Switzerland in The Roman Era

The history of Switzerland in the Roman era encompasses the roughly six centuries during which the territory of modern Switzerland was a part of the Roman Republic and Empire. It begins with the step-by-step conquest of the area by Roman armies from the 2nd century BC onward and ends with the retreat of Roman forces over the Alps in the 5th century AD.

The mostly Celtic tribes of the area were subjugated by successive Roman campaigns aimed at control of the strategic routes from Italy across the Alps to the Rhine and into Gaul, most importantly by Julius Caesar's defeat of the largest tribal group, the Helvetii, in 58 BC. Under the Pax Romana, Switzerland was smoothly integrated into the prospering Empire as the Romans assimilated the Celtic population, enlisted their aristocracy to engage in local government, built a network of roads connecting their newly established colonial cities and divided up the area among the Roman provinces.

Roman civilization began to retreat from Swiss territory when it became a border area again after the Crisis of the Third Century. Roman control of most of Switzerland ceased in 401 AD, after which the area began to be occupied by Germanic peoples.