The Taurisci were a federation of

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

tribes who dwelt in today's

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

and northern

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

(

Carniola Carniola ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upp ...

) before the coming of the Romans (c. 200 BC). According to

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

, they are the same as the people known as the Norici.

Etymology

The etymology of the name is disputed. ''Taurisci'' may stem from a root meaning 'mountain' or 'high rock', although it has been demonstrated that it is not related to the neighbouring '' Tauern'' mountain. Another proposed etymology is the Celtic root ''*'' 'bull' (see

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, ...

''taruos'').

History

Affiliated with the Celto-Ligurian Taurini, the Taurisci settled on the upper

Sava The Sava, is a river in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. From its source in Slovenia it flows through Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally reac ...

river after their defeat at the Battle of Telamon in 225 BC. Following in the wake of the

Boii The Boii (Latin language, Latin plural, singular ''Boius''; ) were a Celts, Celtic tribe of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul (present-day Northern Italy), Pannonia (present-day Austria and Hungary), present-day Ba ...

, they migrated to northern

Italia 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 ...

and the Adriatic coast. The Greek chronicler

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

(ca. 203–120 BC) mentioned Tauriscian gold mining in the area of

Aquileia Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river Natiso (modern Natisone), the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times. Today, the city is small ( ...

. Along with the troops of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

, they were defeated by invading Germanic Cimbri and

Teutons The Teutons (, ; ) were an ancient northern European tribe mentioned by Roman authors. The Teutons are best known for their participation, together with the Cimbri and other groups, in the Cimbrian War with the Roman Republic in the late seco ...

at the Battle of Noreia in 112 BC. The identity of Taurisci and Norici has not yet been conclusively established: According to historian Géza Alföldy, the Norici were one tribe of the larger highlandic Taurisci federation, while the '' Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde'' defines the Norici as Celts settling in the '' Regnum Noricum'' in present-day

, with the Taurisci as their southeastern neighbours. Other people settling in the region were the

Pannonians This is a list of ancient tribes in the ancient territory of Illyria (; ). The name ''Illyrians'' seems to be the name of a single Illyrian tribe that was the first to come into contact with the ancient Greeks, causing the name Illyrians to be ap ...

in the south-east of Carniola, the

Iapydes The Iapodes (or Iapydes, Japodes; ; ) were an ancient people who dwelt north of and inland from the Liburnians, off the Adriatic coast and eastwards of the Istrian peninsula. They occupied the interior of the country between the ''Colapis'' (Kupa ...

, an

Illyria In classical and late antiquity, Illyria (; , ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; , ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyrians. The Ancient Gree ...

n tribe, in the south-west, and the Carni, a Venetic tribe. Teurisci, attested 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 ...

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ro ...

, were originally a group of the Celtic Taurisci from the Austrian Alps established in North-Western Dacia at the end of Iron Age. In the middle of the 1st century BC, the Taurisci together with the Boii tried to expand eastwards into modern-day Hungary, but clashed with the rising power of the

Dacians The Dacians (; ; ) were the ancient Indo-European inhabitants of the cultural region of Dacia, located in the area near the Carpathian Mountains and west of the Black Sea. They are often considered a subgroup of the Thracians. This area include ...

under their king Burebista and were defeated. This war is often dated to the 60s or 50s BC or even precisely to 60/59 BC, but cannot be dated with that certainty. The numismatic material suggests that the clash may in fact have only happened by 41/40 BC. The events resulted in the decisive defeat of the Taurisci, leading to the annexation of their territory by the

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 ...

vividly depicts the outcome, stating that: ''"Burebista not only conquered the Taurisci, but utterly eradicated them from existence."''

References

Historical Celtic peoples Gauls Celtic tribes of Illyria Ancient history of Slovenia {{Europe-hist-stub

Etymology

History

See also

References