Editing Helvetii (section)

== History ==

=== Earliest historical sources and settlement ===
{{see also|Early history of Switzerland}}
In his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Natural History]]'' (c. 77 AD), [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] provides a [[foundation myth]] for the Celtic settlement of [[Cisalpine Gaul]] in which a Helvetian named Helico plays the role of [[culture hero]]. Helico had worked in Rome as a craftsman and then returned to his home north of the Alps with a dried fig, a grape, and some oil and wine, the desirability of which caused his countrymen to invade northern [[Italy]].<ref>[[Pliny the Elder]], ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Historia naturalis]]'' 12.2.</ref>

The Greek historian Posidonius (c. 135–50 BC), whose work is preserved only in fragments by other writers, offers the earliest historical record of the Helvetii. Posidonius described the Helvetians of the late 2nd century BC as "rich in gold but peaceful," without giving clear indication to the location of their territory.<ref>Strabon 7.2.2.</ref> His reference to gold washing in rivers has been taken as evidence for an early presence of the Helvetii in the Swiss plateau, with the [[Emme (river)|Emme]] as being one of the gold-yielding rivers mentioned by Posidonius. This interpretation is now generally discarded,<ref>SPM IV ''Eisenzeit,'' Basel 1999, p. 31f.</ref> as Posidonius' narrative makes it more likely that the country some of the Helvetians left in order to join in the raids of the [[Teutones]], [[Cimbri]], and [[Ambrones]] was in fact southern [[Germany]] and not [[Switzerland]].

That the Helvetians originally lived in southern Germany is confirmed by the [[Alexandria]]n geographer [[Ptolemy|Claudius Ptolemaios]] (c. 90–168 AD), who tells us of an Ἐλουητίων ἔρημος (i.e. "Helvetic deserted lands") north of the [[Rhine]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Geographia|author=Ptolemy|language=el|chapter= Vol I.Book II.11.10|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4ksBAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA117|publisher=[[Tauchnitz publishers|Karl Tauchnitz]]|place=Leipzig|year=1843|page=117}}</ref> [[Tacitus]] knows that the Helvetians once settled in the swath between [[Rhine]], [[Main (river)|Main]], and the [[Hercynian forest]].<ref>Germ. 28.2.</ref> The abandonment of this northern territory is now usually placed in the late 2nd century BC, around the time of the first Germanic incursions into the Roman world, when the Tigurini and Toygenoi/Toutonoi are mentioned as participants in the great raids.

At the later [[Turicum (Zürich)|Vicus ''Turicum'']], probably in the first 1st century BC or even much earlier, the Celts settled at the [[Lindenhof hill|Lindenhof Oppidium]]. In 1890, so-called ''[[Potin]] lumps'' were found, whose largest weights {{convert|59.2|kg|lb|0}} at the [[Prehistoric pile dwellings around Zürichsee|Prehistoric pile dwelling settlement]] ''[[Alpenquai]]'' in Zürich, Switzerland. The pieces consist of a large number of fused [[Celts|Celtic]] coins, which are mixed with charcoal remnants. Some of the 18,000 coins originate from the ''Eastern Gaul'', others are of the ''Zürich'' type, that were assigned to the local ''Helvetii'', which date to around 100 BC. The find is so far unique, and the scientific research assumes that the melting down of the lump was not completed, therefore the aim was to form cultic offerings. The site of the find was at that time at least {{convert|50|m|ft|0}} from the lake shore, and probably {{convert|1|m|ft|0}} to three meters deep in the water.<ref name="potinklumpen">''Keltisches Geld in Zürich: Der spektakuläre «Potinklumpen»''. Amt für Städtebau der Stadt Zürich, Stadtarchäologie, Zürich October 2007.</ref><ref name="michaelnick">{{cite web|url=http://ca.www.mcu.es/museos/docs/MC/ActasNumis/75_kilogrammes_of_Celtic.pdf|title=75 kilogrammes of Celtic small coin - Recent research on the "Potinklumpen" from Zürich|publisher=Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, España|author=Michael Nick|access-date=2014-12-12}}</ref> There's also an island sanctuary of the Helvetii in connection with the settlement at the preceding Oppidi Uetliberg on the former ''[[Grosser Hafner]]'' island,<ref>Beat Eberschweiler: ''Schädelreste, Kopeken und Radar: Vielfältige Aufgaben für die Zürcher Tauchequipe IV''. In: NAU 8/2001. Amt für Städtebau der Stadt Zürich, Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Unterwasserarchäologie / Labor für Dendrochronologie. Zürich 2001.</ref> as well as the settlement ''[[Kleiner Hafner]]''<ref name="palafittes-übersicht">{{cite web|url=http://www.palafittes.org/en/unesco-world-heritage/sites-switzerland/index.html|title=Prehistoric Pile Dwellings in Switzerland|publisher=Swiss Coordination Group UNESCO Palafittes (palafittes.org)|access-date=2014-12-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007220441/http://www.palafittes.org/en/unesco-world-heritage/sites-switzerland/index.html|archive-date=2014-10-07|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="palafittes-heritage">{{cite web|url=http://www.palafittes.org/en/unesco-world-heritage/world-heritage/index.html|title=World Heritage|publisher=palafittes.org|access-date=2014-12-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141209212026/http://www.palafittes.org/en/unesco-world-heritage/world-heritage/index.html|archive-date=2014-12-09|url-status=dead}}</ref> at the [[Sechseläutenwiese|''Sechseläuten square'']] on the effluence of the [[Limmat]] on [[Zürichsee]] lake shore.

=== First contact with the Romans ===
{{see also|Switzerland in the Roman era}}
[[Image:Charles Gleyre Les Romans p.jpg|thumb|300px|«Die Helvetier zwingen die Römer unter dem Joch hindurch» (''"The Helvetians force the Romans to pass under the yoke"''). Romantic painting by [[Charles Gleyre]] (19th century) celebrating the Helvetian victory over the Romans at Agen (107 BC) under [[Divico]]'s command.]]
The Germanic tribes of the [[Cimbri]] and [[Ambrones]] probably reached southern Germany around the year 111 BC, where they were joined by the [[Tigurini]], and, probably the [[Teutons|Teutoni-Toutonoi-Toygenoi.]] (The precise identity of the latter group is unclear).<ref>Posidonius saw the Toutonoi/Teutoni as a subgroup of the Helvetii. Cf. Furger-Gunti, p. 76f.</ref>

The tribes began a joint invasion of Gaul, including the Roman [[Provincia Narbonensis]]. A Roman army under the consul [[Lucius Cassius Longinus (consul 107 BC)|L. Cassius Longinus]] opposed them. At the [[Battle of Burdigala]] near [[Agen]]dicum in 107 BC, the Tigurini killed Longinus and captured many of his soldiers. According to Caesar, the captured Roman soldiers were ordered to pass under a yoke set up by the triumphant Gauls, a dishonour that called for both public as well as private vengeance.<ref>Bell.Gall. 1.12.</ref> Caesar is the only narrative source for this episode, as the corresponding books of [[Livy]]'s histories are preserved only in the ''Periochae'', short summarising lists of contents, in which hostages given by the Romans, but no yoke, are mentioned.<ref>''L. Cassius cos. a Tigurinis Gallis, pago Heluetiorum, qui a ciuitate secesserant, in finibus Nitiobrogum cum exercitu caesus est. / Milites, qui ex ea caede superauerant, obsidibus datis et dimidia rerum omnium parte, ut incolumes dimitterentur, cum hostibus pacti sunt.'' (Periochae LXV)</ref>

In 105 BC, the allies defeated another Roman army near [[Arausio]] and went on to harry Spain, Gaul, [[Noricum]], and northern Italy. They split up in two groups in 103 BC, with the Teutones and Ambrones marching on a western route through the ''[[Provincia Narbonensis|Provincia]]'' and the Cimbri and Tigurini crossing the eastern Alps (probably by the [[Brenner Pass]]). While the Teutones and Ambrones were slaughtered in 102 BC by [[Gaius Marius]] near [[Battle of Aquae Sextiae|Aquae Sextiae]], the Cimbri and the Tigurini wintered in the [[Padan plain]]. The following year, Marius virtually destroyed the Cimbri in the [[battle of Vercellae]]. The Tigurini, who had planned on following the Cimbri, turned back over the Alps with their booty and joined those of the Helvetians who had not participated in the raids.

=== Caesar and the Helvetian campaign of 58 BC ===
[[Image:Divico und Caesar.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Julius Caesar]] and [[Divico]] parley after the battle at the Saône. Historic painting of the 19th century by [[Karl Jauslin]].]]

==== Prelude ====
The Helvetii were the first Gallic tribe of the campaign to be confronted by Caesar. He narrates the events of the conflict in the opening sections of ''[[Commentarii de Bello Gallico]]''.<ref>Book 1, Chapters 2-29</ref> Due to the political nature of the ''Commentarii'', Caesar's purpose in publicizing his own achievements may have distorted the significance of events and the motives of those who participated.<ref>{{cite book |title=Julius Caesar as Artful Reporter: The War Commentaries as Political Instruments |editor-first=Kathryn |editor-last=Welch |editor2-first=Anton |editor2-last=Powell |editor3-first=Jonathan |editor3-last=Powell |location=Swansea |publisher=Classical Press of Wales |year=1998 |at=passim}}</ref>

The nobleman [[Orgetorix]] is presented as the instigator of a new Helvetian migration, in which the entire tribe was to leave their territory and, according to Caesar, to establish a supremacy over all of Gaul. This exodus was planned over three years, in the course of which Orgetorix conspired with two noblemen from neighbouring tribes, [[Casticus]] of the [[Sequani]] and [[Dumnorix]] of the [[Aedui]], that each should accomplish a [[coup d'état]] in his own country, after which the three new kings would collaborate. When word of his aspirations to make himself king reached the Helvetii, Orgetorix was summoned to stand trial, facing execution on the pyre should he be found guilty. For the time being, he averted a verdict by arriving at the hearing set for him with ten thousand followers and bondsmen; yet before the large force mustered by the authorities could apprehend him, he died under unexplained circumstances, the Helvetii believed by his own hand.<ref>{{harvnb|Caesar|58 BC|loc=Book I Section 4}}.</ref>

Nevertheless, the Helvetii did not give up their planned emigration, but burned their homes in 58 BC.<ref>{{cite book|title=Berlitz: Switzerland Pocket Guide|date=April 1999|chapter=A Brief History|publisher=[[Berlitz Corporation|Berlitz Publishing Company]]|location=Princeton, NJ|page=14|isbn=2-8315-7159-6}}</ref> They were joined by a number of tribal groups from neighbouring regions: the Raurici, the [[Latobrigi]], the [[Tulingi]] and a group of [[Boii]], who had besieged [[Noreia]].<ref>{{harvnb|Caesar|58 BC|loc=Book I Section 5}}.</ref> They abandoned their homes completely with the intention of settling among the [[Santones]] ([[Saintonge (region)|Saintonge]]). The easiest route would take them through the [[Rhône valley]], and thus through the Roman ''[[Provincia Narbonensis]]''.

==== Battle of the Saône ====
When they reached the boundaries of the [[Allobroges]], the northernmost tribe of the ''Provincia'', they found that Caesar had already dismantled the bridge of [[Geneva]] to stop their advance. The Helvetians sent "the most illustrious men of their state" to negotiate, promising a peaceful passage through the ''Provincia''. Caesar stalled them by asking for some time for consideration, which he used to assemble reinforcements and to fortify the southern banks of the [[Rhône]]. When the embassy returned on the agreed-upon date, he was strong enough to bluntly reject their offer. The Helvetii now chose the more difficult northern route through the [[Sequani]] territory, which traversed the [[Jura Mountains]] via a very narrow pass at the site of the modern [[Fort l'Écluse]], but bypassed the ''Provincia''. After ravaging the lands of the [[Aedui]] tribe, who called upon Caesar to help them, they began the crossing of the [[Saône]], which took them several days. As only a quarter of their forces were left on the eastern banks, Caesar attacked and routed them. According to Caesar, those killed had been the [[Tigurini]], on whom he had now taken revenge in the name of the Republic and his family.<ref>''Is pagus appellabatur Tigurinus; nam omnis civitas Helvetia in quattuor pagos divisa est. Hic pagus unus, cum domo exisset, patrum nostrorum memoria L. Cassium consulem interfecerat et eius exercitum sub iugum miserat. Ita sive casu sive consilio deorum immortalium quae pars civitatis Helvetiae insignem calamitatem populo Romano intulerat, ea princeps poenam persolvit. Qua in re Caesar non solum publicas, sed etiam privatas iniurias ultus est, quod eius soceri L. Pisonis avum, L. Pisonem legatum, Tigurini eodem proelio quo Cassium interfecerant.'' Bell. Gall. 1.12.</ref>

After the battle, the Romans quickly bridged the river, thereby prompting the Helvetii to once again send an embassy, this time led by [[Divico]], another figure whom Caesar links to the ignominious defeat of 107 BC by calling him ''bello Cassio dux Helvetiorum'' (i.e. "leader of the Helvetii in the Cassian campaign"). What Divico had to offer was almost a surrender, namely to have the Helvetii settle wherever Caesar wished them to, although it was combined with the threat of an open battle if Caesar should refuse. Caesar demanded hostages to be given to him and reparations to the Aedui and Allobroges. Divico responded by saying that "they were accustomed to receive, not to give hostages; a fact the Roman people could testify to",<ref>Bell. Gall. 1.14.</ref> this once again being an allusion to the giving of hostages by the defeated Romans at [[Agen]].

==== Battle of Bibracte ====
In the cavalry battle that followed, the Helvetii prevailed over Caesar's Aedui allies under [[Dumnorix]]' command, and continued their journey, while Caesar's army was being detained by delays in his grain supplies, caused by the Aedui on the instigations of [[Dumnorix]], who had married [[Orgetorix]]' daughter. A few days later, however, near the Aeduan ''oppidum'' [[Bibracte]], Caesar caught up with the Helvetii and faced them in a major [[Battle of Bibracte|battle]], which ended in the Helvetii's retreat and the capture of most of their baggage by the Romans.

Leaving the largest part of their supplies behind, the Helvetii covered around 60&nbsp;km in four days, eventually reaching the lands of the [[Lingones]] (the modern [[Langres]] plateau). Caesar did not pursue them until three days after the battle, while still sending messengers to the Lingones warning them not to assist the Helvetii in any way. The Helvetii then offered their immediate surrender and agreed both to providing hostages and to giving up their weapons the next day. In the course of the night, 6000 of the [[Verbigeni]] fled from the camp out of fear of being massacred once they were defenceless. Caesar sent riders after them and ordered those who were brought back to be "counted as enemies", which probably meant being sold into slavery.

==== Return of the migrants ====
In order for them to defend the Rhine frontier against the Germans, he then allowed the Helvetii, Tulingi and Latobrigi to return to their territories and to rebuild their homes, instructing the [[Allobroges]] to supply them with a sufficient supply of grain. Caesar does not mention the [[Raurici]], who seem to have built a new ''oppidum'' at [[Basel-Münsterhügel]] upon their return. The [[Aedui]] were granted their wish that the [[Boii]] who had accompanied the Helvetii would settle on their own territory as allies in the ''oppidum'' [[Gorgobina]]. The nature of Caesar's arrangement with the Helvetii and the other tribes is not further specified by the [[Roman consul|consul]] himself, but in his speech ''[http://la.wikisource.org/wiki/Pro_Cornelio_Balbo Pro Balbo]'' of 56 BC, [[Cicero]] mentions the Helvetii as one among several tribes of ''[[foederati]]'', i.e. allied nations who were neither citizens of the Republic nor her subjects, but obliged by treaty to support the Romans with a certain number of fighting men.<ref>Cic. Balb. 32.</ref>

==== Caesar's report of the numbers ====
According to the victor, tablets with lists in [[Greek alphabet|Greek characters]] were found at the Helvetian camp, listing in detail all men able to bear arms with their names and giving a total number for the women, children and elderly who accompanied them.<ref>Bell. Gall. 1.29.</ref> The numbers added up to a total of 263,000 Helvetii, 36,000 [[Tulingi]], 14,000 [[Latobrigi]], 23,000 [[Rauraci]], and 32,000 [[Boii]], all in all 368,000 heads, 92,000 of whom were warriors. A census of those who had returned to their homes listed 110,000 survivors, which meant that only about 30 percent of the emigrants had survived the war.

Caesar's report has been partly confirmed by excavations near Geneva and [[Bibracte]]. However, much of his account has not yet been corroborated by archaeology, whilst his narrative must in wide parts be considered as biased and, in some points, unlikely. For a start, only one{{which|date=January 2013}} out of the fifteen Celtic ''[[Oppidum|oppida]]'' in the Helvetii territory so far has yielded evidence for destruction by fire.{{citation needed|date=January 2013}} Many other sites, for example the sanctuary at [[Mormont]], do not exhibit any signs of damage for the period in question, and Celtic life continued seemingly undisturbed for the rest of the 1st century BC up to the beginning of the Roman era, with an accent rather on an increase in prosperity than on a "Helvetic twilight".<ref>Furger-Gunti, 118ff.</ref> With the honourable status as ''foederati'' taken into account, it is hard to believe that the Helvetii ever sustained casualties quite as heavy as those given by the Roman military leader.

In general, numbers written down by ancient military authors have to be taken as gross exaggerations.<ref>Cf. G Walser, ''Caesar und die Germanen. Studien zur polit. Tendenz römischer Feldzubgerichte.'' Historia, Einzelschrifen, Vol. 1, 1956.</ref> What Caesar claims to have been 368,000 people is estimated by other sources to be rather around 300,000 ([[Plutarch]]), or 200,000 ([[Appian]]);<ref>To illustrate this staple of exaggeration with an example, one can take a look at the numbers given for the forces of two [[Valais]]an tribes as a basis for calculation. Caesar tells us (Bell. Gall. 3.1-6.) that his legate [[Servius Sulpicius Galba (praetor 54 BC)|Galba]] was attacked by an army of 30,000 men of the [[Veragri]] and the [[Seduni]], who lived around their capitals [[Octodurus]] and modern [[Sierre]]. Geiser (''Un monnayage celtique en Valais.'' Schweizerische numismatische Rundschau 63, p. 55-125, 1984) has been able to determine the extent of the former tribe's territory, and it will be safe to assume that the Veragri and Seduni together occupied about half the cultivated land of the [[Valais]], with the [[Nantuates]] and [[Ubii]] inhabiting the other half. As commonly done for Celtic nations, in order to arrive at the total number of people, we multiply the number of fighting men by four, thus arriving at a total population of 120,000 for the two tribes combined. By adding an equal number of people for the two other tribes, one arrives at a total of 240,000 inhabitants for the [[Valais]] valley in the 1st century BC. In contrast, the modern-day Swiss [[Cantons of Switzerland|canton]] has only 278,000 inhabitants, including the urban settlements.</ref> in the light of a critical analysis, even these numbers seem far too high. Furger-Gunti considers an army of more than 60,000 fighting men extremely unlikely in the view of the tactics described, and assumes the actual numbers to have been around 40,000 warriors out of a total of 160,000 emigrants.<ref>Furger-Gunti, 102.</ref> Delbrück suggests an even lower number of 100,000 people, out of which only 16,000 were fighters, which would make the Celtic force about half the size of the Roman body of c. 30,000 men.<ref>H. Delbrück ''Geschichte der Kriegskunst im Rahmen der politischen Geschichte'', Vol. 1, 1900, pp. 428 and 459f.</ref> The real numbers will never be determined exactly. Caesar's specifications can at least be doubted by looking at the size of the baggage train that an exodus of 368,000 people would have required: Even for the reduced numbers that Furger-Gunti uses for his calculations, the baggage train would have stretched for at least 40&nbsp;km, perhaps even as far as 100&nbsp;km.<ref>Furger-Gunti, 104.</ref>

In spite of the now much more balanced numerical weight we have to assume for the two opposing armies, the battle seems far less glorious a victory than Caesar presented it to be. The main body of the Helvetii withdrew from the battle at nightfall, abandoning, as it seemed, most of their wagons, which they had drawn up into a [[wagon fort]]; they retreated northwards in a forced night march and reached the territory of the [[Lingones]] four days after the battle. What Caesar implies to have been a desperate flight without stopping could actually have been an ordered retreat of moderate speed, covering less than 40&nbsp;km a day.<ref>Furger-Gunti (p. 116) allows only 60 km for the distance between Bibracte and the ''fines Lingonum'', while Langres and Autun are in fact separated by more than twice this distance. For the average speed of pre-motorised travel, cf. Norbert Ohler ''Reisen im Mittelalter'', p. 141.</ref> Caesar himself does not appear as a triumphant victor in turn, being unable to pursue the Helvetii for three days, "both on account of the wounds of the soldiers and the burial of the slain". However, it is clear that Caesar's warning to the Lingones not to supply his enemies was quite enough to make the Helvetii leaders once again offer peace. On what terms this peace was made is debatable, but as said before, the conclusion of a ''foedus'' casts some doubt on the totality of the defeat.

==== Questions of motive ====
As Caesar's account is heavily influenced by his political agenda, it is difficult to determine the actual motive of the Helvetii movement of 58 BC. One might see the movement in the light of a Celtic retreat from areas which were later to become Germanic; it can be debated whether they ever had plans to settle in the [[Saintonge (region)|Saintonge]], as Caesar claims (Bell. Gall. 1,10.). It was certainly in the latter's personal interest to emphasise any kind of parallel between the traumatic experience of the [[Cimbri]]an and [[Teutones|Teutonic]] incursions and the alleged threat that the Helvetii were to the Roman world. The [[Tigurini]]'s part in the destruction of [[Lucius Cassius Longinus (consul 107 BC)|L. Cassius Longinus]] and his army was a welcome pretext to engage in an offensive war in Gaul whose proceeds permitted Caesar not only to fulfil his obligations to the numerous creditors he owed money to, but also to further strengthen his position within the late Republic.<ref>Cf. Birkhan, 243f.</ref> In this sense, even the character of [[Divico]], who makes his appearance in the ''Commentarii'' half a century after his victory over L. Cassius Longinus, seems more like another hackneyed argument stressing Caesar's justification to attack,{{citation needed|date=September 2021}} than like an actual historical figure. That the victor of [[Agen]] was still alive in 58 BC or, if yes, that he was physically still capable of undertaking such a journey at all, seems more than doubtful.

=== The Helvetii as Roman subjects ===
[[File:Römische Provinzen im Alpenraum ca 14 n Chr.png|thumb|300px|Roman provinces in AD 14]]
The Helvetii and [[Rauraci]] most likely lost their status as ''foederati'' only six years after the battle of Bibracte, when they supported [[Vercingetorix]] in 52 BC with 8,000 and 2,000 men, respectively. Sometime between 50 and 45 BC, the Romans founded the ''Colonia Iulia Equestris'' at the site of the Helvetian settlement ''Noviodunum'' (modern [[Nyon]]), and around 44 BC the ''[[Augusta Raurica|Colonia Raurica]]'' on Rauracan territory. These colonies were probably established as a means of controlling the two most important military access routes between the Helvetian territory and the rest of [[Gaul]], blocking the passage through the [[Rhône]] valley and [[Sundgau]].

In the course of [[Augustus]]' reign, Roman dominance became more concrete. Some of the traditional Celtic oppida were now used as legionary garrisons, such as [[Vindonissa]] or [[Basilea]] (modern [[Basel]]); others were relocated, such as the hill-fort on the Bois de Châtel, whose inhabitants founded the new "capital" of the [[civitas]] at nearby [[Aventicum]]. First incorporated into the Roman province of [[Gallia Belgica]], later into the [[Germania Superior]] and finally into the [[Diocletian]] province of  [[Maxima Sequanorum]], the former territories of the Helvetii and their inhabitants were as thoroughly romanised as the rest of Gaul.

=== The rising of 68/69 AD ===
What seems to have been the last action of the Helvetii as a tribal entity happened shortly after the death of emperor [[Nero]] in 68 AD. Like the other Gallic tribes, the Helvetii were organised as a ''[[civitas]]''; they even retained their traditional grouping into four ''[[pagus|pagi]]''<ref>CIL 13,5076 names the [[Tigurini]] as one of these ''pagi''.</ref> and enjoyed a certain inner autonomy, including the defence of certain strongholds by their own troops. In [[Year of the Four Emperors|the civil war]] which followed Nero's death, the ''civitas Helvetiorum'' supported [[Galba]]; unaware of his death, they refused to accept the authority of his rival, [[Vitellius]]. The [[Legio XXI Rapax]], stationed in [[Vindonissa]] and favouring Vitellius, stole the pay of a Helvetian garrison, which prompted the Helvetians to intercept Vitellian messengers and detain a Roman detachment. [[Aulus Caecina Alienus]], a former supporter of Galba who was now at the head of a Vitellian invasion of Italy, launched a massive punitive campaign, crushing the Helvetii under their commander [[Claudius Severus]] and routing the remnants of their forces at [[Bözberg pass|Mount Vocetius]], killing and enslaving thousands. The capital [[Aventicum]] surrendered, and [[Julius Alpinus]], head of what was now seen as a Helvetian uprising, was executed. In spite of the extensive damage and devastations the ''civitas'' had already sustained, according to [[Tacitus]] the Helvetii were saved from total annihilation owing to the pleas of one Claudius Cossus, a Helvetian envoy to Vitellius, and, as Tacitus puts it, "of well-known eloquence".<ref>Tacitus Hist. 1.67-69.</ref>