Orgetorix

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Orgetorix (Celtic king of the killers ; † 60 BC ) was an important and wealthy nobleman of the tribe of the Gallic Helvetii . Apparently he wanted to rise to the rank of king and conquer all of Gaul . He was briefly able to evade responsibility before the tribal court, but soon afterwards killed himself.

Life

According to the remarks of Caesar in his work de bello Gallico , Orgetorix allegedly strived for royal rule, for this reason organized 61 BC. A noble conspiracy and persuaded his fellow citizens to emigrate from their homes to Gaul, which they could easily bring under their control due to their courage and their martial skills.

The Helvetic land in what is now Switzerland was enclosed by the Rhine , the Jura and Lake Geneva , so that its inhabitants could not easily enlarge it through campaigns against neighboring tribes, even though it no longer seemed large enough to them due to its high population. Due to this fact and strengthened by Orgetorix's persuasive skills, the Helvetii began to prepare for departure. To do this, they developed a three-year plan, according to which the first two years were set aside for preparation and the third for departure.

Orgetorix was elected to lead the company. He went to the diplomatic preparation to the Sequani and persuaded Casticus , the son of the former reigning king Catamantaloedes there to take control. He also persuaded the Haeduer Dumnorix to attempt an overthrow against his brother Diviciacus . He also married his daughter to Dumnorix and assured him and Casticus that he would help them gain power over their peoples as soon as he himself had established his rule over the Helvetii:

“For Orgetorix the power of the Helvetii as the strongest people of Gaul was beyond doubt, and he wanted to help them [ie Casticus and Dumnorix] with his means and his army to the royal dignity. Thereupon they took an oath of allegiance and hoped to bring all of Gaul under their rule after the three most powerful and bravest peoples came to power. "

- Caesar : de bello Gallico 1,3

The existence of this "Gallic triumvirate" is sometimes controversial today, however, since Caesar could have invented this lust for power for propaganda purposes. A parallel with the so-called first triumvirate (Caesar, Pompeius, Crassus) can probably be discovered under this.

The Helvetii learned of Orgetorix's plans through treason and, according to custom, he was supposed to defend himself before a tribal court (early 60 BC). However, he was able to avoid conviction and death by burning by gathering more than 10,000 followers ( ambacti ) around him, including debtors and clients who prevented his summons to be charged. While the angry Helvetii were raising an army to fight Orgetorix, Orgetorix was killed; he probably committed suicide.

58 BC The Helvetii moved out anyway, but they did not take this step because of the Orgetorix plan, but because of the pressure from the Germanic tribes to the right of the Rhine . But they were beaten by Caesar at Bibracte and sent back to their homeland.

The Swiss writer Alfred Hartmann recorded the story of Orgetorix in a poem around 1883.

literature

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Yves Gerhard: Orgetorix l'helvete et le Bellum Gallicum de César. (No longer available online.) In: Les Etudes classiques, Namur. Les Etudes classiques, 59, 1991, pp. 267-274., 2016, archived from the original on March 24, 2016 ; accessed on March 23, 2016 (French). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / latinistes.ch
  2. ↑ Conspiracy and Death of Orgetorix: Caesar, Gallic War 1,2–4; Cassius Dio 38,31,3; Orosius 6,7,3f.
  3. ↑ Aphorismen.ch
personal data
SURNAME Orgetorix
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Gallic prince of the Helvetii
DATE OF BIRTH 2nd century BC BC or 1st century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 60 BC Chr.