Coins of the Elusates 5th 1st century BCE

The Elusates 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 the modern

Gers Gers (; oc, Gers or , ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southwestern France. Named after the Gers River, its inhabitants are called the ''Gersois'' and ''Gersoises'' in French. In 2019, it had a population of 191,377.

department, around present-day

Eauze Eauze (; Gascon: ''Eusa'') is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France. History Located in the heart of south-west France, 130 kilometers from the Spanish border, Eauze is originally a proto-Basque city that became Roman. It wa ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

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 ...

and the

Roman period The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

. They were subjugated in 56 BC by the Roman forces of

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 ...

legatus A ''legatus'' (; anglicised as legate) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman Army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 50 ...

P. Licinius Crassus.

Name

They are mentioned as ''Elusates'' by

(mid-1st c. BC) and Pliny (1st c. AD), and as Elusa on the ''

Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the '' cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire. The map is a 13th-ce ...

'' (5th c. AD)., s.v. ''Elusates'' and ''Elusa''. The etymology of the ethnonym ''Elusates'' remains uncertain, but the root ''elus(a)''- is generally presumed to be of Aquitanian origin. Alternatively, a connection with the Celtic root *''elu(o)''- ('numerous') has also been proposed. The city of

, attested in the 4th century AD as ''

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 law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities () o ...

Elusa'', is named after the tribe.

Geography

The Elusates dwelled south of the Sotiates, north of the Onobrisates, east of the Tarusates, west of the Lactorates, and northwest of the Ausci., Map 25: Hispania Tarraconensis. The pre-Roman

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretch ...

of Esbérous was located 3km northwest of Eauze. During the Roman period, their chief town was known as Elusa (modern

). Made a Roman ''colonia'' in the early 3rd century AD, Elusa is documented as the capital of the province of Novempopulana by the '' Notitia Galliarum'' in the 4th century. The settlement of ''Tasta'', mentioned by Pliny, may be identified with the city since the field that partly covers the ancient Elusa is called ''La Taste''.

References

Bibliography

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Name

Geography

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading