The Segusiavi were one of the sixty Celtic tribes who inhabited the central part of modern-day France (Roman “Gaul”). They were a minor tribe whose territory lay between the Loire and Rhone rivers encompassing much of what is called the Mons Lyonnais. Up to the time of Julius Caesar’s conquest of Gaul in the mid-50’s BC, the Segusiavi were part of a larger federation dominated by their northern neighbor, the Aeduii.
Celtic Gaul at the time of Caesar
The Territory of the Segusiavi
With Rome’s establishment of the provinces of the Three Gauls (Tres Gallia) under the Emperor Augustus, the Segusiavi as a political entity ends.
The Roman geographer Strabo (63 BC – 23 AD) describes them as merchants practiced in river navigation.
The tribe's name derives from the root “sego,” common Celtic for “victory,” a very Celtic boast of prowess and success in battle.
The fictional Family Segusiavus in this novel is taken from their tribal name as were the common naming conventions of the era.