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The Vesubiani or Vesubianii were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the valley of the Vésubie river during the Iron Age.
Name
They are mentioned as Vesubiani by Pliny (1st c. AD),[1] and as Vesubianorum and (V)esubiani on inscriptions.[2][3]
Guy Barruol noted that the loss of initial V- is common in Gaulish proper names, especially in Provence, and proposed to see the name as a variant of the personal name Esubiani. He suggested that the name may have the same root as Esubii, the name of a tribe in Brittany itself traditionally derived from the Celtic god Esus.[4] Alternatively, if the V- was present in the original form, the name can be derived form the Gaulish root uesu- ('valid, good, worthy').[3]
Geography
The Vesubiani dwelled in the valley of the Vésubie.[4] Their territory was located southeast of the Ecdinii, north of the Nerusii and Vediantii, and northwest of the Intimilii.[5] According to A. L. F. Rivet, "there appear to have been no significant settlements in the lands of the Ecdinii and the Vesubiani, so that they must have been controlled by Cemenelum when they had been detached from the Cottian kingdom."[6]
Along with the Ecdinii and Veaminii, they were part of the Capillati.[7]
History
They are mentioned by Pliny the Elder as one of the Alpine tribes conquered by Rome in 16–15 BC, and whose name was engraved on the Tropaeum Alpium.[1] They also appear on the Arch of Susa, erected by Cottius in 9–8 BC.[8]
References
Primary sources
Bibliography
- Barruol, Guy (1969). Les Peuples préromains du Sud-Est de la Gaule: étude de géographie historique. E. de Boccard. OCLC 3279201.
- Falileyev, Alexander (2010). Dictionary of Continental Celtic Place-names: A Celtic Companion to the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. CMCS. ISBN 978-0955718236.
- Rivet, A. L. F. (1988). Gallia Narbonensis: With a Chapter on Alpes Maritimae : Southern France in Roman Times. Batsford. ISBN 978-0-7134-5860-2.
- Talbert, Richard J. A. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691031699.