nines, and the part of Liguria which lies on the other side of that chain; and continued its course through a great portion of Cisalpine Gaul, as far as Verona. It has not been, I believe, ascertained by whom and at what time this road was constructed; but we know that it must have existed before 636 U. C. the date of the brasen tablet of Genoaꞌ, in which mention is made of it. It may with probability be ascribed to A. Posthumius Albinus, who was consul in 572 U. C. and afterwards censor in 578. (Liv. XL. 41. and XLI. 27.)

The following distances on the Ligurian portion of this road are furnished by the Tabula Theodosiana and the Itinerary of Antoninus.

The road over the Cottian Alps has been already noticed. In the Itinerary of Antoninus we find it described as "Via de Italia in Gallias, a Mediolano

66

Milan, Arelate Arles, per Alpes Cottias."

Its stations in the Itinerary of Jerusalem, which is the fullest, are,

The table supplies two cross roads, one by

Augusta Taurinorum Torino

Pollentiam

Polenza

XXXV.

SECTION III.

GALLIA CISALPINA.

Invasion of Italy by the Gauls-Extent of their settlementsGeneral character of the country-The river Po-Division of Cisalpine Gaul into Transpadana and Cispadana-Description of that province according to this division-Roman ways.

Ir is well ascertained, that in times beyond which the annals of Italy do not reach, the whole of that rich country, which now bears the name of Lombardy, was possessed by the ancient and powerful nation of the Tuscans; but that subsequently the numerous hordes which Gaul poured successively over the Alps into Italy, drove by degrees the Tuscans from these fertile plains, and at last confined them within the narrow limits of Etruria. Livy, who has given us the most circumstantial account of these migrations of the Gauls, assigns to them as early a date as the reign of Tarquinius Priscus, thaț is, about 600 B. C.; and though there are some circumstances in the narrative of the Roman historian which do not seem altogether correctly stated a, the main facts themselves must subsist, as they are agreed upon by all ancient writers on the subject. (Liv. V. 33. et seq. Cf. Polyb. II. 17. Plin. XII. 1. Plut. in Cam.) The Gauls having securely established themselves in their new possessions, proceeded to make

a Dissertation on the Passage of Hannibal over the Alps. Introd. p. 17.

further inroads into various parts of Italy, and thus came into contact with the forces of Rome. More than two hundred years had elapsed from the time of their first invasion, when they totally defeated the Roman army on the banks of the Allia, and became masters of Rome itself.

The defence of the Capitol, and the exploits of Camillus, (Liv. V. 47. et seq.) or rather, if Polybius be correct, (II. 18.) the gold of the vanquished, and dangers which threatened the Gauls at home, preserved the state. From that time, the Gauls, though they continued by frequent incursions to threaten and even to ravage the territory of Rome, could make no impression on that power. Though leagued with the Samnites and Etruscans, they were almost always unsuccessful. Defeated at Sentinum in Umbria; near the lake Vadimon in Etruria; and in a still more decisive action near the port of Telamo in the same province, (Polyb. II. 19, 20. and 27.) they soon found themselves forced to contend not for conquest, but for existence. The same ill success however attended their efforts in their own territory. The progress of the Roman arms was irresistible; the Gauls were beaten back from the Adriatic to the Po, from the Po to the Alps, and soon beheld Roman colonies established and flourishing in many of the towns which had so lately been theirs.

Notwithstanding these successive disasters, their spirit, though curbed, was still unsubdued; and when the enterprise of Hannibal afforded them an opportunity of retrieving their losses, and wreaking their vengeance on the foe, they eagerly embraced it. It is to their zealous cooperation that Polybius ascribes in a great degree the primary success of that expe

But

dition. By the efficient aid which they afforded Hannibal, he was enabled to commence operations immediately after he had set foot in Italy, and to follow up his early success with promptitude and vigour. (Polyb. III. 66.) As long as that great commander maintained his ground, and gave employment to all the forces of the enemy, the Gauls remained unmolested, and enjoyed their former freedom, without being much burdened by a war which was waged at a considerable distance from their borders. when the tide of success had again changed in favour of Rome, and the defeat of Asdrubal, together with other disasters, had paralysed the efforts of Carthage, they once more saw their frontiers menaced: Gaul still offered some resistance even after that humbled power had been obliged to sue for peace; but it was weak and unavailing, and about twelve years after the termination of the second Punic war, it was brought under entire subjection, and became a Roman province b. Under this denomination it continued to receive various accessions of territory, as the Romans extended their dominion towards the Alps, till it comprised the whole of that portion of Italy which lies between those mountains, and the rivers Magra and Rubicon. It was sometimes known by the name of Gallia Togata ©, (Mel. II. 4. Plin. III. 14.) to distinguish it from Transalpine Gaul, to which the name of Gallia Comata was applied. (Cic.

b There appears to be some doubt as to the exact period when this event took place, but the date I have assigned seems the most probable. See Carli Antichita Italiche, vol. ii. 5.

The towns of Cisalpine

Gaul obtained the privileges of Latin cities, and consequently the right of wearing the Toga, by a law of Pompeius Strabo. Vid. Ascon. Pedica Com. in Pison. p. 490. about 665. U. C.