a Celtic nation of ancient Gaul, occupying part of the upper valley of the Saône or Arar, separated on the E. by the Jura range from the Helvetii; on the W. by the Arar from the Aedui, having the Leuci and the Lingones on the N., and the Allobroges and Ambarii on the S. They thus occupied the northern departments of Ain, Jura, and Doubs, with parts of those of Saône-et-Loire and Côte d'Or. Besides the Arar, the country was watered by the Dubis (Doubs), on which stood their chief town Vesontio, now Besançon. They fed large numbers of hogs, and exported ham and bacon to Rome. Before the conquest of Gaul by Caesar, the Arverni and Aedui, the two most powerful nations of that country, were in a state of hostility; and the Sequani allied themselves with the former. In order more effectually to crush their enemies, these two nations hired a large body of Germans, under Ariovistus, from over the Rhine. With their assistance they totally defeated the Aedui; but the Germans seized for themselves a third part of the territory of the Sequani; and would have made further encroachments, had not Caesar defeated them, and expelled them from the land. Though driven across the Rhine at that time, the Germans seem to have returned at a subsequent period.