Tolistobogii (in other sources Tolistobogioi, Tolistobōgioi, Tolistoboioi, Tolistobioi, Toligistobogioi or Tolistoagioi) is the name used by the Roman historian,

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

, for one of the three ancient Gallic tribes of Galatia in central

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

, together with the

Trocmi The Trocmii or Trocmi were one of the three ancient tribes of Galatia in central Asia Minor, together with the Tolistobogii and Tectosages,Livy, xxxviii. 16 part of the possible Gallic group who moved from Macedonia into Asia Minor Anatolia ...

and Tectosages. The tribe entered Anatolia in 279 BC as a contingent of Celtic raiders from the Danube region, and settled in those regions of Phrygia which would later become part of the Roman province of Galatia. The Galatians retained their Celtic language through the 4th century AD, when

Saint Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...

mentions that the Galatians still spoke a Celtic language in his times.

Etymology and identity

The name is believed to be a ''karmadhāraya'' compound of two

Proto-Celtic 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 ...

roots: the first, ''*tolisto-'', is of uncertain meaning, but perhaps related to

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...

''tol'' "will, desire"; Ludwig Rübekeil conjectures it to be an adjectival derivation from a Celtic root ''*tel-'' in an archaic and not well-attested formation of the superlative, and tentatively translates the name as "the most enduring, hardest". A non-Celtic origin for the root ''*tolisto-'' is also possible. The second root, ''*bogio-'', means "beat, pound" and is a common element in Celtic personal names (cf. Gaulish ''Andecombogius'', ''Combogiomārus'', ''Namantobogius'', ''Uercombogius''; also Old Irish ''bong'' "batter" and Welsh ''-abwy'' Proto-Celtic ''*adbogio-''in names such as ''Rhonabwy'' and ''Iunabwy'').

Geography

The Tolistobogii for the greater part of their centuries-long stay in Galatia were located in what is now

Eskişehir Province Eskişehir Province ( tr, ) is a province in northwestern Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Bilecik to the northwest, Kütahya to the west, Afyon to the southwest, Konya to the south, Ankara to the east, and Bolu to the north. The provincia ...

just to the west of

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

History

The Tolistobogii first appear as troops in the army of

Brennus Brennus or Brennos is the name of two Gaulish chieftains, famous in ancient history: * Brennus, chieftain of the Senones, a Gallic tribe originating from the modern areas of France known as Seine-et-Marne, Loiret, and Yonne; in 387 BC, in t ...

on its way to plunder Delphi in Greece in 279 BC. In

Dardani The Dardani (; grc, Δαρδάνιοι, Δάρδανοι; la, Dardani) or Dardanians were a Paleo-Balkan people, who lived in a region that was named Dardania after their settlement there. They were among the oldest Balkan peoples, and their ...

a, it is said, some 20,000 men under Leonorius and Lutarius in these three tribes seceded from Brennus and entered

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

, where they collected tribute from the region, including Byzantium. Subsequently, they crossed the Hellespont to fight as mercenaries for Nicomedes I of Bithynia and then left Bithynia to plunder Anatolia. The Tolistobogii received Aeolia and Ionia as territory. According to Plutach, the historian Polybius met and talked with Chiomara, wife of Ortagion, chieftain of the Tolistobogii who united them into a powerful state against Rome in 189 BC. Chiomara was captured and raped by a centurion who, when he found out her seniority, demanded a ransom from Ortagion. Whilst the ransom was being delivered, Chiomara had the centurion decapitated and took his head to her husband.Peter Berresford Ellis. The Druids. Robinson, London 1994.

References

{{Gallic peoples Ancient Galatia Gauls Boii Historical Celtic peoples