TheReii were aCelto-Ligurian tribe dwelling in the moderndepartment ofAlpes-de-Haute-Provence during theIron Age and theRoman period.
TheethnonymReii has been interpreted as meaning 'the free ones', stemming from an earlier *Reiī (< *Riioi), itself formed with the Celtic stem *riio- ('free'). According toXavier Delamarre, the Reii could have been a group of freedmen or, more probably, an autonomous tribe among a group of subjugated peoples.[1]
The city ofRiez, attested asAlebaece Reiorum Apollinarium in the 1st c. AD (concilium Regense in 439,civitati Regensi in 990–7,Rietz in 1402) is named after the tribe.[2]
The Reii dwelled in the valleys of theColostre [fr] river and its tributaries, and in the lowerVerdon valley up to theDurance in the west. They probably also occupied the valleys of theAsse and theRancure [fr]. The eastern frontier of their territory was the boundary between the provinces ofNarbonensis andAlpes Maritimae.[4][3] Their territory was located north of theVerucini andTritolli (themselves north of theSalyes), south of theVocontii, east of theDexivates, and west of theSentii,Suetrii andVergunni.[5] According to historianGuy Barruol, they were part of theSaluvian confederation.[6][7]
Their capital was Alebaece (modernRiez), located at the foot of the hill of Saint-Maxime, at the confluence of the Colostre with its tributary theAuvestre [fr]. The city was located near a main route linkingFréjus withSisteron and other places further north. From the reign ofAugustus, it became known asIulia Augusta Apollinaris Reiorum.[3][8]Reiorum is a Latin formation based on the name of the tribe.[9]Alebaece was probably the name of the pre-Roman hill-fort on St-Maxime, and it has been connected with theethnonymAlbici, the tribe that helpedMassalia in her fight againstCaesar in 49 BC.[3] The Council of Reii was held in the city in 439 AD.[3]
Another important settlement was located atGréoux-les-Bains, a Romanspa town where was found a dedication to theNymphae Griselicae made byAnnia Fundania Faustina.[10]
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