Ecdinii
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The Ecdinii or Ecdini were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the valley of the
Tinée The Tinée (; ) is a river that flows through the Alpes-Maritimes department of southeastern France. It is long. Its drainage basin is .Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...
) 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 ''Ecdini'' by Pliny (1st c. AD), and as ''Ecdiniorum'' on the Arc of Susa., s.v. ''Ecdinii''. The meaning of 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 ...
remains obscure. If Celtic, ''Ecdinii'' is possibly formed with the prefix ''ec(s)''- ('out of, without') attached to -''dīn(i)''- ('shelter, protection').
Xavier Delamarre Xavier Delamarre (; born 5 June 1954) is a French linguist, lexicographer, and former diplomat. He is regarded as one of the world's foremost authorities on the Gaulish language. With linguist Romain Garnier, Delamarre is the co-publishing edi ...
has thus proposed to translate *''Ec(s)-dīni-oi'' as the 'Homeless'. If this interpretation is correct, the name was probably an
exonym An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...
given by a neighbouring tribe.
Guy Barruol Guy Barruol (born 10 June 1934) is a French historian and archaeologist. He is director of research emeritus at the CNRS. Biography Guy Barruol was born on 10 June 1934 in Mazan, Vaucluse, the son of Jean Barruol (1898–1982), a local histori ...
suggested that the name ''Tinius'' might be related.


Geography

The Ecdinii lived in the valley of the
Tinée The Tinée (; ) is a river that flows through the Alpes-Maritimes department of southeastern France. It is long. Its drainage basin is .Var river. Their territory was located west of the Vesubiani and Tyrii, east of the
Nemeturii The Nemeturii (Gaulish *''Nemeturioi'', 'the inhabitants of nemetons') or Nemeturi were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the Alpes Maritimae during the Iron Age. Name They are mentioned as ''Nemeturicae'' by Columella (1st c. AD), and as ''Nemotur ...
, north of the Nerusii and
Vediantii The Vediantii were a Celto-Ligurian tribe dwelling on the Mediterranean coast, near present-day Nice, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Ou̓ediantíōn'' (Οὐεδιαντίων) by Ptolemy (2nd c. AD), and ...
, and south of the
Savincates The Savincates were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the Ubaye valley, around present-day Faucon-de-Barcelonnette in the Alpes Maritimae, during the Iron Age. Name They are mentioned as ''Savincatium'' on two inscriptions., s.v. ''Savincates''. The ...
and
Caturiges The Caturiges (Gaulish: ''Caturīges'', 'kings of combat') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper Durance valley, around present-day towns of Chorges and Embrun, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Catu ...
., Map 16: Col. Forum Iulii-Albingaunum, Map 17: Lugdunum. According to A. L. F. Rivet, "there appear to have been no significant settlements in the lands of the Ecdinii and the Vesubiani, so that they must have been controlled by Cemenelum when they had been detached from the Cottian kingdom." Along with the Vesubiani and Veaminii, they were part of the Capillati.


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
They also appear on the Arch of Susa, erected by
Cottius Marcus Julius Cottius was King of the Celtic and Ligurian inhabitants of the mountainous Roman province then known as '' Alpes Taurinae'' and now as the Cottian Alps early in the 1st century BC. Son and successor to King Donnus, he negotiated a ...
in 9–8 BC.


References


Primary sources

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Bibliography

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