The Sequani were a Gallic people who inhabited the area around Vesontio in Maxima Sequanorum (present-day Besancon, Franche-Comte, France) at the time of the Roman Gallic Wars. The party's name came from the Souconna (Saone) River, which formed the tribe's western border, and the tribe was located on the eastern bank of the river, separating them from the Aedui and the Lingones. In 71 BC, the Sequani hired King Ariovistus of the Suebi to assist him with repelling the Roman-allied Aedui, and the Suebi and Helvetii began to migrate into Gaul as well. The Suebi later betrayed the Sequani by taking a third of their territory and subjugating them into semi-slavery. In 58 BC, they were helped by Julius Caesar in driving back the Suebi, but the Sequani were angered when Caesar had the Sequani returned their conquered lands to the Aedui. In 52 BC, the Sequani assisted the Arverni in their uprising against Caesar's forces, only to be defeated at Alesia and conquered.