Editing Volcae (section)

==Volcae of Gaul==<!--[[Tectosages]] redirects here-->
[[File:Volcae Tectosages.jpg|thumb|Map showing the relative position of the Volcae and Tectosages.]]

===Volcae Arecomici===
The [[Volcae Arecomici]] ({{lang|grc|Οὐόλκαι Ἀρικόμιοι}} of Ptolemy's ''Geography'' ii), according to Strabo,<ref>Strabo, IV.1.12</ref> dwelt on the western side of the lower [[Rhône]], with their metropolis<ref>"Capital" applied to Gallic tribes offers misleading expectations.</ref> at Narbo ([[Narbonne]]): "Narbo is spoken of as the naval-station of these people alone, though it would be fairer to add 'and of the rest of Celtica', so greatly has it surpassed the others in the number of people who use it as a trade-centre." They were not alone in occupying their territory,<ref>"Situated alongside the Arecomici as far as the Pyrenees, are other tribes, which are without repute and small" (Strabo, IV.1.12).</ref> with its capital at [[Nîmes#History|Nemausus]] ([[Nîmes]]).

The Volcae Arecomici of their own accord surrendered to the [[Roman Republic]] in 121 BC. They occupied the district between the [[Garonne]] (''Garumna''), the [[Cévennes]] (''Cebenna mons''),<ref>The Cévennes "formed a natural boundary between the Volcae Arecomici and the [[Gabali]] and [[Ruteni]]" to the east (Smith 1854).</ref> and the Rhône.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Volcae|volume=28|page=178}}</ref><ref>"At the time of [[Hannibal]]'s [[Second Punic War|invasion of Italy]], the Volcae had also possessions east of the Rhône" (Smith 1854); see [[Livy]] xxi. 26 and [[Strabo]] 203).</ref> This area covered most of the western part of the Roman province of [[Gallia Narbonensis]]. They held their assemblies in the sacred wood of [[Nemausus]], the site of modern [[Nîmes]].

In Gaul they were divided into two tribes in widely separated regions, the Arecomici on the east, living among the [[Ligures]], and the Tectosages (whose territory included that of the Tolosates) on the west, living among the [[Aquitani]]; the territories were separated by the [[Hérault (river)|Hérault]] (''Arauris'') or a line between the Hérault and the [[Orb (river)|Orb]] (''Orbis'').<ref name="EB1911"/>

===Volcae Tectosages===
[[File:Tectosages coins Southern France 5 to 1st century BCE.jpg|thumb|300px|Tectosages coins, Southern France, 5th-1st century BC.]]
[[File:Volcae Tectosages silver 3580mg.jpg|thumb|Coin of the Volcae Tectosages, silver {{convert|3.58|g|oz|3|abbr=on}}. [[Monnaie de Paris]].]]
West of the Arecomici the [[Volcae Tectosages]] (whose territory included that of the Tolosates) lived among the Aquitani; the territories were separated by the Hérault (''Arauris'') or a line between the Hérault River and the Orb (''Orbis''). Strabo says the Volcae Tectosages came originally from the region near modern Toulouse and were part of the Volcae.<ref>"that people of the Volcae who are called Tectosages" (Strabo, IV.1.12 [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/4A*.html on-line text]).</ref>

The territory of the Volcae Tectosages (Οὐόλκαι Τεκτόσαγες of Ptolemy's ''Geography'' ii) in Gaul lay outside the Roman Republic, to the southwest of the Volcae Arecomici. From the 3rd century BC, the [[capital city]] of the Volcae Tectosages was ''Tolosa'' (Toulouse). When the [[Cimbri]] and [[Teutones]] invaded Gaul, the Tectosages allied themselves with them, and their town Tolosa was sacked in retribution by [[Quintus Servilius Caepio (consul 106 BC)|Quintus Servilius Caepio]] in 106 BC.<ref>Howorth 1908:432.</ref> Tolosa was incorporated into the Roman Republic as part of the province of [[Gallia Aquitania]] with the conquest of [[Gaul]] by [[Julius Caesar]] in 52 BC. The Roman conquest of Tolosa ended the cultural identity of the Volcae Tectosages.

According to Ptolemy's ''Geography'', their inland towns were [[Elne|Illiberis]],<ref>In Roman times Illiberis— in Basque, "iri-berri" or "ili-berri", still signifies "new town"— signified more than one place: see [[Illiberis (disambiguation)|Illiberis]].</ref> [[Perpignan|Ruscino]], [[Toulouse|Tolosa colonia]], [[Saint-Thibéry|Cessero]], [[Carcassonne|Carcaso]], [[Béziers|Baetirae]], and [[Narbonne|Narbo colonia]].

The Volcae Tectosages were among the successful raiders of the Delphi expedition and were said to have transported their booty to Tolosa. A significant part of these raiders however did not return and crossed the [[Bosporus]] instead. As a result, [[Tectosages]] was also the name of one of the three great communities of Gauls who invaded and settled in Anatolia in the country called after them "[[Galatia]]".<ref name="EB1911"/>

Venceslas Kruta suggests that their movement into this region was probably motivated by a [[Carthage|Carthaginian]] recruiting post situated close by, a main attraction of the region for Celtic mercenaries eager for more campaigning.<ref>Kruta, Venceslas. ''Celts: History and Civilization''. (London: Hachette Illustrated), 2004: 82-3.</ref> Indeed, after crossing the Pyrenees in 218 BC, [[Hannibal]] in travelling through southern Gaul was greeted by warlike tribes: the Volcae, the [[Arverni]], the [[Allobroges]], and the [[Gaesatae]] of the Rhône Valley, who rose to prominence around the middle of the 3rd century BC.  From around that time, this part of [[Gaul]] underwent a process of stabilization buttressed by the formation of new and powerful tribal confederations as well as the development of new-style settlements, such as Tolosa and [[Nemausus]] (Nîmes), resembling the urban centers of the Mediterranean world.<ref>Kruta 2004:99.</ref>

In 107, the Volcae, allies of the [[Tigurini]], a branch of the [[Helvetii]] who belonged to a coalition that formed around the Cimbri and the Teutons, defeated a Roman army at Tolosa.<ref>Kruta 2004:108.</ref>  In 106–5, Q. Servilius Caepio was sent with an army to put down the revolt, and as a result, Tolosa was sacked, and thereafter the town and its territory were absorbed into Gallia Narbonensis, thereby establishing firm control over the western Gallic trade corridor along the [[Carcassonne]] [[Gap, Hautes-Alpes|Gap]] and the Garonne.<ref>Cunliffe, Barry. ''The Ancient Celts''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997: 236</ref>

{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2018}}
The Volcae were highly influential in Moravia, and together with the Boii and the Cotini and other Danubian tribes, they controlled a highly active network of trade routes connected to the Mediterranean and the German lands.