TheBituriges Cubi (Gaulish:Biturīges Cubi) were a Gallic tribe dwelling in a territory corresponding to the later province ofBerry, which is named after them, during theIron Age and theRoman period. They had a homonym tribe, theBituriges Vivisci, in theBordelais region, which could indicate a common origin, although there is no direct evidence of this.[1]
They are mentioned asBituriges byCaesar (mid-1st c. BC),[2]Bitoúriges oi̔ Kou͂boi (Βιτούριγες οἱ Κοῦβοι) andKoúbois Bitoúrixi (Κούβοις Βιτούριξι) byStrabo (early 1st c. AD),[3]Bituriges ... qui Cubi appellantur byPliny (1st c. AD),[4] and asBitoúriges oi̔ Kou͂boi (Βιτούριγες οἱ Κοῦβοι) byPtolemy (2nd c. AD).[5][6]
TheGaulishethnonymBiturīges means 'kings of the world', or possibly 'perpetual kings'. It derives from the stembitu- ('world', perhaps also 'perpetual'; cf.OIr.bith 'world, life, age',bith- 'eternally',Old Welshbid,OBret.bit 'world') attached toriges ('kings';sing.rix). Whether the meaning 'perpetual' was already associated withbitu- in ancient Celtic languages or appeared later in Old Irish remains uncertain. In any case, the meaning 'world' probably emerged from the notion of 'living world, place of the livings', since theProto-Celtic stem *bitu- derives fromProto-Indo-European *gʷiH-tu-, meaning 'life' (cf. Lat.vīta 'life',OCSžiti 'to live').[7][8][9]
The city ofBourges, attested ca. 400 AD ascivitas Biturigum ('civitas of the Bituriges',Bituricas in 844,Bituris in 1182), and the region ofBerry, attested in 860 aspagus Biturigus ('pagus of the Bituriges'), are named after the Gallic tribe.[10]
Their chief town during the pre-Roman era was theoppidum ofAvaricum Biturigum (modernBourges).[11] Their dwelled west of theAedui, south of theCarnutes andCenomani, north of thePictones,Lemovices andArverni, and east of theTurones.[1]
According to a legend recounted byLivy, the Bituriges ruled over all of Gaul ca. 600 BC. Faced with overpopulation in their homeland, the Biturigian kingAmbigatus sent his sister's sonsBellovesus andSegovesus in search of new territories to settle. Segovesus headed towards theHercynian Forest, while Bellovesus is said to have led the Gallic invasion of northernItaly.[11]
While Tarquinius Priscus reigned at Rome, the Celts, who make up one of the three divisions of Gaul, were under the domination of the Bituriges, and this tribe supplied the Celtic nation with a king. Ambigatus was then the man, and his talents, together with his own and the general good fortune, had brought him great distinction; for Gaul under his sway grew so rich in corn and so populous, that it seemed hardly possible to govern so great a multitude.
Many Greek ceramics and amphoras imported fromMassalia, as well as local productions of fine art pottery dated to the second part of the 6th century BC were found on the site Bourges, which, according to historianVenceslas Kruta, gives archeological credit to the essence of the tradition reported by Livy evoking the power of the people of the region well before his own time.[12]
In the 1st century BC, the Bituriges Cubi were client of theAedui as part of their confederation headed. During the Gallic Wars, they supported the Arverni in their fight against Caesar, and suffered great losses in the siege of their oppidum namedNoviodunum, followed by their chief town Avaricum in 52 BC, the only oppidum in their territory spared by the scorched-earth tactics ofVercingetorix. They also took part in the defence ofAlesia during thesiege of the oppidum by the Romans. After the defeat of Vercingetorix, Rome had to suppress a Gallic revolt in the territory of the Bituriges in 51 BC. Their submission to Rome was reportedly quick, and they asked Caesar to intervene against their neighbours theCarnutes only a few weeks later.[1][11]
A passage fromLivy,summa imperii penes Biturges ('all the power in the hands of the Bituriges'), has become themotto of the city ofBourges.[13]
