The Arverni were a Gallic tribe that controlled a part of Aquitania with their capital at Nemossos. They allied with the Pictones and fought the Aedui for power, but united all of Gaul when leader Vercingetorix proposed an alliance in revolution against the Roman Republic in the Gallic Wars. The Arverni
History[]
Description[]
Oathsworn warriors charging
Ruled by kings and tribal chieftains, but deferential to their druids, there existed a rigid social order among the Arverni. Prestige and power came from a man's abilities as a warrior and a leader as much as his lineage.
Heavily dependent on infantry, the Arverni made great use of javelins and the devastating impact of the charge, led by elite warriors such as Spear Nobles and Oathsworn. It was by fighting this way that leaders had earned their places: as champions, proving themselves in conflict.
While many matters ostensibly fell to the Arverni's kings and chieftains, in reality, much was governed by the will of the druids, including declarations of war or peace. Blending animism with a pantheon of greater, local and lesser household gods, the Celtic religion was one of the key factors uniting the disparate Gallic tribes.
Seemingly unstoppable en masse, Gallic tribes sacked Rome in 390 BC and terrorized much of the Aegean as recently as 279 BC, invading Thrace, Macedon and Illyria. Maybe their destiny lied across the sea to Britannia, with all the Celtic tribes united under a single king? Or to the south, to finally put paid to the growing threat from Rome?
Noted craftsmen, the Arverni enjoyed improved income from their artisans, as well as profiting from the Gauls’ expertise with gold-working. In battle, their cavalry benefited from natural Gallic horsemanship, while the charisma and fighting prowess of their kings and chieftains made them formidable warriors, and earned them diplomatic respect among other barbarian tribes.
Tribal Warfare[]
The Arverni, based from their capital at Nemossos in Aquitania, near the Gergovia plateau, fighting the Aedui of Bibracte, Celtica, with the Pictones as their allies. However, with Julius Caesar's invasion of Gaul, the Arverni at first turned on their former allies as allies of the Romans. But brave warrior Vercingetorix took over Nemossos and turned against Rome in a fight for national freedom, uniting Gaul under the Celtic/Gallic banner and fighting the Romans, winning several unprecedented victories over the Romans, defeating the Siege of Gergovia in 53 BC. However, after the fall of Alesia to Roman troops, Vercingetorix was captured and held prisoner until he was executed after Caesar captured Rome from the SPQR. Afterwards, the Arverni were subjugated by the Western Roman Empire, as were their Gallic allies.