The Ecdinii or Ecdini were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the valley of the

Tinée The Tinée (; oc, Tiniá) is a river that flows through the Alpes-Maritimes department of southeastern France. It is long. Its drainage basin is .

( Alpes-Maritimes) 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 mostl ...

Name

They are mentioned as ''Ecdini'' 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), and as ''Ecdiniorum'' on the Arc of Susa., s.v. ''Ecdinii''. The meaning of the ethnonym remains obscure. If Celtic, ''Ecdinii'' is possibly formed with the prefix ''ec(s)''- ('out of, without') attached to -''dīn(i)''- ('shelter, protection').

Xavier Delamarre Xavier Delamarre (; born 5 June 1954) is a French linguist, lexicographer, and diplomat. He is regarded as one of the world's foremost authorities on the Gaulish language. Since 2019, he has been an associate researcher for the CNRS- PSL AOrOc ...

has thus proposed to translate *''Ec(s)-dīni-oi'' as the 'Homeless'. If this interpretation is correct, the name was probably an

exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...

given by a neighbouring tribe.

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 histo ...

suggested that the name ''Tinius'' might be related.

Geography

The Ecdinii lived in the valley of the

Tinée The Tinée (; oc, Tiniá) is a river that flows through the Alpes-Maritimes department of southeastern France. It is long. Its drainage basin is .

, a tributary of the

Var Var or VAR may refer to: Places * Var (department), a department of France * Var (river), France * Vār, Iran, village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Var, Iran (disambiguation), other places in Iran * Vár, a village in Obreja commune, Ca ...

river. Their territory was located west of the Vesubiani and Tyrii, east of the

Nemeturii The Nemeturii (Gaulish *''Nemeturioi'', 'the inhabitants of nemetons') or Nemeturi were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the Alpes Maritimae during the Iron Age. Name They are mentioned as ''Nemeturicae'' by Columella (1st c. AD), and as ''Nemoturi ...

, north of the Nerusii and

Vediantii The Vediantii were a Celto-Ligurian tribe dwelling on the Mediterranean coast, near present-day Nice, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Ou̓ediantíōn'' (Οὐεδιαντίων) by Ptolemy (2nd c. AD), and ...

, and south of the

Savincates The Savincates were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the Ubaye valley, around present-day Faucon-de-Barcelonnette in the Alpes Maritimae, during the Iron Age. Name They are mentioned as ''Savincatium'' on two inscriptions., s.v. ''Savincates''. T ...

and

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 ''Catur ...

., Map 16: Col. Forum Iulii-Albingaunum, Map 17: Lugdunum. 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." Along with the Vesubiani and Veaminii, they were part of the Capillati.

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 The Tropaeum Alpium (Latin 'Trophy of the Alps', French: ''Trophée des Alpes''), is a Roman trophy (''tropaeum'') celebrating the emperor Augustus's decisive victory over the tribes who populated the Alps. The monument's ruins are in La Turbi ...

. ''Naturalis Historia''
3:20
They also appear on the Arch of Susa, erected by

Cottius Marcus Julius Cottius was King of the Celtic and Ligurian inhabitants of the mountainous Roman province then known as '' Alpes Taurinae'' and now as the Cottian Alps early in the 1st century BC. Son and successor to King Donnus, he negotiated a ...

in 9–8 BC.

References

Primary sources

Bibliography

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