(Latin, Gallia), a historical region of Europe, including the territory between the Po River and the Alps (Cisalpine Gaul or Gallia Cisalpina) and the area between the Alps, the Mediterranean, the Pyrenees, and the Atlantic Ocean (Transalpine Gaul or Gallia Transalpina)—the territory of present-day northern Italy, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, a portion of the Netherlands, and part of Switzerland.
From the sixth century B.C. the territory of Gaul was inhabited by Celts, whom the Romans called Gauls (hence the name Gaul). Around 220 B.C. the territory between the Po River and the Alps was conquered by the Romans. It became the province of Cisalpine Gaul, with its capital at Mediolanum (Milan), and it was divided into Cispadane Gaul and Transpadane Gaul. Under Caesar in the mid-first century B.C. the people of Cisalpine Gaul received the rights of Roman citizenship. The province became a part of Italy, although it maintained its previous name. In the second decade of the second century B.C. the Romans started a war against the tribes in southern Gaul. Around 120 B.C. the war ended with the formation on the territory of present-day Provence of a Roman province with its center at Narbo Martius (Narbonne). During 58-51 B.C. under Julius Caesar the remainder of Gaul was conquered. In 16 B.C. under Augustus Transalpine Gaul was divided into four provinces: Gallia Narbonensis, Gallia Lugdunensis, Aquitania, and Belgica.
The burden of Roman taxes and the cruelty of the usurers repeatedly caused revolts by the indigenous tribes. (Revolts occurred in 52-51 B.C., 12 B.C., and 21 A.D. The most important revolt was led by Civilis in 69-70 A.D.) The spread of Roman forms of economy strengthened the economy of Gaul. At the end of the first and second centuries there was an increase in the number of slaveholding villas, and the large towns such as Narbo Martius (Narbonne), Lugdunum (Lyon), Nemausus (Nîmes), Arelate (Aries), and Burdigala (Bordeaux) developed. Agriculture, metallurgy, and ceramic and textile production as well as domestic and foreign trade reached a high level. However, the economic upsurge based on the exploitation of the slaves and coloni was short-lived. By the beginning of the third century trade and commerce began to decline, and the cities became impoverished. This was accompanied by the growth of large landowning and the enslavement of those peasants who had been turned into coloni. By the mid-third century the crisis was exacerbated by the increasing pressure of the German tribes on Gaul. In 258, when the Roman Empire was in a difficult domestic and foreign position, Gaul as well as Britain and Spain seceded from Rome. They created their own empire headed by Postumus, who ruled from 258 to 268. The Gallic Empire lasted for 15 years. Its last ruler, Tetricus (270-73), who was unable to cope with the soldier mutinies and the incipient revolt of the Bagaudae, surrendered to Emperor Aurelius, and Gaul was again annexed by the Roman Empire. In the fourth century Gaul was divided into 17 provinces, which made up the Gallic and Viennese dioceses. As a result of the invasions of the territory of Gaul by barbarians, the so-called barbarian Burgundian state was founded in 406 on the Rhine. As allies, the Visigoths obtained a portion of Aquitania from Rome in 418. Subsequently, the Germans seized one portion of Gaul after another. The conquest of Gaul was completed by the Frankish king Clovis, who annexed the territory north of the Loire River in 486.
E. M. SHTAERMAN