(Lat. Gallia), ancient Roman designation of that portion of western Europe which is substantially identical with France, although extending beyond the boundaries of the modern country. It was bounded on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Pyrenees Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, on the north by the English Channel, and on the east by the Alps and the Rhine River. The inhabitants, called the Gauls (Lat. Galli), were among the most prominent of Celtic peoples and played an important role in the ethnic distribution of the early peoples of Europe. The first historic mention of Gaul occurs about 600 bc, when Phocaean Greeks founded the colony of Massilia (Marseilles) on the southern coast. Greeks of a later period called the country Galatia, which in Roman times became Gallia.

Tribes in the Three Parts of Gaul.

Julius Caesar, in his Commentaries, recounted his conquest of Gaul, that part called Gallia Transalpina. He spoke of the country as being divided into three parts (“in partes tres divisa est”), inhabited by the Belgae, the Aquitani, and the Galli (or, “as they are known in their own tongue,” Celtae). The Belgae dwelt in the north, with the Sequana (Seine) and Matrona (Marne) rivers as their southern boundary; the Aquitani lived in the south, between the Garumna (Garonne) River and the Pyrenees; and the Celtae inhabited the region between the Belgae and the Aquitani. According to Caesar, the three nations differed in language, customs, and laws. His account is fundamentally correct, although he did not mention all the tribes of Gaul; nor did he recognize that the Aquitani were ethnically distinct from the Belgae and Celtae, between whom many affinities existed, notably that of language. The Belgae and the Celtae were tall, of fair complexion, gregarious, and given to fighting in large numbers. The Aquitani, in contrast, were dark, reserved, and fond of fighting in small bands.

Caesar mentioned a number of tribes belonging to the three nations distinguished by him. The Celtae included the Helvetii, the Sequani, and the Aedui, along the Rhône and Sâone rivers; the Arverni among the mountains (Cévennes); the Carnutes and Senones along the Loire River; and the Armorican, or maritime, tribes, such as the Veneti, between the Loire and Seine rivers. The Belgae included the Bellovaci, Nervii, Suessiones, Aduatuci, Remi, and Menapii. The Tarbelli were a tribe of the Aquitani. The memory of several of these tribes is preserved in the names of French cities, such as Soissons (Suessiones) and Reims (Remi).

Two Main Divisions.

To the Romans, Gaul consisted of two main divisions: Gallia Cisalpina (in present-day northern Italy) and Gallia Transalpina. Gallia Cisalpina, or “Gaul this side of the Alps” as viewed from Rome, was also called Gallia Citerior, or Hither Gaul, to distinguish it from Gallia Ulterior, or Farther Gaul, better known as Gallia Transalpina, or “Gaul across the Alps.” Rome gradually extended its way over all Gallia Cisalpina, establishing colonies in the various Gaulish towns. In 49 bc, Julius Caesar conferred Roman citizenship on the inhabitants of these towns. Many illustrious Romans were born in the territory of Gallia Cisalpina, including the poets Vergil and Gaius Valerius Catullus, the historian Livy, and the statesmen and writers Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger.

In time, the Romans crossed the Alps, pushing their conquests as far as the Pyrenees. The territory between the Alps and the Pyrenees became a Roman province known as Gallia Provincia, and the city of Narbo (Narbonne) on the southern coast was made the capital. The wars of Julius Caesar, which concluded in 50 bc with the subjugation of all Gallia Transalpina, resulted in the formation of a new province, Aquitania (see AQUITAINE). In 27 bc the Roman emperor Augustus divided Gaul into four administrative regions: Gallia Narbonensis, extending from the Alps to the Cévennes; Aquitania, bounded on the north by the Liger (Loire) River, and incorporating 14 more tribes than the original Aquitania established by Caesar; Gallia Lugdunensis, comprising the area bounded by the Loire, Seine, and Saône rivers, and taking its name from the town of Lugdunum (Lyon); and Gallia Belgica, between the Seine and Rhine rivers, with the North Sea as the northern boundary. This administrative organization endured until the 4th century ad, when Emperor Diocletian reorganized the empire. Gaul was once again divided into two sections, each with several provinces. Long before, as early as the 1st century ad, Emperor Claudius had contributed much to the Romanization of Gaul. During the period of the Roman Empire, the Gauls enjoyed close relations with the Romans, and the fortunes of Gaul in both war and peace were virtually indivisible from those of Rome.

In the 5th century ad, with the downfall of the Western Roman Empire, Gaul was overrun by successive incursions of the Goths, Franks, and Huns, who gradually destroyed the Roman power. The last Roman outposts in Gaul capitulated to the Frankish king Clovis I in 486, and the foundations of a new empire were laid in the Merovingian dynasty, inaugurating the beginning of medieval Europe.