Orobii
The Orobii (also Orobi, Oromobi or Orumbovii) were a Gallic-Ligurian tribe dwelling around present-day Como and Bergamo during the Iron Age.
Name
They are mentioned as Orobii by Cato the Elder (early 2nd century BC).[1]
The name Orobii can be explained as the Gaulish orbioi (sing. orbios), meaning 'the heirs'. It is comparable with the feminine forms Orobia and Urbia (earlier *Orbia), the ancient names of the Orge river and Orge stream, and with the i-stem Orobis, now the Orb river.[2]
Some classical writers such as Pliny the Elder thought that their name was of Greek origin, tracing the etymology from the Greek Orōn bion (Ορων βιον).[3]
Geography
The Orobii dwelled between the modern cities of Como and Bergamo. The Sottoceneri was part of their area of influence.[1]
Their territory was located north of the Gallianates, Bromanenses, and Anesiates, east of the Subinates and Ausuciates, west of the Gennanates, Trumplini and Camunni, south of the Aneuniates.[4]
History
Modern archaeologists and linguists see the Orobii as a population of celticized Ligures, or Celtic-Ligures, formed with the contribution of Celtic immigrants from the Rhine and the Danube areas during an early historical period that preceded the Gallic invasions of the 4th century BC.[5][6]
Pliny the Elder ascribes to them the foundation of the cities of Como, Bergamo, Licini Forum, and Parra.[7]
Culture
Like the Lepontii and Insubres, the Orobii are associated with the archaeological Golasecca culture.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Vietti 2008.
- ^ Delamarre 2003, p. 243.
- ^ C. Cantù, Storia di Como e sua provincia, Como, 1859.
- ^ Talbert 2000, Map 19 Raetia; Map 39: Mediolanum.
- ^ M. Gianoncelli, "Vecchie e nuove ipotesi sulla stirpe degli Orobi", in Oblatio; A. Noseda ed, Como, 1971.
- ^ R. de Marinis, "La civiltà di Golasecca", in La Lombardia, Jaka book, 1985.
- ^ Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, III, 124-125.
Bibliography
- Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental. Errance. ISBN 9782877723695.
- Talbert, Richard J. A. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691031699.
- Vietti, Gianluca (2008). "Orobiens". Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz. 047242/2008-10-17.
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