31. The Romans then moved into the Celtic heartlands, and their motivation was gold
However, Romans were not content with annexing Cisalpine Gaul. By the first century BC, they were intent upon conquering and acquiring the rest of the Celtic territories. In 58 BC, Julius Caesar used the migration of the Helvetii as a pretext to move into wider Gaul. By the time of Emperor Augustus, the process was complete, and the region was under Roman control. However, the Roman motivation for these campaigns against the Celts was not just vengeance or expansion but gold. Writers such as Strabo noted Gaul was famous for its gold mines. Mines such as Limousin in southwestern France had been mined for centuries and had an abundance of gold. The opportunity to control that wealth was not to be missed.
