The Epanterii or Epanterii Montani were a small
Ligurian tribe dwelling in the lower Alps, near the Mediterranean coast, 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 only mentioned once as ''Epanterii Montani'' by
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...
(late 1st c. BC).
The name ''Epanterii'' appears to be of Indo-European origin. It can be interpreted as deriving from a stem ''*ep-ant-'', that is, 'belonging to the horse' or 'provided with horses'.
Geography
The Epanterii dwelled in the lower Alps, near the Mediterranean coast. The exact location of their territory remains uncertain. It was possibly situated in the upper
Tanarus valley, north of the
Intimilii
The Intimilii or Intemelii were a Ligurian tribe dwelling on the Mediterranean coast, around present-day Ventimiglia, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
Name
They are mentioned as ''Intimilii'' by Caelius Rufus (49 BC), ''Intemelii'' by ...
and
Ingauni
The Ingauni were a Celto-Ligurian tribe dwelling on the Mediterranean coast, around the modern city of Albenga (Liguria), during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
Name
They are mentioned as ''Ingauni'' by Livy (late 1st c. BC), ''Ingaunoi'' ...
, and east of the
Ecdinii
The Ecdinii or Ecdini were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the valley of the Tinée ( Alpes-Maritimes) during the Iron Age.
Name
They are mentioned as ''Ecdini'' by Pliny (1st c. AD), and as ''Ecdiniorum'' on the Arc of Susa., s.v. ''Ecdinii''.
T ...
and
Vesubiani
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),Pliny. ''Naturalis Historia''3:20 and as ''Vesubianorum'' and ''(V)e ...
.
[, Map 16: Col. Forum Iulii-Albingaunum.]
History
By the 3rd century BC, the prosperity of thriving Ligurian coastal centres led to recurrent conflicts with mountainous tribes conducting raids on their richer neighbours. During the
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...
(218–201 BC), the Carthaginian
Mago Barca
Mago Barca ( xpu, 𐤌𐤂𐤍 𐤁𐤓𐤒, ; 243–203BC) was a Barcid Carthaginian who played an important role in the Second Punic War, leading forces of Carthage against the Roman Republic in Iberia and northern and central Italy. Mag ...
made an alliance in 205 BC with the coastal Ingauni to secure a foothold on the Italian shore. He helped them in their fight against the Epanterii, who lived above them on the hills and raided their territory, eventually taking Epanterian prisoners of war to Carthage.
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...
. ''Ab Urbe Condita Libri''
28:46
References
Primary sources
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Bibliography
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{{Ligurian peoples
Ligures
Tribes conquered by Rome