Les premières étapes de la pénétration romaine en Cisalpine centrale et occidentale (295 – 143 av. n. è.) : une relecture des sources Volume 1/3 : Partie I

This dissertation considers the Roman expansion in Western and Central Cisalpine Gaul, in the period between 295 BC (battle of Sentinum, which involved Gauls in a defensive role), and 143, date of the first intervention of Appius Claudius Pulcher against the Gauls Salassi. After 143, the records of Roman interventions in North-Western Italy became rare until Julius Caesar and Augustus. Most of the documentation analysed consists of Greco-Roman texts. With a few exceptions (Polybius and Cato the Elder), most of the accounts were written by authors largely after the events (Livy, Plutarch, Cassius Dio/ Zonaras, Orosius). The chronological separation between certain narratives and the events discussed is significant. Another characteristic feature of this documentation is the adoption of an external “ethnographic” perspective, corresponding to the perception that the Romans had of Gallic or Ligurian peoples, but which does not accurately reflect the reality of the facts. It is a true “rhetoric of otherness” that presents the Gauls as disorganized barbarians, raiders and invaders of the peninsula. The image of the Ligurians – looters or pirates – is also altered. According to Cato the Elder, Ligures would be forgetful, ignorant, false and fraudulent individuals. The perspective of Roman historiography is characterized by an apologetic approach. The danger posed by the people of Northern Italy is amplified by the Republican propaganda of war. The Augustan Age contributed, in particular, to the development of literary topoi, very commons in Latin literature (for example, the hostility of the alpine environment and the Celtic "Montagnards"). These peoples are still perceived as the aggressors of the Romans and their allies, whereas it is usually Rome that attacks them. It is crucial to provide a presentation of the documentation that is as critical and comprehensive as possible. I also use archaeological, numismatic, topographic, and palaeoclimatological data to verify and reconsider information provided by sources, when possible. 7 The punctual analysis of this documentation reveals that the narratives are not homogeneous on several points, and they also have a vague and imprecise lexicon. The number of “mistakes” in the sources suggests a systematic manipulation of texts.