The Varduli were a pre-

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

tribe settled in the north of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

, in what today is the eastern region of the autonomous community of the Basque Country and western

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

, in northern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. Their historical territory corresponds with current

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

-speaking areas, however it is debated whether the Varduli were actually

Aquitani The Aquitani were a tribe that lived in the region between the Pyrenees, the Atlantic ocean, and the Garonne, in present-day southwestern France in the 1st century BCE. The Romans dubbed this region '' Gallia Aquitania''. Classical authors such ...

ans, related to the

Vascones The Vascones were a pre-Roman tribe who, on the arrival of the Romans in the 1st century, inhabited a territory that spanned between the upper course of the Ebro river and the southern basin of the western Pyrenees, a region that coincides wi ...

,''Localización de algunas ciudades várdulas citadas por Mela y Ptolomeo'' Ildefonso Gurruchaga
/ref> or if they were

Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...

, related to tribes such as the

Cantabri The Cantabri ( grc-gre, Καντάβροι, ''Kantabroi'') or Ancient Cantabrians, were a pre-Roman people and large tribal federation that lived in the northern coastal region of ancient Iberia in the second half of the first millennium BC. Thes ...

and

Celtiberians The Celtiberians were a group of Celts and Celticized peoples inhabiting an area in the central-northeastern Iberian Peninsula during the final centuries BCE. They were explicitly mentioned as being Celts by several classic authors (e.g. Strab ...

''El puerto romano de Irun'' Mercedes Urteaga
/ref> and which later underwent Basquisation.

Etymology

Their ethnonym ''Varduli'' is connected with an area that is referred to in documents from the early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

Bardulia According to some sources, Bardulia is the ancient name of the territories that composed the primitive Castile in the north of what later became the province of Burgos. The name comes from '' Varduli'', the name of a tribe who, in pre-Roman and ...

, which is identified as the cradle of

Old Castile Old Castile ( es, Castilla la Vieja ) is a historic region of Spain, which had different definitions along the centuries. Its extension was formally defined in the 1833 territorial division of Spain as the sum of the following provinces: Sant ...

Julio Caro Baroja Julio Caro Baroja (13 November 1914 – 18 August 1995) was a Spanish anthropologist, historian, linguist and essayist. He was known for his special interest in Basque culture, Basque history and Basque society. Of Basque ancestry, he was the ...

, a Spanish anthropologist and linguist declared on his works that the term ''Varduli'' does not have a

origin.

History

The Varduli are mentioned for the first time during

times, by

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...

, who called them ''Bardyetai'', and placed them in the Basque coast, between the

and

; they are also mentioned by the geographer

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 ...

, who placed them roughly in present-day

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French de ...

, and by Roman historians, notably

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 ' ...

in his ''

Naturalis Historia The ''Natural History'' ( la, Naturalis historia) is a work by Pliny the Elder. The largest single work to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day, the ''Natural History'' compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors. ...

'', where he reported that ''Amanum Portus'' (Roman name: ''Flaviobriga''), present-day

Castro Urdiales Castro Urdiales is a seaport of northern Spain, in the autonomous community of Cantabria, situated on the Bay of Biscay. Castro Urdiales is a modern town, although its castle and the Gothic-style parish church of Santa María de la Asunción, da ...

, was a Varduli city. The Roman geographer

Pomponius Mela Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest Roman geographer. He was born in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died AD 45. His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nearly to the year 1500. It occupies less ...

located them also in the coast, west of the Vascones and east of the Caristii. This lack of agreement about their exact position may have been caused by the continuous movement of the tribes of the northern Iberian Peninsula during events such as the

Cantabrian Wars The Cantabrian Wars (29–19 BC) (''Bellum Cantabricum''), sometimes also referred to as the Cantabrian and Asturian Wars (''Bellum Cantabricum et Asturicum''), were the final stage of the two-century long Roman conquest of Hispania, in what tod ...

. The first census of the Varduli population took place under the orders of

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

. According to

,Book III, 26, 27, Book IV, 110 the main Vardulian city was ''Tullonium'', that was in the

Zadorra The Zadorra is a river tributary of the Ebro in the Basque Country at the north of the Iberian Peninsula. The river flows across province Álava all along (with the exception of Burgos' exclave La Puebla de Arganzon) till it pours into the Ebro n ...

(modern name) river basin, on a main

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

from Virovesca, capital of the Autrigones, to Pompaelo (

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

Iruña Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near abov ...

) in Vasconian land. According to several

Classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

authors such as

and

other Vardulian cities were ''Alba'' and ''Gebala'' (today's

Guevara Guevara is a surname of Basque origin. Notable people with the surname include: * Amado Guevara (born 1976), Honduran football (soccer) player * Álvaro Guevara (1894–1951), Chilean painter * Ander Guevara (born 1997), Spanish footballer for R ...

), in the inland; while ''Tritium Tuboricum'', a little west of the Deba river (''Deva'', ''Deua'' or ''Deba'' = Goddess), ''Menosca'' and ''Morogi'' or ''Morosgi'', were on the Atlantic coast (on the south coast of the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

). In 114 BC,

Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...

had a personal guard made by Varduli people, who were called ''Barduaioí'' slaves in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. By the year 44, and according to

, the Varduli inhabited lands close to the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

and composed a united society. The defeat of the

against Augustus did not have any effect on the Varduli, as they had not joined the wars. The Varduli served in

cohort Cohort or cohortes may refer to: * Cohort (educational group), a group of students working together through the same academic curriculum * Cohort (floating point), a set of different encodings of the same numerical value * Cohort (military unit) ...

s in the province of

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Grea ...

: Varduli are mentioned in an inscription on a Roman altar at Rochester, (Roman Bremenium) and at

Milecastle 19 Milecastle 19 (Matfen Piers) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall. Sited just to the east of the hamlet of Matfen Piers, the milecastle is today covered by the B6318 Military Road. The milecastle is notable for the discovery of an a ...

along

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall ( la, Vallum Aelium), also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Hadriani'' in Latin, is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...

an altar inscription made by members of the First Cohort of Varduli, cavalrymen, is one of the few dedications to the ''Matres'', or mother goddesses, found in Roman Britain. The First Cohort of Varduli are also mentioned in inscriptions at the

Antonine Wall The Antonine Wall, known to the Romans as ''Vallum Antonini'', was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some ...

Longovicium Longovicium (or Lanchester Roman Fort) was an auxiliary fort located on Roman Dere Street, in the Roman province of Britannia Inferior. It is located just southwest of Lanchester () in the English county of Durham, roughly to the west of the ...

in Durham,

Bremenium Bremenium is an ancient Roman fort (castrum) located at Rochester, Northumberland, England. The fort is one of the defensive structures built along Dere Street, a Roman road running from York to Corbridge and onwards to Melrose. Signi ...

and Corstopitum in Northumberland and on the

Dere Street Dere Street or Deere Street is a modern designation of a Roman road which ran north from Eboracum (York), crossing the Stanegate at Corbridge (Hadrian's Wall was crossed at the Portgate, just to the north) and continuing beyond into what is n ...

in Cappuck in the Scottish Borders. As with the Caristii, it is discussed whether the Varduli were an

an tribe or a

Celt The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...

one, related to the

and

. Their place-names (

Toponyms Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

) were clearly of Indo-European origin (probably

Proto-Celtic language Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly reconstructed through the comparative method. Proto-Celti ...

), as ''Uxama'' (comes from ''Upsama'', meaning "the highest"), ''Deobriga'' (comes from ''Deiuo-Briga'', meaning "holy hill"), ''Tullonium'' (comes from ''Tullo'', meaning "valley"), among others. River-names (

Hydronyms A hydronym (from el, ὕδρω, , "water" and , , "name") is a type of toponym that designates a proper name of a body of water. Hydronyms include the proper names of rivers and streams, lakes and ponds, swamps and marshes, seas and oceans. As a ...

) such as ''Deva'', ''Deua'' or ''Deba'' (Goddess) were also of Indo-European

etymology Etymology () The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words ...

. As with the Caristii, not a single toponym related to the Aquitanian- Basque languages has been found, further proving the theory of their Celtic origin and possible

late Basquisation Late Basquisation is a minority hypothesis that dates the arrival of the first speakers of the Basque language in northeastern Iberia from Aquitaine to the 5th or 6th century AD – as opposed to the mainstream view of it being the last remaining ...

. However, but for a few exceptions (''Deba'', ''

Zegama Zegama, popularly known as "The shadow of Aizkorri", is a town and municipality in the Goierri region of the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, northern Spain. Nature and culture Zegama's main characterist ...

'', ''Arakama'') present-day place-names show a clear prevalence of the Basque linguistic element (sometimes mixed with Latin and Romance lexical roots). The last reference to the Varduli appears on a chronicle from

Hydatius Hydatius, also spelled Idacius (c. 400 – c. 469) was a late Western Roman writer and clergyman. The bishop of Aquae Flaviae in the Roman province of Gallaecia (almost certainly the modern Chaves, Portugal, in the modern district of Vila Real), he ...

, where he narrates the devastations that suffered the

Heruli The Heruli (or Herules) were an early Germanic people. Possibly originating in Scandinavia, the Heruli are first mentioned by Roman authors as one of several " Scythian" groups raiding Roman provinces in the Balkans and the Aegean Sea, attacking ...

when they attacked in the year 400 the Cantabrian coast and again in 456 after attacking

. Later in the next century, Saxons established on the Bordeaux estuary also were known to raid along the coast. It is believed by some that the Varduli suffered a Basquisation as a result of the continuous progress of the

on their territory. They are not mentioned again in the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

and their place appeared the precursors of the province of

. Some authors deducted, following Classic documents, the existence of some ethnic affinity, collaboration, or political union between the Caristii, the Autrigones and the Varduli, tribes who later would all be grouped under the name ''Varduli'', this would explain all the later events on this region, for example, why once the Caristii and Varduli were moved out of their original territories by the

in the Early Middle Ages, the Caristii and Autrigones lost their names and were grouped together with the Varduli over the territory of the Autrigones who took refuge in their coastal areas behind the mountains from the Islamic military depredations from the Al-andalus new powers down the Ebro, which passed to be made after a century of resettlement into the Meseta plains as a frontier march or county of the Kingdom of

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...

in the middle years of the 8th century, the original one called Castile. The union, whichever the causes, between Varduli, Caristii and Autrigones on a unique territory would later create the blur County of Bardulia, mentioned as part of the Crown of Castile. The coat of arms of the

province of

reads ''"Fidelissima Bardulia, Nunquam Superata"'',Juntas Generales de Gipuzkoa - Escudo y bandera
/ref> meaning "Most loyal Bardulia, never conquered".

References

{{Pre-Roman peoples in Spain Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula Celtic tribes of the Iberian Peninsula Basque history Ancient peoples of Spain

Etymology

History

See also

References