Kingdoms of the Continental Celts - Boii

Boii (Hallstatt Celts)

In general terms, the Romans coined the name 'Gaul' to describe the Celtic tribes of what is now central, northern, and eastern France. The Gauls were divided from the Belgae to the north by the Marne and the Seine, and from the Aquitani to the south by the River Garonne, while also extending into Switzerland, northern Italy, and along the Danube (see feature link for a discussion of the origins of the Celtic name).

However, Celtic culture, influence, and language stretched far to the east of the core 'Gaul' as it was known by the Romans. Such was the power of Celtic culture that it reached the Vistula in Eastern Europe which was occupied by people who were referred to as Veneti (see feature link for more on this).

In between were the Central European lands which today form large parts of Germany, Czechia, and Slovakia. During the Neolithic Farmer period of early European history the Lengyel and Rössen cultures had primarily dominated here, with others at the periphery. Then the coming of Yamnaya migrants swiftly replaced them with the Corded Ware across much of Northern Europe and a large part of Central Europe (and an equally great eastwards extension which is not relevant here).

This created a curious and as-yet not fully-explained cultural mix which was driven and governed by Indo-Europeans who would - in the west - become the proto-Germanics. When the northern edges of the Urnfield culture met the southern edges of the proto-Germanics in the Bronze Age - perhaps continuing even earlier southern influence which came with the Bell Beaker culture - the two groups seemingly formed what can be termed 'Northern Celts', a hybrid Germanised Celtic group which eventually gave rise to the Belgae.

The arrival of the later Hallstatt culture from the eighth century BC would have strengthened Celtic culture in central Germany, and this is what would have given rise to the Boii. This vast grouping was located to the north of the Alpine region and east of the Rhine, in what became eastern Germany and western Czechia.

Although the extent of their territory is unknown, this grouping clearly formed part of a very powerful and very extensive Celtic state, or perhaps a confederation of states, one which apparently dominated many of the other Celts in Central Europe and which may even have held some kind of high kingship over them.

(Information by Peter Kessler and Edward Dawson, with additional information from The La Tene Celtic Belgae Tribes in England: Y-Chromosome Haplogroup R-U152 - Hypothesis C, David K Faux, from The History of Rome, Volume 1, Titus Livius, translated by Rev Canon Roberts, from A Genetic Signal of Central European Celtic Ancestry, David K Faux, from Celts and the Classical World, David Rankin, from The Civilisation of the East, Fritz Hommel (Translated by J H Loewe, Elibron Classic Series, 2005), from Europe Before History, Kristian Kristiansen, The Celts, T G E Powell, from Investigating Archaeological Cultures: Material Culture, Variability, and Transmission, Benjamin W Roberts & Marc Vander Linden (Eds), from The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World, David W Anthony, and from External Links: The Works of Julius Caesar: Gallic Wars, and The Natural History, Pliny the Elder (John Bostock, Ed), and Geography, Strabo (H C Hamilton & W Falconer, London, 1903, Perseus Online Edition), and Massive migration from the steppe was a source for Indo-European languages in Europe (Nature.com).)

c.600 BC

Bellovesus and his mass horde of Hallstatt people from the Bituriges, Insubres, and several other tribes, reaches the Alpine barrier with an enormous force of horse and foot. This barrier is one which has apparently not previously been breached by Celts, and they make the crossing with some trepidation, heading through the passes of the Taurini and the valley of the Douro.

This map shows not only the greatest extent of Etruscan influence in Italy, during the seventh to fifth centuries BC, but also Gaulish intrusion to the north, which compressed Etruscan borders there (click or tap on map to view on a separate page)

Once across the mountain barrier, they defeat the Etruscans in battle not far from the Ticinus. Bellovesus and his mainly Insubres people settle around the Ticinus and build a settlement called Mediolanum (modern Milan).

6th century BC

The Bebryces belong to the Hallstatt culture of Celts, along with the Boii, Cotini, Harii, Helisii, Helveconae, Manimi, Naharvali, Osi, and at least some elements of the later Lugii. They are to be found around the central lands of today's Germany or in Bohemia, territory which will later form the homeland of the Boii, and which may even be shared with their ancestors at this time.

They and other Celts begin an expansion around this time which sees them migrate south-westwards, towards southern France, the Pyrenees, and into Iberia. As they are primarily cattle herders, they take their herds with them, greatly supplementing their diet with milk, fatty cheese, and beef.

The landscape of Bohemia - the easternmost section of Boii territory and perhaps their core lands - is and was defined by wooded mountainsides and extensive farming land, a green and fertile area in Central Europe

c.400 - 391 BC

Following the route set by Bellovesus and the Bituriges, other bodies of Celts have gradually invaded northern Italy, probably due to overpopulation in Gaul and the promise of fertile territory just waiting to be captured.

The first of these is the Cenomani around 400 BC, under the leadership of Elitovius. They found settlements at Brixia (modern Brescia) and Verona (the latter perhaps being captured from the Euganei).

The Libui follow next, along with the Saluvii, both of which settle near the ancient tribe of the Laevi. Then the Boii and Lingones cross the Pennine Alps and, as all the country between the Po and the Alps is occupied, they cross the Po on rafts and expel not only the Etruscans but the Umbri as well. However, they remain north of the Apennines.

Then in 391 BC the Senones, the last to come, occupy the country from the River Utis (or Utens) to the Aesis (near Ancona, which marks the border between the Picentes and the Umbri in Italy). The Alpine Medulli tribe may also find its home there as part of this migration.

An idealised illustration of Gauls on an expedition, from A Popular History of France From The Earliest Times Volume I by Francois Pierre Guillaume Guizot

4th century BC

Back in Central Europe, Boii migrate into the region which forms modern western Czechia on the Pannonian plain. Over the next four centuries they become so closely tied to the region that the Roman form of its name, the Boiohæmum, is apparently retained (or coined) by the tribe's Germanic successors.

The name survives into the medieval period Bohemia, which remains in common use until the twentieth century and it still a regional name today. However, this eastwards expansion of the La Tène culture which is led by the Boii stops the Pomeranian Face-Urn culture from expanding any farther south.

282 - 281 BC

The Etruscan city of Pupluna suffers badly during Rome's wars against the Boii, this being the group which had migrated into Italy in the fourth century BC. Having seen the expulsion by Rome of the Senones in the previous year, the Boii raise a general levy which includes Etruscans and then set out to meet the Romans on the battlefield. Near Lake Vadimonis the battle sees the Etruscans suffer the loss of more than half their men, while hardly any of the Boii escape alive.

An Etruscan sarcophagus of a man and his wife from the city of Caisra (modern Cerveteri), which was one of the older cities, having been formed in the late ninth century BC by a melding together of clusters of Villanovan villages

The following year the Boii and Etruscans try again. This time everyone is armed, including youths who have only just reached manhood. Again they are decimated and completely defeated, and this time they surrender, sending ambassadors to Rome to conclude a treaty.

Polybius writes that constant defeats at the hands of the Gauls had inured the Romans to the worst which could befall them, so that they are able to fight the Boii on this occasion like trained and experienced gladiators.

The Boii are also linked to the Tolistoboges in the form of Tolistoboii, which therefore is an enterprising division of the main host. It is the Tolistoboges which forms the main driving force of the Celtic invasion of Thrace at this time, which ultimately results in the formation of the Scordisci confederation and the Galatian kingdom.

The modern southern Austrian region of Carinthia marked the upper edge of the Adriatic hinterland which was first occupied by Celts towards the end of the fourth century BC, and it is from these early arrivals that the Galatians and Scordisci seem to have sprung

? - 236 BC

Atis

King of the Boii in northern Italy. Killed by his people.

? - 236 BC

Galatus

Co-ruler of the Boii in northern Italy. Killed by his people.

236 BC

The Gauls in northern Italy have maintained an unbroken peace with Rome for forty-five years, the last battles having being fought against the Boii. A new generation is now in command of the tribes and is eager to test itself against the common enemy.

These tribal chiefs inflate trivial excuses in their cause, and invite the Alpine Gauls to join the impending fray. This is the first that the majority of the tribesmen know of the intended renewal of hostilities, and the Boii immediately form a conspiracy against their own leaders, as well as against the newcomers.

A Gaulish king who acts without the support and consent of his own people places considerable risk on his own safety. Atis and Galatus are put to death, and the tribe cuts itself to pieces in a pitched battle. Rome, alarmed at the threatened invasion, is able to recall its dispatched army.

The origins of the Euganei, Ligurians, Raeti, Veneti, and Vindelici are confused and unclear, but in the last half of the first millennium BC they were gradually being Celticised or were combining multiple influences to create hybrid tribes (click or tap on map to view full sized)

232 BC

Five years after the threat of war between Gauls and Rome had ended in Gaulish internecine battle, during the consulship of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, Rome divides the territory of Picenum, from which the Senones had been ejected in 283 BC.

For many of the Gauls, and especially the Boii whose lands border this territory, this is an act of war. The tribes are now convinced that Rome wants to destroy and expel them completely.

231 - 225 BC

Over the next six years or so, the two most extensive tribes, the Boii and Insubres, send out the call for assistance to the tribes which live around the Alps and on the Rhône. Rather than each of the tribes sending their own warriors, it appears that individual warriors are hired from the entire Alpine region as mercenaries.

Polybius calls them Gaesatae, describing it as a word which means 'serving for hire'. They come with their own kings, Concolitanus and Aneroetes, who have probably been elected from their number in the Celtic fashion.

While most of the Gauls of the third century BC fought fully clothed, their Gaesatae mercenaries tended to fight with nothing more than their weapons, and not even the trousers shown here

The Gaesatae are offered a large sum of gold on the spot and the wealth of Rome is also pointed out - wealth which can be theirs if they stick to their task. The mercenaries are easily persuaded, and are proud to remind the other Gauls of the campaign which had been undertaken by their own ancestors in which they had seized Rome.

This strongly suggests that a proportion of the Gaesatae (probably including their kings) are descended from members of the Senones tribe, as it was this tribe which had led the occupation of Rome in 389 BC.

Rome has been informed of what is coming, and hurries to assemble the legions. Even its ongoing conflict with the Carthaginians takes second place. Such is Rome's haste that they approach the Gaulish frontier before the Gauls have even stirred.

It is 225 BC when the Gaesatae forces cross the Alps and enter the valley of the Padus with a formidable army, furnished with a variety of armour. The Boii, Insubres, and Taurini accompany them but the Cenomani and Veneti are persuaded to side with Rome, forcing the Gauls to detach a force to guard their flank. Despite this, their main army consists of about a hundred and seventy thousand foot and horse, which petrifies the Romans and reminds them of 389 BC.

Roman military tactics may have owed something to the Samnites, with this efficient and seasoned warrior force matching the Romans and bettering them in the fourth century BC

As well as four new legions of their own, the Romans are accompanied by Etruscans, Sabines, Sarsinates, and Umbri, and more Cenomani and Veneti. Defending Rome and its territories are Ferrentani, Iapygians, Latins, Lucanians, Marrucini, Marsi, Messapians, Samnites, and Vestini, plus two more legions on Sicily and in Tarentum.

The first battle, when it comes, is near Faesulae, outside the subjugated Etruscan city of Clevsin. The Romans are decimated and are routed by superior Gaulish tactics. A fresh army under Lucius Aemilius arrives, and Aneroetes counsels retreat with their booty and army intact, ready to launch a fresh attack when ready.

Consul Gaius Atilius lands at Pisae with the Sardinian legion and the Gauls find themselves caught between two Roman armies. The battle is fierce, and the Gauls gain the head of Gaius Atilius. However, the battle turns against them and large numbers of Gauls are cut down or taken prisoner, including Concolitanus. Aneroetes is able to flee with his band of followers, and they commit suicide together.

Rome's republic was usually headed by two consuls and the Senate, but on a very few occasions the post was replaced, usually by military appointments

224 BC

Buoyed by its victory, Rome attempts to clear the entire valley of the Padus. Two legions are sent under the command of the consuls of that year, and the Boii are terrified into submission. However, incessant rain and an outbreak of disease prevents the legions from achieving anything greater.

223 BC

Two fresh consuls lead two more legions into the Padus, marching through the territory of the Anamares, who live not far from Placentia (some readings of the original text translate this as the Ananes and their home in the Marseilles region, which would be impossible given the nature of this campaign).

They secure the friendship of this tribe and cross into the country of the Insubres, near the confluence of the Adua and Padus. Some skirmishing aside, peace is agreed with this tribe, and the Romans head for the River Clusius.

There they enter Cenomani lands, with these allies providing some reinforcements. Then the Romans return to the Insubres and begin laying waste to their land. The tribe is faced with no choice but to fight, and their defeat is all but inevitable.

Roman Brixia (modern Brescia) became a typical Latin city of temples, baths, a forum and a theatre, with its Cenomani population being thoroughly integrated into the empire

222 BC

With peaceful overtures by the Insubres being firmly rejected by Rome, the tribe calls on the Gaesatae once more. Together they fight the Romans and withdraw intact to Mediolanum. The stronghold is stormed by the Romans and, following some hard fighting, the Insubres are left with no option but to surrender, their unnamed chief making a complete submission to Rome.

This act effectively ends the Gallic War in northern Italy, as Rome now dominates all of the tribes there. However, the main body of Boii in Germany still exists in complete freedom from any Roman control, and probably even Roman contact at this point in time.

218 BC

Writing in the mid-second century BC, Polybius provides both the Allobroges and the Segovellauni with their first mention in history. The Allobroges are already established on the western side of the Alps and control many of the important passes through the mountains.

The Celtic tribes of the western Alps were relatively small and fairly fragmented, but they made up for that with a level of belligerence and fighting ability which often stunned their major opponents, including the Romans

They (and 'other tribes' which may include the Medulli) unsuccessfully attempt to resist the passage of Hannibal and his Carthaginian army which is on its way to attack Rome during the Second Punic War.

Perhaps not unexpectedly, it seems to be fellow Celts, the Boii of northern Italy, who first show the mountain passes to Hannibal after the Segovellauni have escorted them through the Allobroges' lands, according to Livy in Ab Urbe Condita. Tribal politics often means using your enemy's enemy to strike a blow against them.

c.200 BC

This is one of two possible dates for the migration of a group of Boii through the Norican region to found an oppidum on the banks of the Danube (modern Bratislava in Slovakia). They also found a mint there, but an alternative date for this migration is 113 BC. More probably, migration takes place in at least two waves, with the later one being the better remembered.

The Tatra Mountains are part of the Carpathian mountain chain, and today the 'Higher Tatra' section forms part of the border with Poland

Archaeological evidence also shows a second century BC expansion of Celts from Boii territories, heading north-east into Silesia (now part of Poland) and passing through the Kłodzko Valley. This would be the main body of Boii expanding their territory farther outwards.

? - 101 BC

Boiorix

King of the Cimbri (& Boii?). Also the legendary King Boiger.

113 - 105 BC

Teutobod and Boiorix (or Boios rix, possibly a given name plus 'rix', meaning 'king', or literally meaning 'Boii king' - a title, not a name) lead a large-scale migration of Cimbri and Teutones from their homeland in what later becomes central and northern Denmark. Along the way they pick up Celto-Germanic Helvetii peoples (in territory which later becomes Franconia) and the Tigurini, but they also drop off tribal fragments such as the Atuatuci.

Their passage sparks a partial tribal movement by elements of the Boii which invade the Norican region south of the Danube by 113 BC, after defeating the Scordisci along the way.

An illustration depicting the Teutones wandering in Gaul, part of a large-scale migration from modern Denmark into northern Italy in the second century BC

They assault the settlement of Noreia, so the Taurisci, who are allies of Rome, call upon the republic for assistance. The Romans respond and report that they have inflicted a crushing defeat on the Boii, although this may be little more than propaganda as the Boii seem to be little affected overall by the encounter.

This particular group eventually settles in western Pannonia, to the south of the modern city of Bratislava in Slovakia. There they found an oppidum and a mint, although the timing of this event is uncertain.

This event can also be placed around 200 BC (see above), which would completely disconnect it from the Cimbri and Teutones migration, but clues left in the name of the Cimbri tribe and its ruler suggest that this is the more likely date.

The title 'Boiorix' should probably be taken to mean 'king of the Boii' and, since 'boii means 'cow', he was the 'king of the cow people', a tantalising clue to the interrelationship of Celtic politics and tribal leadership.

This vast map covers just about all possible tribes which were documented in the first centuries BC and AD, mostly by the Romans and Greeks, and with an especial focus on 52 BC (click or tap on map to view at an intermediate size)

105 - 101 BC

The Cimbri and Teutones have ventured so far south into Gaul by this time that they break into Italy, coming up against the Roman republic. The resultant Cimbric War sees initial Teutones and Cimbri success against tribes which are allied to Rome, and a huge Roman army is destroyed at the Battle of Arausio in 105 BC.

Consul Gaius Marius rebuilds the Roman forces, also employing numbers of Iberian Mercenaries (see feature link), while the Cimbri raid Iberia. In 102 BC the weakened Teutones are defeated and enslaved. The Cimbri are similarly destroyed at the Battle of Battle of Vercellae in 101 BC (with this battle site potentially the home of the Libici Gauls).

Boii of the Boiohæmum (Gauls)

In general terms, the Romans coined the name 'Gaul' to describe the Celtic tribes of what is now central, northern, and eastern France (see feature link for more on this name). Gaul also extended eastwards, into the region which by the first century BC was becoming known as Germania.

Celts had ruled much of this in their heyday, but by the middle of the first century BC they were fragmented. They were either in the process of being expelled by the increasingly powerful Germanic tribes which were migrating southwards from Scandinavia and the Baltic coast, or they were being defeated and integrated into Germanic or other tribes.

The Boii were an exception. They still had a firm grip on the Boiohæmum, which was centred on Bohemia, the western two-thirds of modern Czechia, but which also extended across the Pannonian basin (otherwise known as the Carpathian basin). This offered protection in the form of the Alps to the west, and the Carpathians and Transylvanian plateau to the north and east.

By the mid-first century BC, the Boii were neighboured to the west by the Germanic Marcomanni, Quadi, and Hermunduri, to the north by the Semnones, to the east by the Celtic Helveconae and Naharvali, and to the south by the Taurisci.

The name of the region, Boiohæmum, is made up of the tribe's name, Boii, plus the word 'heim', which means 'home'. Traditionally, 'Boiohæmum' was coined by Rome, and this name later evolved into Bohemia. However, the '-haemum' section is Latinised Germanic.

The proto-Germanic word for 'home' is given as 'haim' in Fordsmeyer's. Despite the spelling difference, this appears to be the same 'ay-ee' diphthong. This implies that 'Boiohæmum' in its original form was imported into Latin after, not before, the Marcomanni took over the region. The Boiemum of Tacitus would seem to be a shortening of this.

(Information by Peter Kessler and Edward Dawson, with additional information from The La Tene Celtic Belgae Tribes in England: Y-Chromosome Haplogroup R-U152 - Hypothesis C, David K Faux, from A Genetic Signal of Central European Celtic Ancestry, David K Faux, from Celts and the Classical World, David Rankin, from The Civilisation of the East, Fritz Hommel (Translated by J H Loewe, Elibron Classic Series, 2005), from Europe Before History, Kristian Kristiansen, and from External Links: The Works of Julius Caesar: Gallic Wars, and Geography, Strabo (H C Hamilton & W Falconer, London, 1903, Perseus Online Edition).)

61 - 58 BC

Despite the death of Orgetorix of the Helvetii, his people decide to go ahead with their planned exodus. Aquitania seems to be their target, where they hope to tie up with those Boii who have settled there, close to the Atlantic coast (possibly the same people as the Boiates).

The Pyrenees National Park on the French side of the western-central Pyrenees reveals a level of lush terrain and grazing opportunities which can surprise anyone who thinks of the range as being pure, uninhabitable mountains

Groups from several local tribes join the Helvetii, including Boii units from that group's main body to the north, making them one of the largest and most powerful forces in all of Gaul. As they depart, they burn their villages and any food stocks which cannot be carried, not intending to return.

In the east, according to Strabo, one pocket of Boii is destroyed by the Dacian ruler, Burebista in 60 or 59 BC. There seem to be two pockets of Boii along the line of the Danube at this time, one in Dacia itself and the other in Pannonia Superior.

The inclination is to suspect that it is the Dacian Boii who are exterminated by Burebista, but they may already have fallen as this attack also targets the Taurisci as well, and they most certainly do neighbour the Pannonian Boii. The district they have lost is later termed 'The Desert of the Boii', and it may well be this destruction which prompts many Boii to join the Helvetii.

The Roman troops of Julius Caesar prepare to face the Helvetii and their allies (which probably include some Boii elements) at the Battle of Bibracte in 58 BC, outside the oppidum of the Aeduii tribe

After some skirmishing, the Helvetii and the Romans face each other at the Battle of Bibracte in 58 BC, just outside the Aeduii oppidum of the same name. The Helvetii are mercilessly crushed by six Roman legions. Perhaps two thirds of their number - men, women, and children - are killed on the day, while another twenty thousand are killed in the subsequent pursuit.

The shattered remnants of the Helvetii are forced back to their homeland, while the Boii contingent is allowed to settle in the territory of the Aeduii. Having been greatly reduced, the Helvetii will be unable to fight off Germanic incursions which could also threaten Gaul.

Julius Caesar allows the relatively hospitable Boii to settle a buffer zone to the north of the Helvetii and east of the Aeduii, but even this shift leaves gaps for Germanic incursions, and one such incursion is already underway to the north.

The Aeduii confederation is shown here, around 100 BC, with borders approximate and fairly conjectural, based on the locations of the tribes half a century later - it can be seen that the Aulerci at least migrate farther north-west during that time, although the remainder largely stay put (click or tap on map to view full sized)

Caesar receives a federation of chiefs from tribes which include the Sequani, all of whom are suffering thanks to the Suebic invasion under Ariovistus. It is this campaign and its mixed outcome, despite victory in battle, which triggers Julius Caesar's campaigns in Gaul from this point onwards, which result in the eventual annexation of the entire land into the Roman state.

60 - 58 BC

Ariovistus is a leader of the Suevi and other allied Germanic peoples in the second quarter of the first century BC, and at least up to 58 BC. Displaying the interconnected nature of Germanics and Celts at this time, he is a fluent speaker of Gaulish, and one of his two wives is the daughter of Vocion of the Norican kingdom.

The Marcomanni also appear to exhibit cross-cultural links of this nature, albeit half a century later, although the events of 58 BC show that they already exist as a separate entity. This can probably be taken as confirmation that they already border the Boii in central-western Germany.

The Taurisci burial site at Zvonimirovo lies midway between Zagreb and Osijek in modern Croatia, and has yielded artefacts which can be dated between the Middle Ages and the third century BC, including this ritually destroyed sword

8 - 6 BC

Perhaps forced to move by the Roman campaigns of 12-9 BC, migrations of Marcomanni and Quadi from the region of northern Bavaria and the River Main lead them eastwards into the homeland of the Boii (in later Bohemia), where the Celtic tribe is subjugated by the newcomers.

The Cotini, to the immediate east of the Boii, seem also to be subjugated around this time, by the Quadi. Marbod of the Marcomanni forms a confederation of tribes which includes Langobards, Lugii, Marcomanni, Quadi, and Semnones... and the Boii themselves.

Possibly this incorporates remnants of the alliances of Ariovistus of the Suevi in 58 BC. Following their successful takeover by the Marcomanni, the large population of peasant pastoralist Boii simply change their name and language under the new administration.

This vast map covers just about all possible tribes which were documented in the first centuries BC and AD, mostly by the Romans and Greeks, and with an especial focus on 52 BC (click or tap on map to view at an intermediate size)

Boii Dispersal (Gauls)

Traditionally, the Celtic Boii of the Boiohæmum were smashed by the Marcomanni invasion of the last years of the first century BC. The surviving fragments are supposed to have scattered to the south, east, and west, breaking up into multiple groups.

However, in reality Boii had been wandering far and wide for centuries. In the fourth century BC a group wandered into central Italy to settle there. By the middle of the first century BC there were several Boii groups across Europe, accounting for much of the supposed exodus, while the smashing of the Central European Boii and the mass exodus may never have happened.

It seems very likely that the Marcomanni takeover (as opposed to destruction) of the Boiohæmum was realised by a Germanic military elite moving in to become the new nobility, ruling over an unchanged population. The same thing seems to have happened when the Slavic Czechs migrated into the region several centuries later. There exist Czechs today who have an appearance which is not typically Slavic and not particularly Nordic, which is what would be expected if the population was entirely Slavic or Germanic respectively.

The most important pointer for this supposition is that the Marcomanni leader, Maroboduus or Marbod, has a Gaulish name. There were several instances of Celtic tribes being led by Germanic rulers, or vice versa, and in this case it would seem that a powerful fighting force of Germanics calling themselves the 'Bordermen' ('Marcomen'), led by a Gaul, took over the Boii.

The 'Borderman' name itself is a potential give-away, as it was probably the Boii border to which they were referring. Following their successful takeover, the Boii simply changed their name and language under the new administration.

As for migratory Boii, one group ended up in Aquitania by the mid-first century BC, on the coast to the south of the River Garonne. Sometimes referred to as the Boiates (a division of the Biturices Vivisci) and perhaps as the Vocates (in Caesar's Gallic Wars), they found themselves neighboured by the Vasates and Sotiates.

A small group found itself in central Gaul, at Gorgobia - possibly Gergovia near Alesia. If that is correct then they were neighboured to the north by the Senones and Catavellauni. They were allowed to settle there by Julius Caesar in 58 BC, following the defeat of the Helvetii. Caesar added them to a buffer zone which was intended to prevent incursions by Germanic tribes living along the Rhine. They settled just in time to be dragged into the final Gaulish defeat at Alesia in 52 BC.

Another group entered Pannonia Superior, settling there at an undetermined date which was probably around 113 BC, as part of the Cimbric War. They founded an oppidum at Bratislava, close to the Hercuniates, but by the mid-first century BC they seemed to have been pushed southwards from it by an incursion of the Illyrian Azali tribe.

A group also settled in Dacia, which was on the very eastern edge of Gaulish reach, and with only the Celtic Anarti to the north-west through which to maintain links with Gaul proper. Either they or the Pannonian Boii may have been the target of a destructive attack by the Dacian ruler, Burebista (Boerebista), in 60 or 59 BC. The district they occupied was later termed 'The Desert of the Boii'.

(Information by Peter Kessler and Edward Dawson, with additional information from Research into the Physical History of Mankind, James Cowles Prichard, from The La Tene Celtic Belgae Tribes in England: Y-Chromosome Haplogroup R-U152 - Hypothesis C, David K Faux, from A Genetic Signal of Central European Celtic Ancestry, David K Faux, from Celts and the Classical World, David Rankin, from The Civilisation of the East, Fritz Hommel (Translated by J H Loewe, Elibron Classic Series, 2005), from Europe Before History, Kristian Kristiansen, and from External Links: The Germany and the Agricola of Tacitus: The Oxford Translation, Revised With Notes, Cornelius Tacitus, and Geography, Strabo (H C Hamilton & W Falconer, London, 1903, Perseus Online Edition).)

4th century BC

One of the earliest Boii migrations to be recorded takes place in the fourth century BC. This group manages to enter northern Italy, getting as far as Bologna, near Ravenna. They intermix with the dominant Etruscans, but are later defeated and subjugated by Rome.

The origins of the Euganei, Ligurians, Raeti, Veneti, and Vindelici are confused and unclear, but in the last half of the first millennium BC they were gradually being Celticised or were combining multiple influences to create hybrid tribes (click or tap on map to view full sized)

By the first century BC they have been forcibly integrated into the Roman republic, although they retain elements of their language which have survived to the present day.

Strabo connects these defeated Boii with those neighbouring the Taurisci on the Danube. He states that the Boii of Italy are driven out, migrating to the River Ister where they live alongside the Taurisci and fight with them against the Daci. However, this would seem to be a separate, earlier migration group, albeit with possible returnees joining it from Italy.

60? BC

The aforementioned Helvetii invasion of western Gaul meets with defeat at Roman hands. But Caesar's victory leaves him with other problems. First he forces the Helvetii back to their homeland in order to prevent more Germanic incursions into Gaul, across a border zone which is now relatively undefended.

Next he allows the somewhat friendly or at least pacified Boii who had travelled with the Helvetii to settle into a buffer zone alongside the Aeduii and with Helvetii groups.

A Taurisci silver tetradrachm produced by the regionally-dominant Taurisci around 100 BC showing the stylised head of Apollo and a Celtic horseman throwing a spear

Farther east, the Boii settlement at what is now Bratislava appears to have been 'pacified' by the Romans, who of course want the occupants to pay taxes. This is part of Pannonia, which is not fully subjugated by Rome until AD 8.

52 BC

While Caesar is tied down in Rome, the Gauls of the west begin their revolt, resolving to die in freedom rather than be suppressed by the invaders. The Carnutes take the lead under Cotuatus and Conetodunus when they kill Roman traders who have settled in Genabum. News of the event reaches the Arverni that morning, and Vercingetorix summons his people to arms.

Vercingetorix, after sustaining a series of losses at Vellaunodunum, Genabum, and Noviodunum, summons his men to a council in which it is decided that the Romans should be prevented from being able to gather supplies.

Organising the various tribes of Gaul into a unified resistance took some doing, but Vercingetorix of the Arverni appears to have held a level of authority which made him a leader not to be refused, and thousands of warriors flocked to join him

A scorched earth policy is adopted, and more than twenty towns of the Bituriges are burned in one day, although their oppidum at Avaricum is spared. The Boii in Gaul have little with which to support the Romans, and the Aeduii are showing little enthusiasm for it, but Caesar secures all the supplies he needs when he besieges and storms Avaricum, despite a formidable Gaulish defence.

From there, the two sides gravitate towards an eventual confrontation at Gergovia, likely a town of the recently resettled Boii. Now the chief of the generally pro-Roman Aeduii, Convictolitavis, is free to end his equivocation and leads a force not in support of Caesar at Gergovia but against him.

The Nitiobroges also send troops to aid Vercingetorix there. Caesar loses the siege after having to split his forces to face the unexpected threat, a rare defeat for him in Gaul.

The site of Alesia, a major fort belonging to the Mandubii tribe of Celts, was the scene of the final desperate stand-off between Rome and the Gauls in 52 BC

Vercingetorix, his cavalry subsequently routed in battle, withdraws in good order to Alesia, a major fort which belongs to the Mandubii. The remaining cavalry are dispatched back to their tribes to bring reinforcements.

Caesar begins a siege of Alesia, aiming on starving out the inhabitants. Four relief forces amounting to a considerable number of men and horses are assembled in the territory of the Aeduii by the council of the Gaulish nobility. Among those demanded from the tribes of Gaul, the Boii, Boiocasses, and Raurici send substantial numbers of men.

Together they attempt to relieve Vercingetorix at the siege of Alesia, but the combined relief force is soundly repulsed by Julius Caesar. Seeing that all is lost, Vercingetorix surrenders to Caesar. The garrison is taken prisoner, as are the survivors from the relief army.

The Vercingetorix monument was created by the sculptor, Aimé Millet, and was installed in 1865 on Mont Auxois in France

They are either sold into slavery or given as booty to Caesar's legionaries, apart from the Aeduii and Arverni warriors who are released and pardoned in order to secure the allegiance of these important and powerful tribes.

With this action, all of Gaul has been brought under Roman domination, and the history of its population of Celts and Aquitani is tied to that of the emerging Roman empire.

fl 50/41 BC

Critasiros / Critasirus

King? Defeated by the Dacians.

50 or 41 BC

On or around one of these dates the Taurisci unite with the (probably Pannonian) Boii under their commander, Critasiros, but are defeated by Dacian King Burebistas. Some modern sources show the anti-Dacian command system in the form of Critasiros ruling over both people, whereas he is simply commanding a joint force.

A similar coin to the one above which was issued in the province of Noricum, again showing the stylised head of Apollo and a Celtic horseman

AD 8

Rome finally conquers Pannonia. The result is that Boii settlements there, along the Danube, are incorporated into the Roman empire. They are fully settled by this time, living alongside the neighbouring Azali.

The Romans administer both peoples within the civitas Boiorum et Azaliorum - effectively the [client] kingdom of the Boii and Azali. The region becomes Pannonia Superior, governed by the praefectus ripae Danuvii, prefect of the Danubian shore.

487

Elements of the Boii may survive on the Pannonian plain, probably in a subjugated state in territory which will later become Bohemia. The Germanic tribe of the Rugii, which controls the area in the fifth century AD is destroyed by the Romano-German general and emperor, Odoacer.

This vast map covers just about all possible tribes which were documented in the first centuries BC and AD, mostly by the Romans and Greeks, and with an especial focus on 52 BC (click or tap on map to view at an intermediate size)

In the void which is created by this destruction, a new confederation quickly forms.

It is unusual in that it does not migrate from elsewhere but is made up from local elements, which include possible Boii descendants and Roman settlers, along with elements of the Germanic Alemanni, Buri, Heruli, Marcomanni, Ostrogoths (following the fall of their own kingdom), Quadi, Rugii, Scirii, and Thuringians. This confederation migrates southwards to form the Bavarii.