Brennus put his sword and sword belt on the cup of the weights and said: “Woe to the vanquished!” (Vae victis!) Roman historians add that Camillus, expelled from Rome, but elected to the rank of dictator by the soldiers gathered in Veii, attacked with this detachment the retreating enemies, defeated them and took their booty; this must be considered a fiction of Roman vanity. And in the entire story of the siege of Rome, traces of Roman family legends glorifying Camillus and other patricians are obvious. The day of the Battle of Allia (July 18) remained a day of sorrow in the Roman calendar. According to Roman tradition, this was the same day on which 300 Fabii died on Cremer. The terrible catastrophe of the defeat at Allia, the burning of Rome, the legend about the place where the shrines were buried, and about the place from which Manlius overthrew the Gauls, all this passed from generation to generation in oral stories, more and more embellished with fantasy. Chronicles, state documents; religious acts, in general everything that was recorded in Rome, perished almost without any trace when the city was burned by the Gauls.

New attacks by the Gauls

The Gauls repeated their invasions several times, but did not come in such huge numbers. They raided Latium and Campania, but were always repelled by the Romans, whose courage was tempered in these battles. Thus, for example, in the year when the hostility between the patricians and the plebeians was ended by the laws of Licinius, they appeared in the vicinity of Alba, but were defeated by Camillus, who was then dictator for the fifth time. The iron helmets that came into use among the Romans at that time protected them from blows with a sword from above (the Gauls were taller than the Romans, so they struck them on the head from above). Six years later, a new horde of Gauls camped at the bridge over Anion, just one mile from Rome. With this attack, their Roman legend connects the story of the victory of Titus Manlius over the Gallic giant, whose necklace gave the winner the name Torquatus.

Manlius Torquatus

The Gauls and the Romans, as Livy tells us (VII, 10), stood opposite each other on the banks of the Anion; the bridge separated them; neither one nor the other broke it, so as not to show fear; a Gaul of gigantic stature came out onto the bridge and began to challenge the bravest Roman to a duel. The noble young man Titus Manlius begged permission from the military leader to accept the challenge; Without putting on his armor, he went to fight with the self-praising giant, approached him so close that he could not use his gigantic weapon, and plunged a short Spanish sword into him; the enemy fell to the ground dead; Manlius took off the blood-stained necklace from him and put it on himself. The Romans, praising the winner, took him to the dictator. In artless praise and jokes, the warriors called Manlius “Torquatus” (man in a necklace); this name came into general use and became an honorary addition to the surname of Manlius and his descendants.

The Gauls, without entering into battle, went to Campania; the following year, when they were returning from there, they were defeated at the Collin Gate by the dictator Quintus Servilius Agala. The last important raid of the Gauls was in 350. Roman legend, even in this case, glorifies the heroic feat of one of the patricians.

Valery Korv

The Romans, says Livy, stood in their camp under the command of the dictator Lucius Furius Camillus. An enormous Gaul, richly armed, approached the camp, struck his spear against his shield and shouted that he was challenging one of the Romans to fight him. The young military tribune Marcus Valerius asked the commander for permission to fight him and approached him in the middle between the troops of the Gauls and Romans. This duel was marked by the patronage of the gods to the Roman; the minute Valery began the battle, a raven sat on his helmet with its nose towards the enemy. Valery was delighted to realize that the raven had been sent by the gods and said a prayer: “If any of the gods or goddesses sent me this winged messenger, then may he mercifully help me,” and - lo and behold! - the raven not only did not fly away, but with each attack of the Roman on the Gaul, he flapped his wings and hit the Gaul in the face with his beak and claws, so that the Gaul, frightened by this amazing bird, became confused and was killed by Valery. The raven rose into the air, flew to the east and disappeared from sight. Until then, both troops stood motionless and watched. But when Valery began to remove the armor from the killed enemy, the Gauls could not resist and rushed at him; The Romans also rushed to the aid of the winner. A fight began over the body of the Gaul and, growing, turned into a general battle. The gods helped the Romans, and the Gauls suffered complete defeat. Mark Valerius, who after this received the name Corva (crow), was elected consul. – Aristotle heard about this battle with the Gauls when he lived in Pella. They told him that the conqueror of the Gauls and the savior of Rome was Lucius, that is, Camillus.

5. The struggle of the plebeians with the patricians. Laws of Licinius

Restoration of Rome after the Gaulish invasion

When the Gauls left, the Roman people were in distress: their homes were burned, household goods and agricultural tools were destroyed, the fields were devastated, the bread was eaten, or; destroyed. At the sight of the desert covered with ash in the place where the city stood, the Romans lost heart; in the national assembly discussed the question of whether to renew Rome or move to Veii, the empty houses in which remained intact. Having moved to Veii, the Romans would have been cut off from everything they had, their past, and would have lost the basis of their state and religious institutions. With difficulty the Senate managed to deviate the people from an intention that would destroy all the traditions of the past; so that this thought would not be renewed, the Senate gave all the buildings of Veii to the people for scrapping, and the place where this city stood was subjected to a curse, dooming it to eternal desolation. The Senate also made other relief for the construction of houses. Every citizen was allowed to break stones and cut wood wherever he wanted, on the condition that within a year he would build himself a house; the choice of location for construction was also left to the will of everyone. Therefore the city was built without order, without a plan; the streets were narrow, crooked, the houses looked poor and were generally small. The number of citizens greatly decreased due to the many killed and died; the Senate replenished it by giving the rights of citizens to people who previously did not have them. Thus, for example, those inhabitants of Veii, Capena and Falerii who during the recent wars went over to the side of the Romans. Of these, four new tribes were formed, so that the number of tribes was now 25. In these measures and in other concerns about restoring public order, Camill, who returned to Rome, showed especially much beneficial energy. He encouraged discouraged citizens and defended the state from numerous enemies who rose up against the exhausted Romans. The people, in their gratitude, called him the second founder of Rome.

The Romans long remembered the plight of their ancestors at that time, as shown by the legend with which they explained the ancient holiday of the “flight of the people”; she said that after the burning of Rome by the Gauls, the inhabitants of neighboring cities attacked the Romans and that they were completely timid; that the attackers demanded noble girls from them as wives, and that the shame of forcibly giving up their daughters was averted from the Romans only by the cunning of the maid.