Litaviccus

Litaviccus (fl. 52 BC) was a Gallic aristocrat who belonged to the Aedui, a Celtic tribal confederation that was located between the Loire and Saône rivers (present-day Bourgogne) in the 1st century BC.

During the revolt of Vercingetorix in 52 BC, Litaviccus would convince a force he was leading that had been sent to assist Caesar at the Siege of Gergovia to defect to the Gallic side after claiming that the Romans had murdered Eporedorix and Viridomarus. After Caesar presented Eporedorix and Viridomarus to the Aeduan forces, Litaviccus retreated to Bibracte.

Siege of Gergovia

Main article: Battle of Gergovia

According to Caesar in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico, the Aedui had been roused to betrayal by Convictolitavis, the vergobret (chief magistrate) of the Aedui. During the siege of Gergovia, Convictolitavis gave Litaviccus command over 10,000 men who were sent to aid Caesar. During the march, however, Litavccus suddenly gave a deceptive speech to his soldiers claiming that the Romans had killed Eporedorix and Viridomarus, both nobles of the Aedui, on accusations of treachery and that they intended to do the same to the rest of the tribe. This convinced the soldiers to defect from the Romans and join Vercingetorix in revolt. Though the army of Litaviccus was very small compared to the Legions of Caesar, the Roman leader was nonetheless forced to use four legions of troops plus cavalry at Gergovia to deal with Litaviccus.

Litaviccus' rebellion did not last long; when Caesar presented Eporedorix and Viridomarus alive to the Aeduan soldiers, they realized they had been lied to and surrendered. Litaviccus escaped and fled to Bibracte.