The Brigianii (Gaulish: *Brigianioi) were a Gallic tribe dwelling around present-day Briançon during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
Name
They are mentioned as Brigianii by Pliny (1st c. AD), and as Brigiani, Brigantionis and Bricianiorum on inscriptions.
Their name may be based on the Gaulish root brig- ('high, elevated'), or on brīgo- ('might, strength').
Geography
The Gallitae lived in the region of Briançonnais [fr], in the center of the Cottian Kingdom. Their territory was located north of the Caturiges, west of the Quariates, east of the Tricorii, south of the Segovii.
Their chief town was known as Brigantio (modern Briançon), meaning 'eminence, high/elevated place' in Gaulish.
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.
References
- ^ Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 3:20.
- CIL 5:7817, 12:94, 80.
- ^ Falileyev 2010, s.v. Brigianii.
- Delamarre 2019, p. 153.
- ^ Barruol 1969, pp. 338–340.
- Talbert 2000, Map 17: Lugdunum.
- Delamarre 2003, p. 87.
Primary sources
- Pliny (1938). Natural History. Loeb Classical Library. Translated by Rackham, H. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674993648.
Bibliography
- Barruol, Guy (1969). Les Peuples préromains du Sud-Est de la Gaule: étude de géographie historique. E. de Boccard. OCLC 3279201.
- Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental. Errance. ISBN 9782877723695.
- Delamarre, Xavier (2019). Dictionnaire des thèmes nominaux du gaulois. Ab-/Iχs(o)-. Vol. 1. Les Cents Chemins. ISBN 978-1-7980-5040-8.
- Falileyev, Alexander (2010). Dictionary of Continental Celtic Place-names: A Celtic Companion to the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. CMCS. ISBN 978-0955718236.
- Talbert, Richard J. A. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691031699.
