The Insubres or Insubri were an ancient Celtic group that lived in Insubria, a region now known as Lombardy in Italy. They were the ones who established Mediolanum, which is today called Milan. Although they were completely Gaulish when the Romans conquered the area, they were formed from a mix of earlier Ligurian and Celtic people, along with Gaulish tribes. This mix included the Golasecca culture.

Classical sources

The Insubres are mentioned by several ancient authors, such as Caecilius Statius, Cicero, Polybius, Livy, Cassius Dio, Pliny the Elder, and Strabo.

Ethnicity of the Insubres

Polybius described the Insubres as the most important Celtic tribe in Italy, while Livy stated they were the first people to live in Cisalpine Gaul around the 7th century BC.

The Insubres were part of the Golasecca culture, named after a town near Varese. This culture was discovered by Abbot Giovanni Battista Giani, who found about fifty Celtic graves containing pottery and metal objects. The Golasecca culture developed during the Late Bronze Age, between the Po, Serio, and Sesia rivers. It is similar to the Hallstatt culture found in Central Europe.

Culture and society

The Insubres culture continued until its slow decline. Through trading and sharing ideas with nearby regions like Etruria, Venetia, and Transalpine Gaul, the Insubres made progress and developed their own unique society. Based on archaeological evidence, it is believed that their society was ruled by a small group of leaders.

History

The history of the Insubres, like that of other Gauls and Italic peoples, was recorded by ancient Roman and Greek writers. These writers often focused on Roman history, especially battles between the Romans and the Insubres and other Gallic tribes in northern Italy.

In 225 BC, the Insubres and the Boii, who lived south of the River Po, rebelled against Rome. This rebellion began after events in 283 BC, when unknown Celts attacked Arretium (now Arezzo in Tuscany) and defeated a Roman force sent to help the city. The Romans sent envoys to negotiate, but the envoys were killed.

A Roman army was sent to the ager Gallicus, a region the Romans called the ager Gallicus, which had been conquered by the Senone Gauls. The army defeated the Senones, drove them from their land, and killed most of them. Fearing a similar fate, the Boii joined the Etruscans in a rebellion. Their combined forces were defeated at the Battle of Lake Vadimo in the same year.

The Insubres joined the Boii in another rebellion after a Roman law was passed that divided the ager Gallicus into Roman administrative units. This law made the Boii and Insubres fear that Rome aimed to expel them and take their land.

In 225 BC, the Boii and Insubres paid large sums of money to hire Gaesatae mercenaries, led by Aneroëstes and Concolitanus. The Gaesatae were Gauls from Gallia Transalpina (now southern France). Their force, up to 70,000 men, attacked Etruria. They avoided fighting the Romans near Clusium (now Chiusi) and instead retreated to Feasulae (now Fiesole). They later defeated the Romans at the Battle of Faesulae (225 BC). However, the Romans defeated the Gauls at the Battle of Telamon, led by consuls Lucius Aemilius Papus and Gaius Atilius Regulus.

After the Battle of Telamon, the Romans defeated the Boii and forced them to submit to Rome. In 224 BC, the Romans attacked Insubre territory. In 223 BC, the Insubres asked for peace, but the Romans refused and attacked them. The Romans now aimed to control Gallia Cisalpina, the Roman name for northern Italy where Gallic tribes lived.

In 222 BC, the Romans besieged Acerrae, an Insubre fortress on the River Adda between Cremona and Laus Pompeia (now Lodi Vecchio). The Insubres could not relieve Acerrae because the Romans controlled key areas around it. They hired 30,000 Gaesatae mercenaries, led by Viridomarus (or Britomartus), to attack Clastidium, a town of the Marici, a Ligurian people who were Roman allies. The Romans split their forces: one group, led by Marcus Claudius Marcellus, attacked Clastidium, while the other, led by Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus, continued the siege of Acerrae. At the Battle of Clastidium, Marcus Claudius defeated the Gallic forces and killed Viridomarus in single combat. Meanwhile, Gnaeus Cornelius captured Acerrae. With the fortress taken and the Insubre king dead, the Romans easily captured Mediolanum (now Milan), the Insubre capital.

The Insubres surrendered and became Roman allies. The Romans established garrisoned colonies at Cremona and Placentia (now Piacenza). Cremona was on the north bank of the River Po, and Placentia was near its south bank. These colonies helped secure the river crossing and the gateway to Liguria. A garrison was also set up at Mutina (now Modena), which became a colony in 182 BC.

In 218 BC, the Insubres and Boii rebelled again, expecting Hannibal’s invasion of Italy during the Second Punic War (218–201 BC). They attacked Cremona and Placentia, forcing settlers to flee to Mutina, which was then besieged. The praetor Lucius Manlius Vulso led 20,000 infantry and 1,600 cavalry to relieve Mutina but was ambushed twice on the way. He lifted the siege but was then besieged himself. The consul Publius Cornelius Scipio arrived with fresh troops. Meanwhile, Hannibal reached Italy and defeated Scipio at the Battle of Ticinus (in Insubre territory) and the other consul, Tiberius Sempronius Longus, at the Battle of the Trebia, near Placentia.

Hannibal wintered near Placentia and moved to central and southern Italy. Some Insubres joined him, including Ducarius, who killed Consul Gaius Flaminius at the Battle of Trasimene (217 BC). Later, during the Second Punic War, Hannibal’s brother, Hasdrubal Barca, was bringing reinforcements from Spain. He passed through northern Italy and recruited Gallic soldiers. Hasdrubal’s forces, including the Gauls, were defeated at the Battle of the Metaurus (207 BC) in central Italy. This ended Hannibal’s campaign in Italy.

After several battles, the Insubres made an alliance with Rome in 194 BC, keeping some independence. In 89 BC, they gained Latin citizenship, and in 49 BC, Roman citizenship. The Insubres likely became Roman quickly due to Roman colonies and Julius Caesar using Mediolanum as a base for his conquest of Gaul (58–50 BC). Caecilius Statius (c. 220–166 BC), a Roman comic poet, was born in Insubria, possibly in Mediolanum. He was originally a slave, likely a war captive taken to Rome. His name, Caecilius, was that of his patron, possibly from the powerful Metelli clan. His work was highly praised.