The Orobii (also Orobi, Oromobi or Orumbovii) were a

Celto-Ligurian The Ligures (singular Ligur; Italian language, Italian: liguri; English language, English: Ligurians) were an ancient people after whom Liguria, a region of present-day Northern Italy, north-western Italy, is named. Ancient Liguria cor ...

tribe dwelling around present-day

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

and

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

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 ''Orobii'' by

Cato the Elder Marcus Porcius Cato (; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor ( la, Censorius), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, senator, and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He was the first to write histo ...

(early 2nd century BC). The ethnic name ''Orobii'' appears to be of Celtic origin. It can be compared with the

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 ...

noun ''orbioi'' (sing. ''orbios''), meaning 'the heirs', with the feminine forms ''Orobia'' and ''Urbia'' (earlier *''Orbia''), the ancient names of the Orge river and , and with the i-stem ''Orobis'', now the

Orb river Orb or Orbs may refer to: * Sphere * Globus Cruciger Ceremonial Orb Places and rivers * Orb (river), in southern France * Orb (Kinzig), a tributary of the Kinzig river in Germany * Bad Orb, a town in Hesse, Germany Literature, radio, film, ...

. Some classical writers such as

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

thought that their name was of Greek origin, tracing the etymology from the Greek ''Orōn bion'' (Ορων βιον).

Geography

The Orobii dwelled between the modern cities of

and

. The

Sottoceneri The Sottoceneri (''under the Ceneri'', lombard: ''Sotascender'') is the part of the Swiss canton of Ticino that lies to the south of the Monte Ceneri Pass through the Lugano Prealps The Lugano Prealps (''Prealpi Luganesi'' or ''Prealpi Lombarde ...

was part of their area of influence. Their territory was located north of the Gallianates, Bromanenses, and Anesiates, east of the Subinates and

Ausuciates The Ausuciates (Gaulish: *''Ausuciatis'') were a small Gallic tribe dwelling around present-day Ossuccio, on the western shore of Lake Como, during the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Ausuciatium'' on an inscription dated to the ea ...

, west of the Gennanates, Trumplini and

Camunni The Camuni or Camunni were an ancient population located in Val Camonica during the Iron Age (1st millennium BC); the Latin name ''Camunni'' was attributed to them by the authors of the 1st century. They are also called ancient Camuni, to distingu ...

, south of the

Aneuniates The Aneuniates (Gaulish: *''Aneuniatis'') were a small Gallic tribe dwelling near Lake Como, around present-day Samolaco, during the Roman period. Name They are mentioned ''Aneuniates'' on an inscription dated to the 2nd century AD and found ...

History

Modern archaeologists and linguists see the Orobii as a population of

Celticize Celticisation, or Celticization, was historically the process of conquering and assimilating by the ancient Celts. Today, as the Celtic inhabited-areas significantly differ, the term still refers to making something Celtic, usually focusing around ...

Ligures The Ligures (singular Ligur; Italian: liguri; English: Ligurians) were an ancient people after whom Liguria, a region of present-day north-western Italy, is named. Ancient Liguria corresponded more or less to the current Italian regio ...

, or Celtic-Ligures, formed with the contribution of Celtic immigrants from the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

and the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

areas in an early historical period, before the Gallic invasions of the 4th century BC.

says they founded the cities of

, Licini Forum, and

Parra Parra (Hebrew: ''גפן'') is a Spanish, Portuguese, and also Jewish surname, meaning grapevine or trellis, for example, a pergola. It is taken from the word meaning latticework and the vines raised on it. In Hebrew context the surname is used ...

, Naturalis Historia, III, 124-125.

Culture

Like the

Lepontii The Lepontii were an ancient Celtic people occupying portions of Rhaetia (in modern Switzerland and Northern Italy) in the Alps during the late Bronze Age/Iron Age. Recent archeological excavations and their association with the Golasecca culture ...

and

Insubres The Insubres or Insubri were an ancient Celts, Celtic population settled in Insubria, in what is now the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Lombardy. They were the founders of Mediolanum (Milan). Though completely Gaulish at the time of Roman rep ...

, the Orobii are associated with the archaeological

Golasecca culture The Golasecca culture (9th - 4th century BC) was a Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age culture in northern Italy, whose type-site was excavated at Golasecca in the province of Varese, Lombardy, where, in the area of Monsorino at the beginning of the ...

References

Bibliography