TheVesubiani orVesubianii were aGallic tribe dwelling in the valley of theVésubie river during theIron Age.
They are mentioned asVesubiani byPliny (1st c. AD),[1] and asVesubianorum and(V)esubiani on inscriptions.[2][3]
Guy Barruol noted that the loss of initialV- is common in Gaulish proper names, especially in Provence, and proposed to see the name as a variant of the personal nameEsubiani. He suggested that the name may have the same root asEsubii, the name of a tribe in Brittany itself traditionally derived from the Celtic godEsus.[4] Alternatively, if theV- was present in the original form, the name can be derived form the Gaulish rootuesu- ('valid, good, worthy').[3]
The Vesubiani dwelled in the valley of theVésubie.[4] Their territory was located southeast of theEcdinii, north of theNerusii andVediantii, and northwest of theIntimilii.[5] According toA. L. F. Rivet, "there appear to have been no significant settlements in the lands of the Ecdinii and the Vesubiani, so that they must have been controlled byCemenelum when they had been detached from theCottian kingdom."[6]
Along with theEcdinii andVeaminii, they were part of the Capillati.[7]
They are mentioned by Pliny the Elder as one of the Alpine tribes conquered by Rome in 16–15 BC, and whose name was engraved on theTropaeum Alpium.[1] They also appear on theArch of Susa, erected byCottius in 9–8 BC.[8]
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