Middle Roman Republic, Northern Border (201-146 BC): Gallia Cisalpina (201-183 BC) [2/2] 

In 201 the consul ⁰¹Aelius Paetus (fl.202-174 BC), based at Arretium, dispatched twenty-four cohorts (≈12,000 troops) under a praefectus socium (‘officer in charge of allies’) Gaius Ampius (1) on a raid against the Boii. After some initial successes, he sent a large detachment of (unarmed) soldiers (without a reconnoitre) to cut the corn near the fortified town of Mutilum (near Cesena). In a surprise attack they were surrounded by Gauls and in the fighting that ensued, seven thousand Roman soldiers including Ampius were killed.

Encouraged by this victory the Cenomani, previously allies of Rome but now angry with the continuing confiscation of Celtic lands in Gallia Cisalpina, joined forces with the Boii, Insubres and the Ligurian Ilvates. The combined Celtic force numbered up to forty thousand and was directed by Hamilcar (7), whom Mago (6) on his departure from Italy had left in Gaul. In 200 BC they attacked and sacked the Latin colony of Placentia and then crossed the Po River with the intention of attacking Cremona. A large Roman force under Furius (6) arrived to relieve the siege and soon after routed the Celts with great slaughter. The following summer the praetor Baebius (1) attacked the Insubres and lost over six thousand men.

In 197 BC the consul ²²Cornelius Cethegus (fl.200-193 BC) led a large army northwards along the east coast to deal with the Cenomani and Insubres. He persuaded the Cenomani to return to the Roman side and then defeated the Insubres on the banks of the Mincius River near Mantua. Among his prisoners were Hamilcar and several Gallic leaders. The other consul ⁰⁵Minucius Rufus (fl.211-174 BC) led his army northwards on the west side of the country to Genua (Genoa) and Liguria, where he reduced the Ilvates. From there he crossed the Apennines and ravaged the country of the Boii.

In 196 BC both consuls were sent to Gallia Cisalpina. ¹¹Claudius Marcellus, after an initial check by the Boii, slipped through their territory to the Po. From here he took advantage of the renewed loyalty of Cenomani to outflank the Insubres and attack the Como area, defeating an army of Insubres and Comenses. He was then joined by his colleague ⁰⁶Furius Purpureo (fl.210-196 BC) and they attacked the Boian concentration by capturing their city Felsina and its hill forts.

In 195 BC the consul ¹⁰Valerius Flaccus (fl.195-180 BC) was ambushed in the Litana Forest near Mutina. Although the Romans claimed a victory and the Boii scattered to their villages, Flaccus was able to do little more than withdraw to the protection of Cremona and Placentia. Later he fought and won a battle in the neighbourhood of Mediolanum with the Insubres and the Boii, after the latter under the leadership of Dorulatus had crossed the Po to arouse the Insubres to revolt.

In 194 BC the consul ⁰⁸Sempronius Longus invaded the territory of the Boii, and the Gauls tried to storm his camp before he could be joined by ¹⁶Cornelius Scipio. In a hard-fought battle the Gauls were eventually driven off as the consuls ravaged their lands and then advanced into Liguria.

In 193 BC the consul ²⁴Cornelius Merula had ¹¹Claudius Marcellus and ⁰⁸Sempronius Longus assigned as legates to his army. When Merula attacked the Boian territory, the Gauls withdrew before the advancing army then regrouped and counterattacked near Mutina. Merula claimed victory after a bloody battle, but since his victory cost the Romans dear, the senate refused him a triumph on his return.

In 192 BC the consul ⁰¹Domitius Ahenobarbus (fl.196-190 BC) fought and defeated the Boii, but remained in their country until the following year when he was succeeded by ²³Cornelius Scipio Nasica (fl.194-171 BC), who defeated the Boii in the last great battle. The Boii made a formal deditio giving hostages and agreeing to surrender half of their territory.In 190 BC the Latin colonies at Placentia and Cremona were reinforced by six thousand settlers. In 189 BC a new Latin colony was settled at Felsina (=Bononia), and in 183 BC Roman colonies were settled at Saturnia, Parma and Mutina. In 187 BC the Via Aemilia was built from Ariminum to Placentia and the Via Flaminia was extended from Arretium over the Apennines to Bononia. As a result of this colonization in the north, virtually all the land south of the Po was occupied by people from peninsular Italy, while the land north of the Po remained largely in the hands of the Gauls, who henceforth were known to the Romans as Gallia Transpadana.