The Nitiobroges (

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient 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, most of Switze ...

: *''Nitiobrogis'', 'the indigenous') were a Gallic tribe dwelling on the middle Garonne river, around their chief town

Aginnon The commune of Agen (, ; ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. Geography The city of Agen lies in the southwestern department of ...

(modern-day Agen), during

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 ...

and the

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

Name

They are mentioned as ''Nitiobroges'' (var. ''nitiobriges'', ''iciobriges''), ''Nitiobrogum'' and ''Nitiobrogibus'' (var. ''nit obrigibus'', ''nithiobrogibus'') by

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

(mid-1st c. BC), ''Nitiobroges'' (var. ''antobroges'') by Pliny (1st c. AD), ''Nitióbriges'' (Νιτιόβριγες) 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), and as ''Nisiobroges'' by

Sidonius Apollinaris Gaius Sollius Modestus Apollinaris Sidonius, better known as Sidonius Apollinaris (5 November of an unknown year, 430 – 481/490 AD), was a poet, diplomat, and bishop. Sidonius is "the single most important surviving author from 5th-century Gaul ...

(5th c. AD). The name is also attested as ''Nitiobrogeis'' (νιτιοβρογεις) on an inscription written on a

torc A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large rigid or stiff neck ring in metal, made either as a single piece or from strands twisted together. The great majority are open at the front, although some had hook and ring closures and a few had ...

with the Greek alphabet, found in

Mailly-le-Camp Mailly-le-Camp () is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France. History The town is mentioned as ''Mailliacus'' for the first time in 859 AD document. In 1902 a large military camp was built in its territory. On 3–4 May 194 ...

and dated to the mid-1st century BC. Nitiobroges torque de mailly 10520

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 us ...

''Nitiobroges'' is a latinized form of the

*''Nitiobrogis'' (sing. ''Nitiobrox''), which literally means 'those who have their own country/territory', that is to say the 'indigenous', presumably in opposition to their neighbours that were not. It stems from the Celtic prefix ''nitio''- ('from here, proper') attached to ''brogi-s'' ('territory, region,

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...

'). The same stem is found in the personal name ''Nitio-genus'' ('son of the country'). Their name can be contrasted with that of the ''Allo-broges'' ('foreigners'), who lived further northeast between the

Rhône 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 Ar ...

and the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

, and also be compared with the

Old Welsh Old Welsh ( cy, Hen Gymraeg) is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic ...

*''Kom-brogi-s'' ('from the same country'), which is at the origin of the ethnonym '' Cymro'' ('Welsh').

Geography

The Nitiobroges dwelled in the modern-day Lot-et-Garonne department. Their territory was located south of the

Bituriges Vivisci The Bituriges Vivisci (Gaulish: ''Biturīges Uiuisci'') were a Gallic tribe dwelling near modern-day Bordeaux during the Roman period. They had a homonym tribe, the Bituriges Cubi in the Berry region, which could indicate a common origin, alth ...

, west of the

Cadurci The Cadurci were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the later region of Quercy during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Cadurcus'' by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC), ''Kadou͂rkoi'' (Καδοῦρκοι) by Strabo (early 1st c ...

and Ruteni, north of the Sotiates,

Volcae Tectosages The Volcae () were a Gallic tribal confederation constituted before the raid of combined Gauls that invaded Macedonia c. 270 BC and fought the assembled Greeks at the Battle of Thermopylae in 279 BC. Tribes known by the name Volcae were found s ...

and the

Ausci The Auscii or Ausci were an Aquitani tribe dwelling around present-day Auch during the Iron Age. Alongside the Tarbelli, they were one of the most powerful peoples of Aquitania. Name They are mentioned as ''Ausci'' by Caesar (mid-1st c. ...

, and east the Vasates., Map 14: Caesarodunum-Burdigala, Map 25: Hispania Tarraconensis. Their chief town was

(Lat. ''Aginnum''; modern

Agen The commune of Agen (, ; ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. Geography The city of Agen lies in the southwestern departme ...

), erected on the middle Garumna (

Garonne The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – ...

History

The Nitiobroges settled in their attested homeland during the 4th century BC. Their participated in the Gallic coalition of

Vercingetorix Vercingetorix (; Greek: Οὐερκιγγετόριξ; – 46 BC) was a Gallic king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe who united the Gauls in a failed revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. Despite ha ...

against Rome, providing 5,000 men led by the Nitiobrogian king Teutomatos at the

Battle of Gergovia The Battle of Gergovia took place in 52 BC in Gaul at Gergovia, the chief oppidum (fortified town) of the Arverni. The battle was fought between a Roman Republican army, led by proconsul Julius Caesar, and Gallic forces led by Vercingetorix, wh ...

in 52 BC.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{Gallic peoples Gauls Tribes of pre-Roman Gaul Agen