The Gabali (

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient 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, most of Switze ...

: *''Gabli'') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the later

Gévaudan Gévaudan (; oc, Gavaudan, Gevaudan) is a historical area of France in Lozère ''département''. It took its name from the Gabali, a Gallic tribe subordinate to the Arverni. History After the conquest of Gaul, the Romans preserved the c ...

region 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 ...

and the

Roman period The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

Name

They are mentioned as ''Gabalos'' or ''Gabalis'' by

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 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, an ...

(mid-1st c. BC), as ''Gabalei͂s'' (Γαβαλεῖς) 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 ...

(early 1st c. AD), as ''Gabales'' by Pliny (1st c. AD), and as ''Tábaloi'' (Τάβαλοι) by

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 ...

(2nd c. AD)., s.v. ''Gabali''. 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 us ...

''Gabali'' is a Latinized form of

*''Gabli''. It stems from the root (cf. Olr. ''gabul'',

Middle Welsh Middle Welsh ( cy, Cymraeg Canol, wlm, Kymraec) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh ( cy, Hen G ...

''gafl'', OBret. ''gabl''), initially designating the 'forked branch of a tree', then more generally a 'fork'. The name is related to the Gallo-Latin *''gabalottus'' ('spear'), which may have given the word ''javelot'' in French. The city of

Javols Javols ( oc, Jàvols) is a former commune in the Lozère department in southern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Peyre-en-Aubrac.civitas In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities () on th ...

of the Gabali', ''Javols'' in 1109), and the

region, attested in the 1st c. AD as ''Gabalicus pagus'' (''Gavuldanum'' in the 10th c., ''Gavalda'' in the 13th c.), are named after the Gallic tribe.

Geography

The Gabali dwelled in the

region, on the north-western foot of the Cevennes. Their territory was located south of the

Arveni The Arverni (Gaulish: *''Aruernoi'') were a Gallic people dwelling in the modern Auvergne region during the Iron Age and the Roman period. They were one of the most powerful tribes of ancient Gaul, contesting primacy over the region with the ne ...

, and north of the Ruteni. Their chief town was ''Anderitum'' (present-day

Javols Javols ( oc, Jàvols) is a former commune in the Lozère department in southern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Peyre-en-Aubrac.Averni. They are mentioned in Book VII of Caesar's Commentaries. During

Caesar's conquest of Gaul The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland). Gallic, Germanic, and British tribes fought to defend their ...

they were raiding the country of the Provincial Ruteni, and they were among the tribes that sent relief troops to the Gallic army trying to break the siege in Alesia.

Economy

The Gabali were cattle breeder. Many of them were also miners as their region was rich in silver mines.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * Historical Celtic peoples Gauls Tribes of pre-Roman Gaul {{europe-ethno-group-stub