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Gallia Narbonensis's Urbs of...
Vienna
General Urbs
The city of Vienna, pride of the Celtic Allobroges nation, lies on the banks of the Rhodanus, one of Gallia’s longest rivers, as it meanders through a hemicycle of five hills that sit on an east-west axis, and fluvial plains that form terraces which rise to an altitude of roughly LXV -- LXXXV feet.
Allobroges Settlements
The first ancient author to mention the city of Vienna is Julius Caesar in his De bello Gallico. Strabo mentions it too, calling it ουιεννα (IV. 1.11) ; Plutarch calls it Βιεννα (Quaest. Sympos. V. 3.1) ; Latin inscriptions left in the Rhenus valley by Viennese soldiers spell it Viana, while the Peutinger Table (segment II. 1) calls it Vigenna.
The history of Vienna begins with the arrival of the Celtic tribe of the Allobroges in the land between the Rhodanus and the Alpes. The tribe eventually spread out over a wide territory along the river Isara. Other settlements of the Allobroges include the vici of Genava [Geneva] at the south-western end of the largest lake in the region, of Cularo [Grenoble], of Boutae [Annecy], Augustum [Aoste] and Aquae [Aix-les-Bains]. Vienna, however, to use a culturally inappropriate term, was the ‘capital’ of the Allobroges people.
Archaeological evidence shows continuous occupation of the site of Vienna from the fourth century before Augustus. The earliest inhabitants established a port and traded with merchants arriving from the Mare Gallicum. The primary economic activity was the making and trading of pottery, as evidenced by the discovery of Greek red-figure ceramics, Italian amphorae of the type Dressel 1 and others on the model fabricated in Massalia.
Roman Conquest
The story of the Roman conquest of the territory of the Allobroges is related by Livy, Strabo and Appian, with further information supplied by the Fasti triumphales. After the defeat of the Salluvians by Caius Sextius Calvinus and the foundation of Aquae Sextiae [Aix-en-Provence] named in his honour, the Roman Senate dispatched the consul Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus against the Allobroges. The pretext invoked to justify the aggression was that the Allobroges had accorded asylum to the Salluvian chieftain Toutomotulus (Livy, Periochae LXI) and refused to deliver him to the Romans. Domitius Ahenobarbus began his campaign in the early months of A.U.C. 633 [121 B.C.E.]. A battle was fought near the oppidum of Vindalium. 20 000 Allobroges perished and another 3000 were taken prisoner. In August of the same year, the consul Quintus Fabius Maximus attacked the Arverni, allies of the Allobroges, at a site near the rivers Rhodanus and Isara. The battle ended in disaster for the Gallic tribes. Fabius Maximus returned home in triumph and was awarded the title Allobrogicus. A triumphal arch to commemorate the victory still adorns Rome’s Forum.
Over the next fifty years, the Transalpine Gauls remained docile. But the unscrupulous rapacity of the Roman governor Marcus Fonteius (A.U.C. 678 - 680 ?) revived anti-Roman sentiment. His successors Calpurnius Piso and Lucius Murena imitated his example, amassing great personal fortunes at the expense of the province. Their dishonesty incited the Allobroges to revolt in 692 - 693, the history of which is told by Cassius Dio (XXXVII, 47.3 – 48.2). The rebellion ended in defeat with the capture of the oppidum of Solonion.
From Colony to Metropolis
Having resigned themselves to peace, the Allobroges went about developing their land, and the city of Vienna in particular. Julius Caesar, at the end of his conquest of Gaul, installed a camp for his cavalry at Vienna. All the cities of Transalpine Gaul were granted the ius latinum. But the year after Caesar’s death, Vienna expelled a number of Roman veterans. The reasons for the expulsion of these Romans from Vienna are obscure ; it is likely they are related to Caesar’s assassination and the division of Rome between parties for and against the ‘liberators.’ The Roman Senate entrusted M. Aemilius Lepidus, governor of Gallia Narbonensis, and L. Munatius Plancus, governor of Gallia Celtica, with the task of setting up a new colony for the homeless veterans (Cassius Dio, XLVI. 50.4). Thus was established the colony of Lugdunum a mere XVI m.p. away. At the same time a rivalry between the two cities was born which lasted for generations.
At some point during the reign of Caligula and the consulate of Valerius Asiaticus, a close friend of the emperor, Vienna was elevated to the rank of Roman colony. The quattuorviri were replaced by two colleges of duoviri ; in other words, four men. A municipal cursus of three stages was created : quaestor coloniae viennensis or Q.C.V., aedilus and triumvir locorum publicorum persequendorum, the highest ranking municipal office. Those Viennese who reached it became eligible for entry into the Roman Senate.
Other positions of government or honour are the offices of pontifex, augur, flamen of Mars and, unique to Vienna, flamen iuventis.
Economy and Opportunity
Vienna’s well-watered plains provide rich pasture land for grazing herds of sheep and bovines. Pliny the Elder has commented on the particular strain of wheat -- siligo -- adapted to more humid climes and which yield the best bread (Hist. Nat. XVIII. 85-88). The vineyards of Vienna are also particularly appreciated by Romans. The vitis allobrogica or vitis picata matures well at first frost but changes if transplanted outside its native land (Hist. Nat. XIV. 26). The wine it yields, with its savoury aroma of pitch, easily fetches a thousand sestertii per amphora (Hist. Nat. XIV. 57). The Roman poet Martial figures among its regular consumers (Epigr. XIII. 107).
As noted above, the ceramic industry has thrived since earliest times thanks to an abundant source of clay. Local products include bricks, tiles, piping and the local speciality of fine-lipped vases. Vienna’s four major exports are wine, linen, lead piping and Allobroges pottery.
Numerous corporations of fabri bear witness to the importance of architectural projects. Since the reign of Tiberius, Vienna has been protected by a wall over VIII feet thick. Fifty-eight towers, each between XXVII and XL feet in diameter, add to the city’s defences. Outside the walls stands the Circus. Within the city, the forum adopts a tripartite organisational plan as does other Romano-Gallic cities. Its principal monument is the temple of Rome and Augustus (right) at one end of a large open space roughly two hundred sixty-two feet by two hundred forty. Three porticoes surround this section of the forum ; at the opposite end rises a Basilica where major administrative and commercial matters are dealt with.  Hypothetical plan of the main section of the Forum Besides having an amphitheatre, Vienna is one of the rare cities west of Italy to boast an odeon. Other monuments within the city are the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, the temples of Mars and Apollo, arae of Venus, Fortuna, Juno and the Dea Vienna, the temple of Cybele, the Mithraeum, two thermae, acqueducts, fountains, and a number of very fine houses. These are the homes of prominent Roman families, that is, local families who have risen to the highest offices and orders. For more than of any other city in Gallia, citizens of Vienna have been working in the defence and administration of the Roman Empire. Out of XIII known Gauls who have served in the Praetorian cohorts in Rome, four are from Viennese families. Viennese are known to have served in Rome’s legions, and to have participated in the Battle of Cremona on both Otho’s and Vitellius’ sides in the Year of the Four Emperors. In administrative service, men of Vienna have occupied the most distinguished posts : praefectus, praefectus fabrum, eques, procurator and senator. The very first Gauls to enter the Roman Senate were Allobroges princes from Vienna : Aecus and Roucillus, companions of Julius Caesar. The first Gaul to be named consul (suffect) was a Viennese : Decimus Valerius Asiaticus -- the same who took part in the assassination of Caligula. Soon after his second consulate, he fell a victim to the ruthless Messalina who lusted after him, his money and his properties in Rome. His eldest son, also Decimus Valerius Asiaticus, fared better since he became legatus propraetor of Gallia Belgica and married the daughter of Emperor Vitellius shortly after that emperor’s accession. Vitellius then named him consul the same year. Lucius Julius Vestinus was a procurator and knight very close to the emperor Claudius. Another one of that family served as Praefectus of Egypt during the reign of Nero, and was chosen by Vespasian to rebuild the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus in the year after Vespasian became emperor. In all, seven Viennese families have entered the Roman Senate : the Valerii Asiatici, the Bellici, the Iunii, the Pompeii Vopisci, the Valerii Luperci, the Attii and the Vestini.
Improving communications and years of stability under Augustus have so contributed to the development of the entire region that the city of Lugdunum has now surpassed Vienna in population and opulence. Strabo, a contemporary of Augustus, could write of Lugdunum that it was the most populous city in Gaul after Narbo (Geogr. IV.3.2). Fortunately, that city’s development has neither diminished Vienna’s riches nor eclipsed her beauty. To this day, the Vienna remains an active, attractive and thriving civitas, a jewel in the crown of the Roman Empire.
Source André Pelletier, Vienna -- Vienne, Presses Univ. de Lyon, Lyon, 2001.
Images Aerial view of ancient Vienna and the plan of the Forum both from the French Ministry of Culture ; bronze coin minted in Vienna from wildwinds (sadly, this site has recently suffered from destructive attacks -- the page may not always be visible) ; Temple of Roma and Augustus from Vicipaedia ; mosaic of Bacchus (detail) from the photothèque of the Museum of Antiquities in Saint-Romain-en-Gal.
Further Online Reading On Vienna : articles at Livius.org and the Ministry of Culture (France) ; an interesting website on the ancient city done by French pupils in Latin and Greek class (pages en français) ; a page from Athena Review.
Mauricius Fabius
The Discussions of Vienna:
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Vienna obtained the rank of Latin colony around A.U.C. 714 when Octavius was given the province of Gaul. Its official name then became Colonia Iulia Viennensium, or C.I.V. as attested on its coinage, and its inhabitants were enrolled in the Voltinia tribe. It was governed by quattuorviri, a characteristic reserved for the cities of Gallia Narbonensis. These men were assisted by a council of decuriones. It was granted the right to mint bronze coins with the heads of Caesar and Octavius on the front, and on the reverse a ship’s prow (right). During the reign of Augustus, Vienna continued to develop its territory which extended northeast to Genava and to the Alpes for a total of 92002 miles, making it one of the largest territories in Gaul. New roads were opened, facilitating exchanges between Gallia and Italia. M. Vipsanius Agrippa developed the extension to Lugdunum, paving the ancient route for a few miles, thus reflecting Augustus’ will to open up the whole of Gallia to commerce with Italy. The road from Vienna to Lugdunum is thus called the Via Agrippa.
The four main import materials are lead (principally from Iberia and Britannia), stone (including marbles and porphyry from Greece, Asia Minor, Egypt, Italy and North Africa), olive oil from Iberia and ceramic houseware.
With so many prospects for advancement and wealth, roads stretching in all directions and a major river route to the Mare Gallicum and thence to the shores of Italy, Africa, Syria, Egypt and beyond, Vienna resembles, albeit on a smaller scale, some of the larger world-famous Hellenistic cities in terms of cosmopolitan diversity. On any given day, one can hear Celtic dialects spoken in the Forum by peregrini from Gallia Belgica, Lugdunensis or Gallia Aquitania, as well as merchants, actors, slaves and freedmen from Hispania, Dalmatia, Thrace, Bithynia and Pontus, Asia, Lydia, Cappadocia, Syria and Africa. Vienna is also the home of a discreet community of traders from Judaea, and for a time was also home to the Jewish Tetrarch Archelaus, son of King Herod the Great, whom Emperor Augustus sent into exile ; he died in Vienna in the third year of the reign of Tiberius.