Orobii

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The Orobii (also Orobi, Oromobi or Orumbovii) were a Celto-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  [fr], 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 , , and , east of the and Ausuciates, west of the , 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[]

  1. ^ a b c Vietti 2008.
  2. ^ Delamarre 2003, p. 243.
  3. ^ C. Cantù, Storia di Como e sua provincia, Como, 1859.
  4. ^ Talbert 2000, Map 19 Raetia; Map 39: Mediolanum.
  5. ^ M. Gianoncelli, "Vecchie e nuove ipotesi sulla stirpe degli Orobi", in Oblatio; A. Noseda ed, Como, 1971.
  6. ^ R. de Marinis, "La civiltà di Golasecca", in La Lombardia, Jaka book, 1985.
  7. ^ 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). "Orobi". Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz. 047242/2008-10-17.CS1 maint: postscript (link)
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