The Belaci were a small Gallic tribe dwelling in the

Alpes Cottiae The Alpes Cottiae (; English: 'Cottian Alps') was a small province of the Roman Empire founded in 63 AD by Emperor Nero. It was one of the three provinces straddling the Alps between modern France and Italy, along with the Alpes Graiae et Poenina ...

, around present-day

Oulx Oulx (, , ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about west of Turin, in the Susa Valley on the border with France. Names Like many other towns in the Susa Valley, Oulx has diff ...

, 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 ...

Name

They are mentioned as ''Belacorum'' on the Arch of Susa. CIL 5:7231., s.v. ''Belaci''. The ethnonym Belaci is possibly Celtic, stemming from the root ''belo''- ('strong') extended by the suffix -''aco''-. Variants beginning with ''V''- may also occur in inscriptions, as in ''Vellaconis, Velaci, Velaco, Velagenius, Vilagenio, Vilagenia, Velagenus'', or ''Velacena''. The toponym Beaulard, located in their territory, derives from an earlier ''Belas''.

Geography

The Belaci dwelled around the settlements of Ad Martis (modern

) and Diovia (

Bardonecchia Bardonecchia (; ; , ) is an Italian town and ''comune'' located in the Metropolitan City of Turin, in the Piedmont region, in the western part of Susa Valley. It grew out of a small village with the works for the Fréjus Rail Tunnel, the first c ...

). Their territory was located north of the Segovii, south of the

Medulli The Medulli (Gaulish: ''Medulloi'') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper valley of Maurienne, around present-day Modane (Savoie), during the Iron Age and Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Medullorum'' by Vitruvius (late 1st c. BC) ...

, west of the

Segusini The Segusini (Gaulish: *''Segusinoi'', 'those of Segusio') were a Gauls, Gallic tribe dwelling around present-day Susa, Piedmont, Susa, in the Alpes Cottiae, during the La Tène culture, Iron Age. Name They are mentioned as ''Segosianō̃n'' (Σε ...

, and east of the

Graioceli The Graioceli were a small Gallic tribe dwelling in the valley of Maurienne, in the modern region of Savoie, during the Iron Age. Name They are mentioned as ''Graioceli'' (var. ''graiocaeli, gaioceli'') by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC)., s.v. ''Graioc ...

., Map 17:

Lugdunum Lugdunum (also spelled Lugudunum, ; modern Lyon, France) was an important Colonia (Roman), Roman city in Gaul, established on the current site of Lyon, France, Lyon. The Roman city was founded in 43 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus, but cont ...

. Their chief town, Ad Martis, was situated on the road crossing through the

above

Segusio Susa (, , ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont, Italy. In the middle of Susa Valley, it is situated on at the confluence of the Cenischia with the Dora Riparia, a tributary of the Po River, at t ...

, at the confluence of the Dora di Bardonecchia and the

Dora Riparia The Dora Riparia (; ; or ''Doire''; ) is an alpine river, a left-bank tributary of the Po. It is long (of which 5 km is in France), with a drainage basin. It originates in the Cottian Alps, close to the Col de Montgenèvre in France, wh ...

. It derives its name from a cult site dedicated to the Roman god

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

, ''ad'' (''fanum'') ''Martis''. The settlement of Ad Fines (modern ) may have served as the border between the territories of the Segovii and Belaci.

History

They are mentioned on the Arch of Susa, erected by Cottius in 9–8 BC.

References

Bibliography

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