Velaunii

The Velaunii or Velauni (Gaulish: *Uelaunoi) were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the western Alps during the Iron Age.

Name

They are mentioned as Velauni by Pliny (1st c. AD),^[1] and probably as Οὐελαυνίους on an inscription.^[2][3]

The ethnonym Velaunī is a latinized form of Gaulish *Uelaunoi (sing. *Uelaunos). It may mean the 'chiefs, commandants',^[4] or else be derived from the Indo-European root *wel- ('to see') attached to the suffix -auni (< *āmn-ī), also found in Ingauni and Ligauni.^[5]

Geography

The Velaunii dwelled in the western Alps,^[6] possibly in the valley of the Estéron, a tributary of the Var.^[3] Their chief town may have been Brigantio (modern Briançonnet). Although no pre-Roman occupation has been found in archaeological records, the development of the Roman city suggests the presence of preexisting communities in the valley of the Estéron.^[7]

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.^[6][1]

A treaty of hospitality with a Greek city, possibly Massalia, was recorded by an inscription on a bronze hand dated to the 2nd–1st century BC.^[6][3] According to Guy Barruol, it may have been a laissez-passer for Greek caravan merchants on the Velaunian territory.^[2]