Bituitus

In 121 BCE, Bituitus was defeated by the Roman general Fabius Maximus, ending the power of the Arverni in Mediterranean Gaul, or present-day southern France. The defeat of the Arverni resulted in the establishment of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis. In 121 BC, the Roman proconsul Domitius Ahenobarbus undertook a war against the Allobroges, who allied with the Arverni under Bituitus. These Gallic tribes were defeated near the town of Vindalium, the current French town of Bédarrides. After this defeat, the Allobroges and Arverni made preparations to re-enter battle with the Romans. Bituitus again took the field with a large army. Where the Isère river meets the river Rhone near current-day Valence in the south of France, the consul Fabius Maximus, the grandson of Paullus, met them in battle in the autumn of 121 BC.