Ambisontes
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The Ambisontes (
Gaulish Gaulish is an extinct Celtic languages, 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, ...
: 'those around the Isontia') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper
Salzach The Salzach (Austrian: ˆsaltsax ) is a river in Austria and Germany. It is in length and is a right tributary of the Inn (river), Inn, which eventually joins the Danube. Its drainage basin of comprises large parts of the Northern Limeston ...
valley during the
Roman period The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
.


Name

They are mentioned as ''Ambisontes'' by Pliny (1st c. AD), and as ''Ambēsóntioi'' (Ἀμβησόντιοι) by
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...
(2nd c. AD). The
Gaulish Gaulish is an extinct Celtic languages, 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, ...
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 used ...
''Ambisontes'' means 'the people from around the Isontia', stemming from the root *''amb(i)''- ('around, on both sides') attached to the name of the river ''Isontia'' (modern
Salzach The Salzach (Austrian: ˆsaltsax ) is a river in Austria and Germany. It is in length and is a right tributary of the Inn (river), Inn, which eventually joins the Danube. Its drainage basin of comprises large parts of the Northern Limeston ...
). The
hydronym A hydronym (from , , "water" and , , "name") is a type of toponym that designates a proper name of a body of water. Hydronyms include the proper names of rivers and streams, lakes and ponds, swamps and marshes, seas and oceans. As a subset of top ...
itself, while not necessarily Celtic, is most likely of
Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...
origin, and can be derived from the stem *'' â‚shâ‚-ont-'' ('she who moves quickly')., s.v. ''Ambisontes''.


Geography

The Ambisontes lived in the upper valley of the
Salzach The Salzach (Austrian: ˆsaltsax ) is a river in Austria and Germany. It is in length and is a right tributary of the Inn (river), Inn, which eventually joins the Danube. Its drainage basin of comprises large parts of the Northern Limeston ...
river. Their territory was situated north of the Saevates and Laianci, south of the Alauni, and east of the
Breuni The Raeti ( ; spelling variants: ''Rhaeti'', ''Rheti'' or ''Rhaetii'') were a confederation of Alpine tribes, whose language and culture were related to those of the Etruscans. Before the Roman conquest, they inhabited present-day Tyrol in Austr ...
and Cosuanetes., Map 19: Raetia.


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 The Tropaeum Alpium (; ) is a Roman trophy ('' tropaeum'') celebrating the emperor Augustus's decisive victory over the tribes who populated the Alps. The monument's ruins are in La Turbie (France), a few kilometers from the Principality of Mo ...
. Pliny. ''Naturalis Historia''
3:20


References


Primary sources

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Bibliography

* * * * {{Authority control Historical Celtic peoples Gauls Tribes in pre-Roman Gaul