Celts: The Sequani

[Shogun 144]

In this article we will give a short history of the Sequani tribe of Gaul. While not as well-known as their neighbors, the Aedui and Arverni, the Sequani nevertheless were a major power in the years before Caesar.

Not much is known of the early years. Unlike with the Aedui and Arverni, with whom we have a clear starting point in history, we have no clear starting point for the Sequani. They are a mystery even to this day. What makes them even more mysterious is the Sequani did not speak Gaulish, but a different language, with theories ranging from some form of Goidelic to a corruption of Ligurian. In any case one thing is clear, the Sequani were among the younger tribes of Gaul.

The Sequani first appear solidly in the 3rd Century. By the time of the 3rd Century BC we have far more solid ground on which to work on to the Sequani. Rome's influence had first begun to spread during this century. Roman contact shaped the Sequani in several ways. From the start they hated these new arrivals and were scornful of anything Roman. Despite this they engaged in trade wholeheartedly, and grew wealthy. This wealth was gained from the vast stores of cattle, sheep, and pigs the Sequani owned. If the Aedui were the masters of silver and gold and the Arverni of pottery, then the Sequani were the masters of domestic animals. In Rome the smoked ham of the Sequani became famous. It was this that lead to the beginning of the feud with the Aedui. Both the Aedui and the Sequani sat on the rich trade routes from the Mediterranean, their territories lay just across the modern Saone from each other. Soon the Sequani would commit themselves to whatever dispute their neighbors got in, just to be on the opposite side of the fighting. This lead to an alliance with the Arverni, which they took advantage of. When the Sweboz first began to raid Gaul in this period the Sequani tried to manipulate them, rather then cower in fear of them. In these people the Sequani saw the means by which they could achieve dominance. Which was the ultimate goal of all the Gallic tribes.

The 2nd Century marked the rise of Sequani power. In the 2nd Century BC the Sequani were in the early part of the century dwarfed by their more powerful allies in the Arverni Confederacy. All of that changed in 121 BC when Rome broke the power of the Arverni, insuring the dominance of the Aedui Confederacy in Gaul. This marked a major changed in Gallic politics, and a major change in the Sequani as well. Their most hated foe had become the most powerful tribe in Gaul, backed by foreigners they despised. This was unacceptable and as a result the Sequani stepped up their attacks on the Aedui. Despite Roman backing the Aedui could not stand under the pressure of Sequani attacks, and the cracks in the new order of Gaul began to show. By the end of the 2nd Century the power of the Sequani had risen to such an extent that many of the former allies of the Aedui had become members of a new Sequani Confederacy. Insuring their dominance in the coming century.

The 1st Century would mark the best, and worst, years of the Sequani. By the beginning of the 1st Century BC the balance of power in Gaul had changed more times then any in recent memory. The ruling power in Gaul had become the new power of the Sequani Confederacy, made up of former client states of the Aedui and Arverni alike. Many of the more conservative Gallic tribes had joined with the Sequani in alliances, in fear of the more liberal and open Aedui Confederacy, which had been reduced to a political nonentity. However it was not the support of the other Gallic tribes that allowed the Sequani to dominate Gaul, it was their Sweboz allies. By the 1st Century the numerous agreements between the Sequani and the Sweboz had turned into an all-out alliance between the two powers. Through the dominance of the Sequani the Germanic warriors were able to raid and attack as they pleased. All this considered the Sequani had every reason to be confident of final victory over the hated Aedui. But to the amazement of all Gaul not only did the Aedui resist the Sequani led invasion, but they were winning the war. The Sequani then decided to play their last, favorite, card: the Sweboz. But the other powers of the Sequani Confederacy, led by the Arverni, objected to this. But they did not listen and called on Ariovistus, war-leader of the Sweboz, to aid them in 71. But this was massive mistake. After Ariovistus conquered the Aedui he turned on the hand that called him forth, and the Sequani were nearly wiped out in the massacre that followed. The power of the Sequani Confederacy had been broken by the very allies they had depended on for dominance. Caesar defeated the Sweboz in 58 BC and kicked them out of Gaul, restoring the tribes that had been conquered by them to their former lands. This meant that when the Sequani were restored those lands they had conquered in their period of dominance were taken away. If any of the chiefs of the Sequani did not hate Rome yet, then they did from this point on. As a result when the call of revolt spread out in 53 the Sequani joined in wholeheartedly. When the Gallic Revolt was put down at Alesia the Sequani were among those treated harshly by Caesar.

The last mention of the Sequani comes to us years later, in the 1st Century AD. When Augustus reorganized Gaul as part of his general revival of the Roman world the district of Sequania in the province of Belgica was named for the Sequani and they were relocated there. When Julius Civilis and Julius Sabinus rose in revolt following the death of Vitellius the Sequani resisted them. This earned the Sequani the admiration of Rome, who made their chief settlement, Vesontio, a colony, and graced it with a triumphal arch. After this we hear no more of the Sequani as a separate people.

In conclusion the Sequani had a mixed impact on Gaul. They are remembered as the ones who produced the greatest domestic animals in Gaul, producing both clothing and meat of exceptional quality. Their greatest legacy however was bringing the Sweboz across the Rhine.