The Velaunii or Velauni (
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 ...
: *''Uelaunoi'') were a
Gallic tribe dwelling in the western Alps 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 ''Velauni'' by
Pliny (1st c. AD),
and probably as Οὐελαυνίους on an inscription.
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 ...
''Velaunī'' is a latinized form of
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 ...
*''Uelaunoi'' (
sing. *''Uelaunos''). It may mean the 'chiefs, commandants', or else be derived from the Indo-European root ''*wel''- ('to see') attached to the suffix -''auni'' (< *''āmn-ī''), also found in ''
Ingauni'' and ''
Ligauni
The Ligauni were a Celto-Ligurian tribe dwelling near the Mediterranean coast during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
Name
They are mentioned as ''Ligaunorumque'' by Pliny (1st c. AD).Pliny. ''Naturalis Historia'', 3:35., s.v. ''Ligauni''. A ...
''.
Geography
The Velaunii dwelled in the western Alps, possibly in the valley of the
Estéron
The Estéron is a river that flows through the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Alpes-Maritimes departments of southeastern France. It is long. Its drainage basin is .[Briançonnet
Briançonnet (; oc, Briançonet) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department
The following is a list of the 163 communes of the Alpes-Maritimes ...]
). Although no pre-Roman occupation has been found in archaeological records, the development of the Roman city suggests the presence of preexisting communities in the valley of the Estéron.
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.
[ Pliny. ''Naturalis Historia'']
3:20
A treaty of hospitality with a Greek city, possibly
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 ...
, was recorded by an inscription on a bronze hand dated to the 2nd–1st century BC. According to Guy Barruol, it may have been a laissez-passer for Greek caravan merchants on the Velaunian territory.
References
Primary sources
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Bibliography
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Historical Celtic peoples
Gauls
Tribes in pre-Roman Gaul
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