The Avantici (

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium ...

: *''Auanticoi'') were a small Gallic tribe dwelling around present-day Gap, in the western part of the modern

Hautes-Alpes Hautes-Alpes (; oc, Auts Aups; en, Upper Alps) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. It is located in the heart of the French Alps, after which it is named. Hautes-Alpes had a population of 141,220 ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, during the

Roman period The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

Name

They are only mentioned once as ''Avanticos'' (var. ''acanticos'', ''aganticos'') by

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

(1st c. AD).

. ''Naturalis Historia'', 3:37., s.v. ''Avantici''. The

ethnonym An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and used ...

''Avantici'' is a latinized form of the

*''Auanticoi'' (sing. ''Auanticos''), deriving from the stem ''auant''- ('source') attached to the adjectival suffix -''ico''-. The stem does not appear to be Celtic. As the hydronymic lexicon is particularly resistant to name changes, the stem ''auant''- is probably a term of pre-Celtic

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch ...

origin (cf.

Latv LATV (; originally pronounced on-air as from 2007 to 2014 and, since 2014, serving as a backronym for its on-air slogan, "Latino Alternative Television") is an American bilingual broadcast television network, digital publisher and media company ...

. ''avuots'' 'source', Skr. ''avatá''- 'well, cistern'), which eventually came to be adopted by the Celts; the latter may have made use of it in proper names only.

Geography

Territory

The territory of the Avantici roughly corresponded to the later region. It stretched between present-day La Roche-des-Arnauds (''Ad Finem'') and Le Fein (south of

Chorges Chorges (; Vivaro-Alpine: ''Chorge'') is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France. It is close to Gap. The name ''Chorges'' derives from Latin ''Catorimagus'', itself coming from the Alpine tribe of the Caturiges in the an ...

). To the south, they must have controlled the land immediately opposite Segustero (

Sisteron Sisteron (; , oc, label=Mistralian norm, Sisteroun; from oc, label=Old Occitan, Sestaron) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, southeastern France. Sisteron is situated on the banks of the rive ...

), between the

Durance The Durance (; ''Durença'' in the Occitan classical norm or ''Durènço'' in the Mistralian norm) is a major river in Southeastern France. A left tributary of the Rhône, it is long. Its drainage basin is .Vocontii The Vocontii (Gaulish: *''Uocontioi''; Greek: Οὐοκόντιοι, Οὐοκοντίων) were a Gallic people dwelling on the western foothills of the Alps during the Iron Age and the Roman period. The Vocontii settled in the region in the 3rd ...

, north of the

Edenates The Adanates or Edenates were a small Gallic tribe dwelling around present-day Seyne, in the Alpes Cottiae, during the Iron Age. Name They are mentioned as ''Edenates'' (var. '-) by Pliny (1st c. AD), Pliny. ''Naturalis Historia''3:20 and as ...

, west of the

Caturiges The Caturiges (Gaulish: ''Caturīges'', 'kings of combat') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper Durance valley, around present-day towns of Chorges and Embrun, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Catu ...

, and south of the Tricorii., Map 17: Lugdunum. They were probably part of the Vocontian confederation.

Settlements

The pre-Roman chief town of the Avantici was probably the

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...

of the hill of Saint-Mens, located 1km southeast of Vapincum. During the Roman period, their capital was known as Vapincum (modern Gap), a station on the route between the

Rhône Valley The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At ...

and the Italian Peninsula. In 69 AD, the territory of the Avantici was transferred, along with that of the

Bodiontici The Bodiontici or Brodiontii were a Gallic tribe dwelling around present-day Digne ( Alpes-de-Haute-Provence) during the Roman period The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía ...

, to the province of

Gallia Narbonensis Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the ...

Galba Galba (; born Servius Sulpicius Galba; 24 December 3 BC – 15 January AD 69) was the sixth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 68 to 69. After his adoption by his stepmother, and before becoming emperor, he was known as Livius Ocella Sulpicius Ga ...

. They probably belonged to the

Alpes Maritimae The Alpes Maritimae (; English: 'Maritime Alps') were a small Roman province, province of the Roman Empire founded in 63 AD by Nero. It was one of the three provinces straddling the Alps between modern France and Italy, along with the Alpes Graia ...

or to the

Alpes Cottiae The Alpes Cottiae (; English: 'Cottian Alps') were a small province of the Roman Empire founded in 63 AD by Emperor Nero. It was one of the three provinces straddling the Alps between modern France and Italy, along with the Alpes Graiae et Poenin ...

prior to that event. During the Late Empire, Vapincum became the chief town of the ''civitas Vappencensium'' (var. ''uappin''-) in Narbonensis Secunda, as documented by the ''

Notitia Galliarum The ''Notitia Galliarum'' (or ''Notitia provinciarum et civitatum Galliae'') is a Roman register of cities dating to the 4th–6th centuries AD., contains the text of the ''Notitia'' with a map. The Latin register is divided into two headings. Te ...

Name

Geography

Territory

Settlements

References

Primary sources

Bibliography

Further reading