The Comani were a Gallic tribe or the inhabitants of an eponymous town dwelling in the region of

Massalia Massalia (Greek: Μασσαλία; Latin: Massilia; modern Marseille) was an ancient Greek colony founded ca. 600 BC on the Mediterranean coast of present-day France, east of the river Rhône, by Ionian Greek settlers from Phocaea, in Western An ...

(modern

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

) during the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

Name

They are mentioned as ''Comani'' by Pliny (1st c. AD) and by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

(2nd c. AD). Pliny. ''Naturalis Historia'', 3:34;

. ''Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis'', 2:10:5. 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 ...

''Comani'' may be compared with the personal name ''Comanus'', which is based on the Gaulish prefix ''co''- attached to -''mānos'' (perhaps 'good, favourable'; cf. Welsh ''mawn''-, Ogam Irish ''Manu'').

Geography

''Comani'' is mentioned as an '' oppidum'' with Latin Rights by Pliny, and as a people located between the

Avatici The Avatici (Gaulish: *''Auaticoi'') were a Gallic tribe dwelling near the Étang de Berre, between the mouth of the Rhône river and Massilia (modern Marseille), during the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Au̓atilō͂n'' (Αὐατ� ...

and the

Deciates The Deciates (Δεκιήταις) were a Ligurian tribe dwelling near on the Mediterranean coast, around present-day Antibes, during the Iron Age and the Roman era. According to historian Guy Barruol, they were part of the Saluvian confederat ...

by Ptolemy. Historian

Guy Barruol Guy Barruol (born 10 June 1934) is a French historian and archaeologist. He is director of research emeritus at the CNRS. Biography Guy Barruol was born on 10 June 1934 in Mazan, Vaucluse, the son of Jean Barruol (1898–1982), a local histori ...

contends that the name ''Comani'' probably designated the inhabitants of this settlement rather than an ethnic group, and that Ptolemy's description may be erroneous since the territory he describes (between

L'Estaque L'Estaque is a village in southern France, just west of Marseille. Administratively, it belongs to the commune of Marseille. Overview Many artists of the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist periods visited or resided there or in the surrounding ...

and the

Massif de l'Esterel The Massif de l'Esterel (Occitan Provençal: ''Esterèu''; English: Esterel Massif) is a Mediterranean coastal mountain range in the departments of Var and Alpes-Maritimes on the French Riviera. Neighbouring cities are Mandelieu-la-Napoule and ...

) was known to be populated by other peoples, namely the

Segobrigii The Segobrigii or Segobriges were a Celto-Ligurian people dwelling in the hinterland of the Greeks in pre-Roman Gaul, Greek colony of Massilia, Massalia (modern Marseille) during the European Iron Age, Iron Age. They are mentioned in the Founding ...

, Camactulici, and Suelteri. According to philologist

Javier de Hoz Jesús Javier de Hoz Bravo (29 July 1940 – 12 January 2019), was a Spanish Philology, philologist and Catedrático (University Professor). His main areas of research were Paleohispanic languages, historical linguistics, ancient Celtic language ...

, it is possible that they were the descendants of the

, or else that they were another tribe that supplanted them in this area. Barruol also notes that their name is possibly connected to ''Comanus'', a king of the Segobrigii from the 6th century BCE. According to Barruol, they were part of the Saluvian confederation.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Gallic peoples Gauls Tribes of pre-Roman Gaul Historical Celtic peoples