The principal divisions of Northern Italy were Ligu'ria and Cisalpine Gaul. 5. Only one half of Liguria was accounted part of Italy; the remainder was included in Gaul. The Ligurians originally possessed the entire line of sea-coast from the Pyrennees to the Tiber, and the mountainous district now called _Piedmont_; but before the historic age a great part of their territory was wrested from them by the Iberians, the Celts, and the Tuscans, until their limits were contracted nearly to those of the present district attached to Genoa. Their chief cities were Genua, _Genoa_; Nicoe'a, _Nice_, founded by a colony from Marseilles; and As'ta, _Asti_. The Ligurians were one of the last Italian states conquered by the Romans; on account of their inveterate hostility, they are grossly maligned by the historians of the victorious people, and described as ignorant, treacherous, and deceitful; but the Greek writers have given a different and more impartial account; they assure us that the Ligurians were eminent for boldness and dexterity, and at the same time patient and contented. 6. Cisalpine Gaul extended from Liguria to the Adriatic or Upper Sea, and nearly coincides with the modern district of Lombardy. The country is a continuous plain divided by the Pa'dus, _Po_, into two parts; the northern, Gallia Transpada'na, was inhabited by the tribes of the Tauri'ni, In'subres, and Cenoma'nni; the southern, Gallia Cispada'na, was possessed by the Boi'i, Leno'nes, and Lingo'nes. 7. These plains were originally inhabited by a portion of the Etrurian or Tuscan nation, once the most powerful in Italy; but at an uncertain period a vast horde of Celtic Gauls forced the passage of the Alps and spread themselves over the country, which thence received their name. 8. It was sometimes called Gallia Toga'ta, because the invaders conformed to Italian customs, and wore the toga. Cisalpine Gaul was not accounted part of Italy in the republican age; its southern boundary, the river Rubicon, being esteemed by the Romans the limit of their domestic empire. 9. The river Pa'dus and its tributary streams fertilized these rich plains. The principal rivers falling into the Padus were, from the north, the Du'ria, _Durance_; the Tici'nus, _Tessino_; the Ad'dua, _Adda_; the Ol'lius, _Oglio_; and the Min'tius, _Minzio_: from the south, the Ta'narus, _Tanaro_, and the Tre'bia. The Ath'esis, _Adige_; the Pla'vis, _Paive_; fall directly into the Adriatic.