achievement at that time was to convince many of the frac-
tious Celts of Gaul that they should think of themselves as
one people and unite to fi ght for their freedom, and he was
made chief of the war eff ort. He learned in an engagement at
Noviodunum that his army was no match for the Romans’ su-
perior tactics and discipline in a pitched battle, so he resorted
to guerrilla warfare. He burned farmlands to deny the Ro-
mans access to food. Even so, Julius Caesar managed to track
down his army and trap it in the fortifi ed town of Alesia,
where the Celts starved until they surrendered. Vercingetorix
was sent to Rome, imprisoned, and publicly humiliated, and
in 46 b.c.e. he was executed by strangulation.
Th ese events did not end ambitions for the independence
of Gaul. Now and then tribes would try to take a stand for
Celtic freedom, but little came of their eff orts until 259 c.e.,
when Gaul seceded from the Roman Empire. Gaul had three
emperors: Postumus (r. 259–268 c.e.), Victorinus (r. 268–270
c.e.), and Tetricus (r. 270–274 c.e.). Aft er seizing power in Gaul
in 259 c.e., Postumus declared the existence of the Gallic Em-
pire in 260 c.e. In 261 c.e. Britain, Spain, and the Germanic
territories in central Europe joined Gaul as part of his empire.
Th e Gallic emperors defeated attempted invasions by Germanic
tribes from outside of Gaul. In 274 c.e. the Roman emperor de-
feated Tetricus’s army and ended the Gallic Empire.
Among the Germanic tribes who periodically attacked
Gaul were the Franks. In 418 c.e. King Pharamond (r. 418–428
c.e.) began what became the Merovingian Dynasty (418–751
c.e.). He was succeeded by Clodio (r. 428–447 c.e.), who in
turn was succeeded by Merovech (r. 447–458 c.e.), for whom
the dynasty is named. When the Huns under Attila attacked
the city of Orleans in 451 c.e., the Franks joined the Gauls,
and the Goths and the Burgundians, Germanic tribes under
the command of a Roman general, rescued the city and later
defeated the Huns in battle.
Merovech was succeeded by Childeric I (r. ca. 458–482
c.e.). Childeric expanded the power of the Franks in Gaul, but
it was his son Clovis I (r. 482–511 c.e.) who made the power
long lasting through his military prowess, his conversion to
Christianity (496 c.e.), and his establishment of the city of
Paris his capital. In 486 c.e. he defeated in battle Syagrius,
who was the last offi cial Roman governor of Gaul.
IBERIA
Iberia is the peninsula where Portugal and Spain are now. Ibe-
ria was settled at least 30,000 years ago by modern humans.
By 5000 b.c.e. West Mediterranean peoples were migrating
from the east coast into Iberia. Some ethnologists believe that
descendants from both these populations still live in Iberia,
especially in Portugal and the Basque provinces of northern
Spain. Th e Greeks gave them the name Iberians. Phoenician
merchants were visiting Iberia by 1100 b.c.e., and in the 700s
b.c.e. the Phoenicians had colonies on the east and south
coasts of Iberia. Along these coasts cities arose with their own
governments, probably out of a desire to protect resources,
such as tin mines, that were important in trade. Th ese cities
were ruled by warriors and priests. In the rest of Iberia people
lived in small tribes that were oft en at war with one another.
About 750 b.c.e. the Iberian tribe the Tartessians estab-
lished the kingdom of Tartessos (called Tarshish in the Bible),
probably to protect their rights to copper mines in southern
Iberia. By 600 b.c.e. it encompassed the lower half of the Gua-
dalquivir River and had four cities, Osuna, El Carambolo,
Niebla, and the capital, Huelva. Tartessos was not only an key
source of copper but also an important way station for mer-
chants sailing to the Atlantic coast of Europe and to Britain
because its ports were on the Atlantic side from Gibralter. In
the 200s b.c.e. it was conquered by the Carthaginians.
Th e fi rst wave of Celtic migration into Iberia from Gaul
occurred in the 800s b.c.e. A second wave followed in the 600s
b.c.e. At fi rst the Celts settled in northern Iberia, but during
the second wave they spread throughout Iberia, except for the
southern and eastern coasts, which remained under the control
of native Iberian cities until they were conquered by Carthage
in the 200s b.c.e. Th e Celts did not drive out the local tribes but
instead mixed with them, creating a group now known as the
Celtiberians. Th ey were ruled by warriors, and the Celtiberian
tribes frequently clashed with one other. In the 200s b.c.e. the
Celtiberians began living in castros, or fortifi ed towns.
Greeks and Carthaginians oft en fought over control of the
western Mediterranean. In 264 b.c.e. Rome came to the aid
of Greeks in Sicily, beginning the First Punic War (264–241
b.c.e.), which Carthage eventually lost. Having lost much of
its infl uence among the Mediterranean’s islands, Carthage
compensated by conquering the southern and eastern coasts of
Iberia. Carthage tried to conquer the Celtiberians of the inte-
rior but was mostly unsuccessful; however, through diplomacy,
Carthage built alliances among the Celtiberians, allowing Car-
thaginians some control over events in central Iberia. During
the Second Punic War (218–201 b.c.e.) the Carthaginians used
Iberia as a landing ground for their armies, and for this rea-
son Rome invaded Iberia, infl icting defeats on the Carthagin-
ians and winning allies. Still, many Iberians resisted Roman
rule, and Rome did not have complete control of Iberia until
19 b.c.e. Th ereaft er the peoples of Iberia adopted Latin as their
primary language and adopted the Roman way of life.
Th e Germanic tribes the Suevi and the Vandals invaded
Gaul in 405 c.e., but another Germanic tribe, the Visigoths,
drove them out. Th ey fl ed to Iberia. Th e Suevi numbered about
60,000 and chose to settle in northwestern Iberia. Th e Vandals
conquered part of southwestern Spain, which came to be called
Andalusia, in reference to the Vandals. Th e Visigoths were a
well-organized tribe that had adopted many Roman customs.
Th eir king Ataulphus (r. 412–415 c.e.), cooperating with the
Romans, overcame the Suevi and drove most of the Vandals
out of Iberia in 411 c.e. Th e Vandals fl ed to North Africa.
Th e Visigoths ruled Iberia as their kingdom from 412 to
711 c.e. Kingship was not hereditary. Instead, the warrior elite
elected the member of the royal family whom they considered
most fi t to lead them. Many Visigoths became farmers, but
the warriors were the nobility, serving as knights. Th ey spoke408 empires and dynasties: Europe