List of ancient Ligurian tribes

The Ligures (singular Ligus or Ligur; English: Ligurians; Greek: Λίγυες - Lígues) were an ancient Indo-European people who appear to have originated in, and gave their name to, Liguria, a region of north-western Italy.^[1] Elements of the Ligures appear to have migrated to other areas of western Europe, including the Iberian peninsula. They had a tribal organization with numerous tribes that are listed below:

Ancestors[]

Map 1: Indo-European migrations as described in The Horse, the Wheel, and Language by David W. Anthony

Proto-Indo-Europeans (Proto-Indo-European speakers)
- Proto-Ligurians (Proto-Ligurian speakers)

Ligures[]

Map 2: Iron Age groups within the Italian peninsula. Ligurians are located in the upper left corner of the map.

Map 3: Peoples of Cisalpine Gaul, 391–192 BC. among them showing the Ligures in the southern Alps and northern Apennines on the northern coast of the Ligurian Sea.

Map 4: The Roman Regio IX Liguria.

(or Montani) (in the hinterland of Savona)
Apuani (in Lunigiana)
Bagienni (or Vagienni) (in the area of Bene Vagienna)
Briniates (or Boactes) (in the area of Brugnato)
/
Deciates (in modern Provence, west of the river Var)
Epanterii
Friniates (in the area now called Frignano)
Garuli
(or ) (in and around Genoa)
Hercates
Ingauni
Intemelii
Ilvates-Iriates
- Ilvates / Mainland Ilvates / / (Iluates?) (in the territory of Tortona, Voghera and Libarna)
- Ilvates / Island Ilvates (or Iluates) (if different from the ) (on the island of Ilva, today's Elba)
Laevi (along the Ticino River and in the area of Pavia)
Lapicini (or )
(or Libui) /
(or ) (in the Mugello region)
Marici (near the confluence of the rivers Orba, Bormida and Tanaro)
Oxybii (or Oxibii) (in modern Provence)
Sabates (in the area of Vado Ligure)
Segusini - in Susa
Statielli (or Statiellates) (in the valleys of the Orba [left bank], Bormida and Tanaro)
(or )
(or ) (with main town at Tigullia, now in the frazione of Trigoso)
Triullati
Vediantii
(west of the , in and around Voltri [now a suburb of Genoa])
- (or Langenses) (north of the )
(or ) (between Veleia and Libarna)
Vesubiani – Vésubie, Southern Gaul

Ligures mixed with other peoples[]

Map 5: Tribal groups of ancient Provence and their settlements

Celto-Ligurians / Gallo-Ligurians[]

May have been Celtic tribes influenced by Ligurians, heavyly Celticized Ligurian tribes that shifted to a Celtic ethnolinguistic identity or mixed Celtic-Ligurian tribes. They dwelt in southeastern Transalpine Gaul and northwestern Cisalpine Gaul, mainly in the Western Alps regions, Rhodanus eastern basin and upper Po river basin.

Acitavones
/ Adanates – slopes of the Western Alps (Maurienne-Modanne), Southern Gaul
Adunicates – Andon área, Southern Gaul
– Middle and Lower Durance river valley, Southern Gaul (tribal confederation)
- / Proper
(Avantici)
/ Avatici – Camargue – Rhodanus river delta, south of the Volcae Arecomici, in Southern Gaul
Belaci
Bodiontici – in Southern Gaul
– Low Tarentaise, Savoy, Southern Gaul
/ Brigianii – Briançon, High Durance river valley, Southern Gaul
/ (in the area of Castellazzo Bormida)
Caturiges – Chorges, High Durance river valley, in Southern Gaul
Cavares/Cavari – North of Low Durance, Arausio (Orange), in Southern Gaul (tribal confederation)
- Cavares Proper
- /
Ceutrones / Centrones – Moûtiers, in the western Alps slopes, Southern Gaul
Dexivates
– Ubaye Valley, Southern Gaul
Graioceli / Garocelli – Alps western slopes in part of eastern Savoy, and Alps eastern slopes, northwestern Piedmont in the Graian Alps
Iconii – Gap, in Southern Gaul
/
Ligauni
Medulli – upper valley of Maurienne, Southern Gaul
/ – in Southern Gaul
Nemeturii – High Var river valley, Southern Gaul
Orobii - in the northern Italian Alpine valleys of Bergamo, Como and Lecco
Quariates – in Southern Gaul
/ Reii - in Sothern Gaul
Salassi (Gallo-Ligurian people) – Aosta Valley and Canavese (Northern Piedmont) (Ivrea)
Salyes / Salluvii - in southeatern Cisalpine Gaul (modern Provence)
Savincates
Segobriges
Segusini - in Segusa (today's Susa, Piemonte)
/ Sentii – Senez, in Southern Gaul
Sogiontii
/
Suetrii
Taurini (or Taurisci) (Gallo-Ligurian people) – parts of central Piedmont (Turin region)
Tebavii
Tricastini
– in Southern Gaul
Ucenni
– in Southern Gaul
Vergunni – Vinon-sur-Verdon, Southern Gaul
Vocontii / – Vaison-la-Romaine, Southern Gaul (in modern Provence, on the east bank of the Rhône and Vercors, southern Gaul.
- Vertamocorii – Eastern Piedmont (Novara). Said by Pliny to descend from the Vocontii.

Ibero-Ligurians[]

Elisyces / Helisyces – a tribe that dwelt in the region of Narbo (Narbonne) and modern northern Roussillon. May have been either Iberian or Ligurian or a Ligurian-Iberian tribe.

Possible Ligurian tribes[]

Map 6: Simplified map of the ancient tribes of Corsica

In the islands of Corsica and far northern Sardinia dwelt a group of tribes called Corsi (Ancient Corsicans or Paleo-Corsicans) that may have been related to the Ligures or part of them. The Rutuli were a people that some modern scholars think were related to the Ligurians

The Corsi were an ancient people of Sardinia and Corsica, to which they gave the name. They dwelt at the extreme north-east of Sardinia, in the region today known as Gallura.^[2]

Corsi
- (Belatoni)
- (Cilibensi)
- Corsi Proper, they dwelt at the far north-east of Sardinia, near the Tibulati and immediately north of the Coracenses.
- (Cumanesi)
- / (Lestriconi/Lestrigoni)
- Licinini
- (Longonensi)
- Tibulati, they dwelt at the far north of Sardinia, about the ancient city of Tibula, near the Corsi (for whom Corsica is named) and immediately north of the Coracenses.
Rutuli (in Ardea territory, Latium ancient coastal city)

References[]

Bibliography[]

ARSLAN E. A. 2004b, LVI.14 Garlasco, in I Liguri. Un antico popolo europeo tra Alpi e Mediterraneo, Catalogo della Mostra (Genova, 23.10.2004–23.1.2005), Milano-Ginevra, pp. 429–431.
ARSLAN E. A. 2004 c.s., Liguri e Galli in Lomellina, in I Liguri. Un antico popolo europeo tra Alpi e Mediterraneo, Saggi Mostra (Genova, 23.10.2004–23.1.2005).
, Giuseppina Spadea (a cura di), Ancora sui Liguri. Un antico popolo europeo tra Alpi e Mediterraneo, De Ferrari editore, Genova 2007 (scheda sul volume).
John Patterson, Sanniti,Liguri e Romani,Comune di Circello;Benevento
(a cura di), I Liguri. Un antico popolo europeo tra Alpi e Mediterraneo" (catalogo mostra, Genova 2004–2005), Skira editore, Genova 2004

External links[]

[1] - Source texts of ancient Greek and Roman authors

[2] - Strabo's work The Geography (Geographica). Book 4, Chapter 6, is about Liguria (that the author includes in Cisalpine Gaul).

[1] "Liguria", in William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854)

[2] Ptolemy's Geography online

[1]

[2]