TheBoiates orBoates were an ancient Celtic[1][2][3] tribe living inGallia Aquitania during theRoman period. Their territory was located in the southern part of the Gironde estuary, in the region known as thePays de Buch. Although their ethnonym has been compared with that of the Central EuropeanBoii and with theBasaboiates mentioned by Pliny, their origins remain unclear. Some scholars have suggested that their settlement in the region resulted from Celtic migrations from a northern homeland, comparable to those of theBituriges Vivisci.[1][2]
The Boiates formed acivitas whose capital is generally identified with Boios (modern Lamothe,Biganos). This urban centre appears to have declined early in the Roman period, and by late antiquity thecivitas Boatium was dependent onBordeaux.
They are attested on an inscription from the 2nd century AD and in theNotitia Galliarum (4th c. AD).[2]
The ethnonymBoiates, with the ending-ates frequently found in this region, has been compared to the name of the Central EuropeanBoii, who are also attested in the region following the settlement of a marginal offshoot, under uncertain circumstances and at an uncertain date, in the area surrounding theArcachon Bay.[4][3] However, nothing clearly links theBoiates to theBoii, apart from the nameBoios itself.[5]
The name has also been compared with theBasaboiates, who appear inPliny's list in the 1st century BC.[4][6] Scholars have suggested that theBasaboiates may reflect a form of political fusion between theVasates and the Boiates during the Late Iron Age.[7][6] On this view, the community formed by two ethnic groups is thought to have become one of the constituent units established inAquitania from the beginning of the Roman Empire followingCaesar's conquest of Gauls.[6]
They have also been identified by scholars with theVocates mentioned by Caesar,[4][8] and with theSediboviates attested by Pliny.[2]
The Boiates are attested during theRoman period in the southern part of theGironde estuary. Their territory is associated with thePays de Buch.[3][6]
The lack of archaeological evidence for Celtic influence in the Pays de Buch has led some scholars to suggest that the Boiates may have arrived in the area only after theGallic Wars, possibly as part of the same movements that brought theBituriges Vivisci from their homeland inBerry to theBordeaux region.[1][2]
Thecivitas of the Boiates is attested by an epitaph from Bordeaux, where a citizen of Boios (civis Boias) is said to have died in the nearby chief town of the Bituriges Vivisci.[9][6] The Boiates therefore possessed acivitas capital, which is generally assumed to have been located at Boios (modern Lamothe,Biganos).[6]
The city of Boios appears to have been an aborted urban centre from the early Roman Empire. Its decline as acivitas capital was accelerated in late antiquity by the promotion ofBazas and the development of new road networks.[10] In the late Roman Empire, acivitas Boatium is listed as dependent on Bordeaux in theNotitia Galliarum.[11]
