Gallitae

The Gallitae were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper valley of the Bléone river (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence) during the Iron Age.

Name

They are mentioned as Gallitae (var. -tre) by Pliny (1st c. AD) and on an inscription.

The name Gallitae appears to be based on the Celtic root gal(l)-, meaning 'power, ability', which can also be found in the ethnic names Galli (Gauls) and Galátai (Galatians).

Geography

The Gallitae lived in the upper valley of the Bléone river, in a land later called ager Galadius in the early Middle Ages (813–814 AD). The Barrington Atlas locates their territory north of the Bodiontici, east of the Sogiontii and Sebaginni, west of the Eguiturii, south of the Edenates.

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

Primary sources

• Pliny (1938). Natural History. Loeb Classical Library. Translated by Rackham, H. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674993648. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)

Bibliography

• Barruol, Guy (1969). Les Peuples préromains du Sud-Est de la Gaule: étude de géographie historique. E. de Boccard. OCLC 3279201.
• 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.
• Matasović, Ranko (2009). Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic. Brill. ISBN 9789004173361.
• Talbert, Richard J. A. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691031699.