The Bigerriones or Begerri were an

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 BC. The Romans dubbed this region '' Gallia Aquitania''. Classical authors suc ...

tribe dwelling in present-day

Bigorre Bigorre (; Gascon: ''Bigòrra'') is a region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of the larger region k ...

during the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. They were subjugated in 56 BC by the Roman forces of

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war. He ...

legatus A legate (Latin: , ) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman army, equivalent to a high-ranking general officer of modern times. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the officer in comman ...

P. Licinius Crassus.

Name

They are mentioned as ''Bigerriones'' by

(mid-1st c. BC), and as ''Begerri'' (var. ''Begerbi'', ''Bebergi'', ''Bergebi'') by Pliny (1st c. AD). The

region, attested as ''Begorra'' ca. 400 AD, is named after the tribe.

Geography

The Bigerriones lived in the

region, in the northern foreland of the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

. Their territory was located north of the Onobrisates, south of the Atures, Elusates and

Auscii The Auscii or Ausci were an Aquitani tribe dwelling around present-day Auch during the Iron Age. Alongside the Tarbelli, they were one of the most powerful peoples of Aquitania. Name They are mentioned as ''Ausci'' by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC), ...

, east of the Venarni, and west of the

Volcae Tectosages The Volcae () were a Gallic tribal confederation constituted before the raid of combined Gauls that invaded Macedonia c. 270 BC and fought the assembled Greeks at the Battle of Thermopylae in 279 BC. Tribes known by the name Volcae were found sim ...

. Their chief town was known as Bigorra Castrum (modern

Saint-Lézer Saint-Lézer (; ) is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or o ...

Culture

It is believed the Bigerriones spoke a form or dialect of the

Aquitanian language The Aquitanian language was the language of the ancient Aquitani, a people living in Roman times between the Pyrenees, the Garonne river and the Atlantic Ocean. Epigraphic evidence for this language has also been found south of the Pyrenees, in ...

, a precursor of the

Basque language Basque ( ; ) is a language spoken by Basques and other residents of the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country, a region that straddles the westernmost Pyrenees in adjacent parts of northern Spain and southwestern France. Basque ...

.Jacques Lemoine, ''Toponymie du Pays Basque Français et des Pays de l'Adour'', Picard 1977,

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Aquitanian peoples Aquitani