Ariovistus
Ariovistus
(âr'ēōvĭs`təs), fl. 58 B.C., Germanic chieftain, leader of the Suebi. He crossed the Rhine c.71 B.C., defeated the AeduiAeduior Haedui
, Gallic people, occupying in the 1st cent. B.C. a part of what later became Burgundy. Defeated by Ariovistus and at odds with their Gallic neighbors, they were allies of the Romans.
..... Click the link for more information. , and came to dominate much of Gaul (see Gallic WarsGallic Wars
, campaigns in Gaul led by Julius Caesar in his two terms as proconsul of Cisalpine Gaul, Transalpine Gaul, and Illyricum (58 B.C.–51 B.C.). Caesar's first campaign was to prevent the Helvetii (who lived N of the Lake of Geneva) from crossing the Roman
..... Click the link for more information. ). In 60 B.C. he was made a friend and ally of Rome, but his power threatened the Romans in Gaul, and Julius Caesar, soon after winning the great victory of Bibracte over the Helvetii, undertook a campaign against him. Caesar defeated Ariovistus somewhere in Upper Alsace in 58 B.C.