Bagaudae
Bagaudae (also spelled Bacaudae) was the name for groups of insurgents in the Later Roman Empire, particularly in Gaul. They came to the attention of the authorities in 284, and were crushed by 286 under the Caesar Maximian and Carausius, working for the Augustus Diocletian. Their leaders are given as Amandus and Aelianus. There has been some speculation that theirs was a Christian revolt, but the sparsity of information in the texts gives this little substance, although there may well have been Christians among them.
The name "Bagaudae" reappeared in the earlier 5th century, when they are mentioned as in control of parts of Gaul and the Ebro valley, and fought armies sent against them by the general Aetius. With the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, and the rise of the Germanic kingdoms, the Bagaudae vanish from recorded history.
Some left-wing Basque nationalists have considered them as rebel Basque peasants, hence establishing a current of Basque revolutionaries through the centuries.
