Bituriges Cubi denier Gaulois silver 1780mg

The Bituriges Cubi (

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, ...

: ''Biturīges Cubi'') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in a territory corresponding to the later province of

Berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the cul ...

, which is named after them, 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 ...

and the Roman period. They had a homonym tribe, the Bituriges Vivisci, in the Bordelais region, which could indicate a common origin, although there is no direct evidence of this.

Name

They are mentioned as ''Bituriges'' by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC), ''Bitoúriges oi̔ Kou͂boi'' (Βιτούριγες οἱ Κοῦβοι) and ''Koúbois Bitoúrixi'' (Κούβοις Βιτούριξι) 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 "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

(early 1st c. AD), ''Bituriges ... qui Cubi appellantur'' by Pliny (1st c. AD), and as ''Bitoúriges oi̔ Kou͂boi'' (Βιτούριγες οἱ Κοῦβοι) 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

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 ...

''Biturīges'' means 'kings of the world', or possibly 'perpetual kings'. It derives from the stem ''bitu-'' ('world', perhaps also 'perpetual'; cf. OIr. ''bith'' 'world, life, age', ''bith''- 'eternally',

Old Welsh Old Welsh () is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic around 550, ha ...

''bid'', OBret. ''bit'' 'world') attached to ''riges'' ('kings'; sing. ''rix''). Whether the meaning 'perpetual' was already associated with ''bitu''- in ancient Celtic languages or appeared later in Old Irish remains uncertain. In any case, the meaning 'world' probably emerged from the notion of 'living world, place of the livings', since the

Proto-Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the hypothetical 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 Linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed throu ...

stem *''bitu-'' derives from

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...

*''gʷiH-tu''-, meaning 'life' (cf. Lat. ''vīta'' 'life', OCS ''žiti'' 'to live'). The city of

Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...

, attested ca. 400 AD as ''civitas Biturigum'' ('

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 Roman law, law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilitie ...

of the Bituriges', ''Bituricas'' in 844, ''Bituris'' in 1182), and the region of

, attested in 860 as ''pagus Biturigus'' (' pagus of the Bituriges'), are named after the Gallic tribe.

Geography

Their chief town during the pre-Roman era was the oppidum of Avaricum Biturigum (modern

). Their dwelled west of the Aedui, south of the Carnutes and Cenomani, north of the Pictones, Lemovices and Arverni, and east of the Turones.

History

According to a legend recounted by

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 i ...

, the Bituriges ruled over all of Gaul ca. 600 BC. Faced with overpopulation in their homeland, the Biturigian king Ambigatus sent his sister's sons Bellovesus and Segovesus in search of new territories to settle. Segovesus headed towards the

Hercynian Forest The Hercynian Forest was an ancient and dense forest that stretched across Western Central Europe, from North French Scarplands, Northeastern France to the Carpathian Mountains, including most of Southern Germany, though its boundaries are a mat ...

, while Bellovesus is said to have led the Gallic invasion of northern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Many Greek ceramics and amphoras imported from Massalia, as well as local productions of fine art pottery dated to the second part of the 6th century BC were found on the site Bourges, which, according to historian Venceslas Kruta, gives archeological credit to the essence of the tradition reported by Livy evoking the power of the people of the region well before his own time. In the 1st century BC, the Bituriges Cubi were client of the Aedui as part of their confederation headed. During the Gallic Wars, they supported the Arverni in their fight against Caesar, and suffered great losses in the siege of their oppidum named Noviodunum, followed by their chief town Avaricum in 52 BC, the only oppidum in their territory spared by the scorched-earth tactics of Vercingetorix. They also took part in the defence of Alesia during the siege of the oppidum by the Romans. After the defeat of Vercingetorix, Rome had to suppress a Gallic revolt in the territory of the Bituriges in 51 BC. Their submission to Rome was reportedly quick, and they asked Caesar to intervene against their neighbours the Carnutes only a few weeks later.

Legacy

A passage from

, ''summa imperii penes Biturges'' ('all the power in the hands of the Bituriges'), has become the motto of the city of

References

Primary sources

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{Gallic peoples Gauls Tribes in pre-Roman Gaul Tribes involved in the Gallic Wars Historical Celtic peoples