TheLatobici orLatovici (Gaulish:Latobicoi) were aCeltic tribe dwelling inPannonia Superior, around present-dayDrnovo (Slovenia), during theRoman period.
They are mentioned asLatovici byPliny (1st c. AD),[1] as Λατόβικοι (Latóbikoi) byPtolemy (2nd c. AD),[2] and asLatobici on an inscription from Neviodunum (modernDrnovo) dated to 117–130 AD.[3][4]
TheethnonymLatobici is a Latinized form of theGaulishLatobicoi, which derives from the stem *lāto-, meaning 'furor, ardour' (cf.Old Irishláth, Welshlawd),[5][6] probably after the name of the Celtic godLatobios (*Lātu-biyos 'Furious Striker').[7]Pierre-Yves Lambert has proposed to translateLatobici as 'the lineage of Latobios'.[8]
A homonym tribe, theLatobrigi (or Latobici), dwelled further northwest near theHelvetii. Whether they were actually related or even identical remains debated.[9]
The Latobici dwelled near theKrka river, around modernDrnovo,Trebnje, andGroblje pri Prekopi. Their territory was located north of theColapiani, west of theVarciani, south of theTaurisci, east of theRundictes.[10] Inscriptions and shrines dedicated to the god Mars Latobius found in the catchment area of theLavant river and the ridge of theKoralpe mountains may suggest that the Latobici originally lived aroundVirunum andFlavia Solva as late as the 1st century BC, from which they either extended their territory southward or emigrated to the region of Drnovo in Roman times.[9]
During the reign ofAugustus (27 BC–14 AD), a city-like settlement known asmunicipium Latobicorum (tribus Quirina) arose as a centre of the tribal area at the site of present-dayDrnovo. It was calledNeviodunum (Gaulish: 'new fortress') from the time ofVespasian (69–79 AD).[11] Other settlements are known at Praetorium Latobicorum (modernTrebnje) and at Crucium (Groblje pri Prekopi).[10]
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