Switzerland in the Roman era after which the area began to be occupied by Germanic peoples. The Swiss plateau, within the natural borders of the Alps to the South and East, Lake Geneva and the Rhône to the west and the Rhine to the north, was recognized as a contiguous territory by Julius Caesar. This area had been dominated by the La Tène culture since the 5th century BC, settled by a mostly Celtic population (Gauls), of which the Helvetii were the most numerous, but which also included the Rauraci in north-west Switzerland centered on Basel, and the Allobroges around Geneva. South of the Swiss
Var (river) Var (river) The Var (, , ) is a river located in the southeast of France. The name "Var" originates from the Ligurian word for "waterway". The Var flows through the Alpes-Maritimes "département" for most of its length, with a short (~15 km or ~9 mi) stretch in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence département. It is a unique case in France of a river not flowing in the "département" named after it (see Var). The Var rises near the Col de la Cayolle (2,326 m/7,631 ft) in the Maritime Alps and flows generally southeast for into the Mediterranean between Nice and Saint-Laurent-du-Var. Its