Bran, the son of
Barnaeos and
Bissula, the husband of
Martiola, and the brother of
Sobios, was the chief of the
Gallic Senones, whom he led over the
Alps in 400 BC. The Senones invaded northern
Italy, drove the
Umbri from their homes, and settled in a portion of Italy stretching from
Ariminum to Ancona; Brennus founded Sena Gallica (Senigallia) as the Senones' capital in Italy. In 391 BC, the Senones invaded
Etruria and besieged Clusium, which appealed to the
Roman Republic for support. At the
Battle of the Allia in 390 BC, Brennus annihilated a
Roman army, and his army proceeded to capture most of
Rome in 387 BC, although the
Capitoline Hill remained in Roman hands. The Romans attempted to buy their salvation from Brennus, but, during a dispute over the weights used to measure the Roman gold, Brennus threw his sword onto the scales and uttered the famous words
Vae victis ("Woe to the conquered!"), meaning that the conquered should not expect leniency. The argument had so delayed matters that the exiled dictator
Marcus Furius Camillus had extra time to muster an army, return to Rome, expel the Gauls, and save the treasury. The Gauls were routed from the city and defeated in battle eight miles on the road to Gabbi, and Brennus and many of his warriors were slain, avenging the atrocities which they had committed in Rome.