BELGICA

in full Gallia Belgica one of the four provinces of Gaul under the Roman Empire. As established by Augustus (27 BC), Belgica stretched from the Seine River eastward to the Rhine and included the Low Countries in the north and the Helvetian territory in the south. Its capital was Durocortorum Remorum (now Reims, France). Under the Roman emperor Domitian (AD 81-96), the northern and southernmost parts of Belgica were made into the separate provinces of Germania Inferior and Germania Superior, respectively. Under Diocletian (c. AD 300), the remainder was divided into Belgica Prima (capital, Augusta Treverorum [modern Trier, Ger.]) and Belgica Secunda (capital, Durocortorum Remorum). In the 5th century, Belgica was absorbed into the kingdoms of the Salian and Ripuarian Franks.