The Ligauni were a

Celto-Ligurian The Ligures or Ligurians were an ancient people after whom Liguria, a region of present-day north-western Italy, is named. Because of the strong Celtic influences on their language and culture, they were also known in antiquity as Celto-Liguria ...

tribe dwelling near the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

coast 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 The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

Name

They are mentioned as ''Ligaunorumque'' by Pliny (1st c. AD). Pliny. ''Naturalis Historia'', 3:35., s.v. ''Ligauni''. A ''(colonia) in Liga'' in also attested in the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

(814 AD). The ethnic name ''Ligauni'' is probably Celtic, stemming from an earlier *''Ligamnī''. It has been derived from the root ''līg''- ('to strike'), with ''Ligauni'' as 'the beating ones', or from ''liga''- ('mud, sediment, silt'). According to

Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel (born 5 April 1953) is an Italian philologist, linguist and scholar of Celtic studies. Biography Patrizia de Bernardo was born on 5 April 1953 in Milan, Italy, the daughter of Mario de Bernardo and Adriana Marra. She ...

, such linguistically Celtic tribal names suggest that a Celto-Ligurian dialect played an important role among the languages spoken in ancient Ligury.

Geography

Their territory was located east of the

Deciates The Deciates (Δεκιήταις) were a Ligurian tribe dwelling near on the Mediterranean coast, around present-day Antibes, during the Iron Age and the Roman era. According to historian Guy Barruol, they were part of the Saluvian confederatio ...

, west of the

Verucini The Verucini were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the inlands of southeastern Provence during the Iron Age. Name The Verucini are solely attested by Pliny as ''Verucini'' in the 1st century AD. Pliny. ''Naturalis Historia'', 3:34., s.v. ''Verucin ...

, south of the

Suetrii The Suetrii (Gaulish: *''Su(p)etrioi'', 'the good birds') or Suetri were a Gallic tribe dwelling around present-day Castellane (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence) during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Suebri'' (var. ''su ...

, and north of the

Oxybii The Oxybii or Oxubii (Ancient Greek: ) were a Celto-Ligurian tribe dwelling on the Mediterranean coast during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Oxubíōn'' (Ὀξυβίων) by Polybius (2nd c. BC) and Strabo (e ...

., Map 16: Col. Forum Iulii-Albingaunum. According to historian

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 ...

, they were part of the Saluvian confederation.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Gallic peoples Ligures Tribes conquered by Rome