European Kingdoms

Meldi (Belgae)

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In general terms, the Romans coined the name 'Gaul' to describe the Celtic tribes of what is now central, northern, and eastern France. To the north of these were the tribes of the Belgae, divided from the Gauls by the rivers Marne and the Seine, but bordered to their east by a slowly growing Germanic populace which only increased its pressure on them over time (see feature link for a discussion of the origins of the Celtic name).

The Meldi were a minor tribe, one which seems to be very little-known. The tribe's territory was located in the region known as Île-de-France, on the Marne, which today is in the Seine et Marne département. They are considered by modern historians to be one of the client tribes of the Suessiones.

Their principal civitas was Lantinum which, following Roman occupation, became known as Civitas Meldorum, today the city of Meaux some forty kilometres to the north-east of Paris ('Meaux' is the modern form of 'Meldi). This Meldi group should not be confused with the Meldi in the Balkans in the first century BC or the 'Meldi' territory of the Medulli.

During the early days of the Roman empire, Lantinum was extended from the Marne in the south to the suburb of Saint-Faron in the north. The site shows evidence of a large number of public edifices such as a forum, theatre, amphitheatre, and baths, as well as a suburban worship complex at the nearby La Bauve, now an archaeological site which contains the remains of a temple and amphitheatre.

The Meldi are only known to modern scholars by way of a mention in De Bello Gallico, although L'Arbre Celtique suggests that the tribe was also cited by Strabo, Pliny, and Ptolemy, which would make it seem that classical writers were far more aware of their existence than is the case today.

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(Information by Trish Wilson, with additional information from the Encyclopaedia of European Peoples, Carl Waldman & Catherine Mason, from Caesar's Conquest of Gaul, TR Holmes, from Roman History, Cassius Dio, from Geography, Strabo, translated by H C Hamilton Esq & W Falconer, M A, Ed (George Bell & Sons, London, 1903), from Encyclopaedia of the Roman Empire, Matthew Bunson (1994), and from External Links: The Works of Julius Caesar: Gallic Wars, and Jones' Celtic Encyclopaedia, and L'Arbre Celtique (The Celtic Tree, in French), and Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz or Dictionnaire Historique de la Suisse or Dizionario Storico dell Svizzera (in German, French, and Italian respectively).)

52 BC

While Caesar is tied down in Rome, the Gauls begin their revolt, resolving to die in freedom rather than be suppressed by the invaders. The Carnutes take the lead under Cotuatus and Conetodunus when they kill the Roman traders who have settled in Genabum.

This vast map covers just about all possible tribes which were documented in the first centuries BC and AD, mostly by the Romans and Greeks, and with an especial focus on 52 BC (click or tap on map to view at an intermediate size)

News of the event reaches the Arverni that morning, and Vercingetorix summons his people to arms. His cavalry subsequently routed in battle, he withdraws in good order to Alesia, a major fort which belongs to the Mandubii. The remaining cavalry are dispatched back to their tribes to bring reinforcements. Caesar begins a siege of Alesia, aiming on starving out the inhabitants.

Four relief forces amounting to a considerable number of men and horses are assembled in the territory of the Aeduii by the council of the Gaulish nobility. Amongst those who are demanded from the tribes of Gaul are five thousand each from the Ambiani, Mediomatrici, Morini, Nervii, Nitiobroges, Petrocorii, and Suessiones and their various clients (including the Meldi).

Together they attempt to relieve Vercingetorix at the siege of Alesia, but the combined relief force is soundly repulsed by Julius Caesar. Seeing that all is lost, Vercingetorix surrenders to Caesar.

Having surrendered with honour to Caesar in 52 BC, Vercingetorix remained a potent symbol of resistance to Roman domination, so his murder in 46 BC dealt a terminal blow to hopes of renewed Celtic freedom

The garrison is taken prisoner, as are the survivors from the relief army. They are either sold into slavery or given as booty to Caesar's legionaries, apart from the Aeduii and Arverni warriors who are released and pardoned in order to secure the allegiance of these important and powerful tribes.

With this action, all of Gaul has been brought under Roman domination, and the history of its population of Celts and Aquitani is tied to that of the emerging Roman empire.