Gaul (
Latin:
Gallia) was a region of
Western Europe during the
Iron Age that was inhabited by
Celtic tribes, encompassing present day
France,
Luxembourg,
Belgium, most of
Switzerland, parts of
Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the
Netherlands and
Germany on the west bank of the
Rhine. It covered an area of 190,800 mi² or 494,169 km². According to the testimony of
Julius Caesar, Gaul was divided into three parts:
Gallia Celtica,
Belgica and
Aquitania. Archaeologically, the Gauls were bearers of the
La Tène culture, which extended across all of Gaul, as well as east to
Rhaetia,
Noricum,
Pannonia and southwestern
Germania during the 5th to 1st centuries BC. During the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, Gaul fell under Roman rule:
Gallia Cisalpina was conquered in 203 BC and
Gallia Narbonensis in 123 BC. Gaul was invaded by the
Cimbri and the
Teutons after 120 BC, who were in turn defeated by the Romans by 103 BC. Julius Caesar finally subdued the remaining parts of Gaul in his
campaigns of 58 to 51 BC.
