TheAutrigones were a pre-Roman tribe that settled in the north of theIberian Peninsula, in what today is the westernBasque Country (western regions ofBiscay andÁlava) and northernBurgos and the East of Cantabria,Spain. Their territory limited with theCantabri territory at west, theCaristii at east, theBerones at the southeast and theTurmodigi at the south. It is discussed whether the Autrigones wereCelts, theory supported by the existence of toponyms of Celtic origin, such asUxama Barca and other with-briga endings[1] and that eventually underwent aBasquisation along with other neighboring tribes such as theCaristii andVarduli.[2]
Roman historians asPomponius Mela andPliny the Elder located them in the northern region of present-dayprovince of Burgos.Pliny the Elder writes about the "ten states of the Autrigones" and says the only ones worth mentioning areTritium Autrigonum (Monasterio de Rodilla, Burgos) andVirovesca (possibly the present-dayBriviesca, Burgos; Celtiberian-type mint:Uirouiaz)[3] in the valley of Oca River.The other Autrigones' towns wereDeobriga (nearMiranda de Ebro, Burgos),Uxama Barca (Osma de Valdegobia; Celtiberian-type mint:Uarcaz),Segisamunculum (Cerezo del Riotirón, Burgos),Antecuia (nearPancorbo, Burgos),Vindeleia (Cubo de Bureba, Burgos),Salionca (Poza de la Sal, Burgos) and the port ofPortus Amanus/Flaviobriga (Castro Urdiales,Cantabria).
The Autrigones are mentioned for the first time on a document byRoman historianLivy in 76 BC, describing the actions ofQuintus Sertorius in theIberian Peninsula.[4]Strabo mentions them in his bookGeographica, naming themallótrigones, a word adapted from Greek meaning "strange people".
Based on the study of their toponyms - as also happens with the Caristii and Varduli - it is likely they were a Celtic tribe who eventually suffered a process ofBasquisation. The known toponyms of the Autrigones are of Celtic origin, asUxama Barca in present-dayÁlava, and many others ending in-briga.[5] The toponyms of rivers, as theNervión, the anthroponyms, the archeological remains, tools and weapons relate them culturally with the Celts, but with a clear differentiation of other close Celtic tribes, as theCeltiberians.[6]
The Autrigones were culturally related to the earlyIron Age "Monte Bernorio-Miraveche" cultural group of northernBurgos andPalencia provinces. Additional archeological evidence indicates that by the 2ndIron Age they came under the influence of theCeltiberians. By the 1st century BC they were organized into a federation of autonomous mountain-top fortified towns (Civitates) on the mountain ranges of the upperEbro, protected by stoutadobe walls of the "Numantine" type.
More archeological evidence have been found, emphasizing their celtiberian culture, such as the hospitalitytesserae. These consisted on a zoomorphic-shaped metal tablet with an inscription using a variant of theNortheastern Iberian script (also known asCeltiberian script), written in a form ofceltiberian language.[7]
Around the beginning of the 4th century BC the Autrigones migrated to the Peninsula and overrun the entire area corresponding today to the modern provinces ofCantabria andBurgos, which eventually became known asAutrigonia orAustrigonia. By the mid-4th century BC the Autrigones reached thePisuerga valley where they established their capitalAutraca orAustraca, located at the banks of the riverAutra (Odra). They also gained an outlet to the sea by seizing from theAquitanian-speakingCaristii further east the coastal highland region between the riversAsón andNeroua (Nervión), in the modern easternCantabria,Vizcaya, andÁlava Basque provinces. However, the Autrigones’ hold to this vast territory was not meant to last; some time after 300 BC they were driven out from southern Autrigonia – the westernBurgos region – by theTurmodigi allied with theVaccei, who seized the Autrigones’ early capital Autraca. Thrust back to their lands on the mountain ranges of the upperEbro north of theArlanzón valley around the 3rd-2nd Centuries BC, the Autrigones allied themselves with theBerones[8] and evolved into a tribal society similar to the peoples of the north-west. By the 1st century BC, they were organized into a federation of ten autonomous mountain-top fortified towns (Civitates), chiefly among them their new capitalVirovesca in theOca river valley.
They seem to have taken no part in theCeltiberian Wars though as traditional allies of theBerones helped the latter in fighting off the Roman generalSertorius' incursion into northernCeltiberia in 76 BC,[9] and remained independent until the late 1st century BC, when the mounting pressure ofAstures andCantabri raids finally forced them to seek an alliance withRome. Despite being aggregated in the newHispania Tarraconensis province at the early 1st century AD, the Autrigones were only partially romanized, never became Christian and continued to provide the Roman Imperial army with auxiliary troops (Auxilia) up to the late Empire.
The Autrigone people survived the overthrow of theRoman Empire in Spain by theGermanic invasions of the late 4th century and briefly recreated their realm in parts of the current provinces ofBurgos,Álava, andBiscay which lasted for nearly two centuries, before being conquered by theirVarduli neighbours and ultimately destroyed or absorbed by theVascones in around AD 580.[10]