Page:The geography of Strabo (1854) Volume 1.djvu/299

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B. IV. C. III. § 1.
GAUL. AQUITAINE.
285

sometimes with armies of 200,000 men, and sometimes with double that number, which was the amount of their force when they fought against divus Cæsar under the command of Vercingetorix.[1] Before this they had brought 200,000 men against Maximus Æmilianus, and the same number against Domitius Ænobarbus. Their battles with Cæsar took place, one in Gergovia,[p 1] a city of the Arverni situated on a lofty mountain, the birth-place of Vercingetorix; the other, near to Alesia,[2] a city of the Mandubii, who border on the Arverni; this city is likewise situated on a high hill, surrounded by mountains, and between two rivers. Here the war was terminated by the capture of their leader. The battle with Maximus Æmilianus was fought near the confluence of the Isère and the Rhone, at the point where the mountains of the Cevennes approach the latter river. That with Domitius was fought lower down at the confluence of the Sulgas[p 2] and the Rhone. The Arverni extended their dominion as far as Narbonne and the borders of Marseilles, and exercised authority over the nations as far as the Pyrenees, the ocean, and the Rhine. Luerius,[3] the father of Bituitus who fought against Maximus and Domitius, is said to have been so distinguished by his riches and luxury, that to give a proof of his opulence to his friends, he caused himself to be dragged across a plain in a car, whilst he scattered gold and silver coin in every direction for those who followed him to gather up.

CHAPTER III.

1. NEXT in order after Aquitaine and the Narbonnaise, is that portion [of Gaul] extending as far as the Rhine from

  1. ↑ Cæsar himself (lib. vii. c. 76) states the number at 248,000 men.
  2. ↑ Alise. The ruins of Alesia, says Gosselin, still exist near to Flavigni in Burgundy, on Mount Auxois, between two small rivers, the Oze and the Ozerain, which flow into the Brenne.
  3. ↑ In Athenæus, (lib. iv. p. 152,) this name is written Luernius.
  1. ↑ A city near Clermont.
  2. ↑ The Sorgue.
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