The Cocosates or Cocosates Sexsignani were an

Aquitani The Aquitani were a tribe that lived in the region between the Pyrenees, the Atlantic ocean, and the Garonne, in present-day southwestern France in the 1st century BCE. The Romans dubbed this region ''Gallia Aquitania''. Classical authors such a ...

tribe dwelling in present-day

Landes ''Landes'', or ''Lanas'' in Gascon, means moorland or heath. ''Landes'' and ''Lanas'' come from the Latin ''plānus'' meaning “‘flat, even, level, plain’”. They are therefore cognate with the English plain (and plane), the Spanish word ...

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 appl ...

Name

They are mentioned as ''Cocosates'' 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), and as ''Cocosates Sexsignani'' by

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, ...

(1st c. AD). The etymology of the name remains obscure. It can be derived from the

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 Switzerl ...

stem ''cocos''- ('scarlet red') attached to the suffix -''ates'' ('belonging to'). Red is a colour commonly used in personal names (''Cocus'', ''Cocca'', ''Cocidius'', etc.) and associated with warfare., s.v. ''Cocosates (Sexsignani)''.

Geography

The Cocosates lived in present-day

. Their territory was located east of the Atlantic Ocean, west of the Oscidates and

Sotiates The Sotiates were a Gallic-Aquitani tribe dwelling in the region surrounding the modern town of Sos (Lot-et-Garonne) during the Iron Age and the Roman period. They were subjugated in 56 BC by the Roman forces of Caesar's legatus P. Licinius Cra ...

, north of the

Tarbelli The Tarbelli were an Aquitani tribe dwelling in the present-day regions of Labourd and Chalosse, in the west of Aquitania, during the Iron Age. Alongside the Auscii, they were one of the most powerful peoples of Aquitania. They were subjugated ...

and Tarusates, and south of the

Boii The Boii (Latin plural, singular ''Boius''; grc, Βόιοι) were a Celtic tribe of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul (Northern Italy), Pannonia (Hungary), parts of Bavaria, in and around Bohemia (after whom the ...

., Map 25: Hispania Tarraconensis. Their chief town was known as Caequosa (modern Sescouze, near

Castets Castets (; oc-gsc, Castèths) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Landes department The following is a list of the 327 communes of the Landes departmen ...

Political organization

The Cocosates were a confederation of six tribes. They were probably clients of the neighbouring

References

Bibliography

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Name

Geography

Political organization

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading