Gorgobina

Gorgobinawas a Celticoppidum(fortified city) on the territory of theAeduitribe. After the defeat of theHelvetiiin 58 BC at nearbyBibracte,the Helvetians'Boiiallies settled there (Julius Caesar,Commentarii de Bello Gallico,I., 28). Whether this really was an act of clemency onJulius Caesar's part may be disputed. With the Aedui being allies of Rome,Vercingetorixbesieged Gorgobina in the course of his campaign:

Hac re cognita Vercingetorix rursus in Bituriges exercitum reducit atque inde profectus Gorgobinam, Boiorum oppidum, quos ibi Helvetico proelio victos Caesar collocaverat Haeduisque attribuerat, oppugnare instituit.

(Translation:) With this in mind, Vercingetorix led his army back to the territory of the Bituriges and advanced from there to Gorgobina, theoppidumof the Boii – whom, defeated in the battle of the Helvetians, Caesar had installed there and assigned to the Aedui –, and laid siege to it.

In the last great battle of theGallic War,the Boii of Gorgobina sent two thousand warriors to support Vercingetorix (Commentarii de Bello Gallico,VII, 75).

Location

The exact location of Gorgobina is still unclear. It might be modernSaint-Parize-le-ChâtelorLa Guerche(Nièvre).

According toT. Rice Holmes,Napoleon IIIargued forSaint-Parize-le-Châtel,Bonniard for ruins nearSaint Reverien,Creuly forSancerre.and von Göler forLa Guerche-sur-l'Aubois.

References

A. Genier,À la recherche de Gorgobina,REA 44, 1942, 116.

Further reading

• Gorgobina