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43-845: The Ligauni were a Celto-Ligurian tribe dwelling near the Mediterranean coast during the Iron Age and the Roman period . They are mentioned as Ligaunorumque by Pliny (1st c. AD). A (colonia) in Liga in also attested in the Early Middle Ages (814 AD). The ethnic name Ligauni is probably Celtic, stemming from an earlier * Ligamnī . It has been derived from the root līg - ('to strike'), with Ligauni as 'the beating ones', or from liga - ('mud, sediment, silt'). According to Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel , such linguistically Celtic tribal names suggest that

86-885: A Celto-Ligurian dialect played an important role among the languages spoken in ancient Ligury. Their territory was located east of the Deciates , west of the Verucini , south of the Suetrii , and north of the Oxybii . According to historian Guy Barruol , they were part of the Saluvian confederation . Celto-Ligurian In pre-Roman times, the Ligurians occupied the present-day Italian region of Liguria , Piedmont , northern Tuscany , western Lombardy , western Emilia-Romagna and northern Sardinia , reaching also Elba and Sicily . They inhabited also

129-573: A coalition of Ligurians and Boii Gauls, but the two peoples soon found themselves in disagreement and the military campaign came to a halt with the dissolution of the alliance. Meanwhile, a Roman fleet commanded by Quintus Fabius Maximus routed Ligurian ships on the coast (234-233 BC), allowing the Romans to control the coastal route to and from Gaul and to counter the Carthaginian expansion in Iberia , given that

172-655: A different race, closely resemble them in their manner of life. They inhabit that portion of the Alps which is next the Apennines , and also a part of the Apennines themselves. This zone corresponds to the current region of Liguria in Italy as well as to the former county of Nice which could be compared today to the Alpes Maritimes . The writer, naturalist and Roman philosopher Pliny

215-458: A major raid going as far as the right bank of the river Arno. Roman campaigns followed (191, 188 and 187 BC); these were victorious, but not decisive. In the campaign of 186 BC, the Romans were beaten by the Ligurians in the Magra valley. In this battle, which took place in a narrow and precipitous place, the Romans lost about 4000 soldiers, three eagle insignia of the second legion and eleven banners of

258-597: A more ancient proto-Celtic presence can be traced back to the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age (16th-15th century BC), when north-western Italy appears closely linked regarding the production of bronze artifacts, including ornaments, to the western groups of the Tumulus culture ( Central Europe , 1600 BC - 1200 BC). The bearers of the Canegrate culture maintained its homogeneity for only a century, after which it melded with

301-615: Is a river located in the southeast of France . It is 114 km (71 mi) long. Its drainage basin is 2,812 km (1,086 sq mi). The Var flows through the Alpes-Maritimes département for most of its length, with a short (~15 km or ~9 mi) stretch in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence département. It is a unique case in France of a river not flowing in the département named after it (see Var ). Until

344-635: Is now inside the medieval old town. Thucydides (5th century BC) speaks of the Ligures having expelled the Sicanians , an Iberian tribe, from the banks of the river Sicanus , in Iberia. Ligurian sepulchres of the Italian Riviera and of Provence, holding cremations, exhibit Etruscan and Celtic influences. In the third century BC, the Romans were in direct contact with the Ligurians. However, Roman expansionism

387-1154: The Col de la Cayolle (2,326 m/7,631 ft) in the Maritime Alps and flows generally southeast to its outflow into the Mediterranean Sea between Nice and Saint-Laurent-du-Var . Its main tributaries are the Cians , the Tinée , the Vésubie , the Coulomp , the Estéron , the Tuébi , the Chalvagne , the Barlatte , the Bourdous and the Roudoule . The Var flows through the following départements and towns: Bibliography This Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur geography article

430-523: The French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Corsica . However, it is generally believed that around 2000 BC , the Ligurians occupied a much larger area, extending as far as what is today Catalonia (in the north-eastern corner of the Iberian Peninsula ). The origins of the ancient Ligurians are unclear, and an autochthonous origin is increasingly probable. What little is known today about

473-600: The Pisa - Luni - Genoa sea route was now safe. In 222 BC the Insubres , during a war with Romans occupied the oppidum of Clastidium, that at that time, it was an important locality of the Anamari (or Marici ), a Ligurian tribe that, probably for fear of the nearby warlike Insubres, had already accepted the alliance with Rome the year before. For the first time, the Roman army marched beyond

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516-710: The Rhodanus , Copper begins to be mined from the middle of the 4th millennium BC in Liguria with the Libiola and Monte Loreto mines dated to 3700 BC. These are the oldest copper mines in the western Mediterranean basin. It was during this period of the Copper Age in Italy that we find throughout Liguria a large number of anthropomorphic stelae in addition to rock engravings. The Polada Culture (a location near Brescia , Lombardy , Italy)

559-431: The ancient Ligurian language is based on placenames and inscriptions on steles representing warriors. The lack of evidence does not allow a certain linguistic classification; it may be Pre-Indo-European or an Indo-European language . Because of the strong Celtic influences on their language and culture, they were also known in antiquity as Celto-Ligurians . The Ligures are referred to as Ligyes (Λιγυες) by

602-633: The Celtic and Italic ones) would have to be found in the Polada culture and Rhone culture , southern branches of the Unetice culture . It is said that the ligurians inhabited the Po valley around the 2,000 B.C., they not only appear in the legends of the Po valley, but would have left traces (linguistic and craft) found in the archaeological also in the area near the northern Adriatic coast. The Ligurians are credited with forming

645-607: The Elder writes in his book "The Natural History" book III chapter 7 on the Ligurians and Liguria: The more celebrated of the Ligurian tribes beyond the Alps are the Salluvii , the Deciates , and the Oxubii (...) The coast of Liguria extends 211 miles, between the rivers Varus and Macra . Just like Strabo, Pliny the Elder situates Liguria between the rivers Varus and Magra . He also quotes

688-739: The Greek colony of Massalia. The consul, Quintus Opimius, defeats the Transalpine Ligurians, who had plundered Antipolis and Nicaea, two towns belonging to the Massilians. But though the early writers of the Greeks call the Sallyes "Ligures", and the country which the Massiliotes hold, "Ligustica," later writers name them "Celtoligures," and attach to their territory all the level country as far as Luerio and

731-500: The Greeks and Ligures (earlier Liguses ) by the Romans . According to Plutarch , the Ligurians called themselves Ambrones , which could indicate a relationship with the Ambrones of northern Europe. The geography of Strabo , from book 2, chapter 5, section 28 : The Alps are inhabited by numerous nations, but all Keltic with the exception of the Ligurians, and these, though of

774-508: The Latin allies. In addition, the consul Quintus Martius was also killed in the battle. It is thought that the place of the battle and the death of the consul gave rise to the place-name of Marciaso, or that of the Canal of March on Mount Caprione in the town of Lerici (near the ruins of the city of Luni ), which was later founded by the Romans. This mountain had a strategic importance because it controlled

817-768: The Ligauni above whom are the Suetri, the Quariates and the Adunicates. On the coast we have Antipolis, a town with Latian rights, the district of the Deciates, and the river Varus , which proceeds from Mount Cema, one of the Alps. Transalpine Ligures are said to have inhabited the South Eastern portion of modern France, between the Alps and the Rhone river , from where they constantly battled against

860-548: The Ligurian peoples living on the other side of the banks of the Var and the Alps. He writes in his book "The Natural History" book III chapter 6 : Gaul is divided from Italy by the river Varus , and by the range of the Alps (...) Forum Julii Octavanorum, a colony, which is also called Pacensis and Classica, the river Argenteus , which flows through it, the district of the Oxubii and that of

903-570: The Ligurian populations and with this union gave rise to a new phase called the Golasecca culture , which is nowadays identified with the Lepontii and other Celto-Ligurian tribes. Within the Golasecca culture territory roughly corresponds with the territories occupied by those tribal groups whose names are reported by Latin and Greek historians and geographers: The Genoa area has been inhabited since

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946-524: The Po, expanding into Gallia Transpadana. In 222 BC, the battle of Clastidium was fought and allowed Rome to take the capital of the Insubres, Mediolanum (modern-day Milan ). To consolidate its dominion, Rome created the colonies of Placentia in the territory of the Boii and Cremona in that of the Insubres. With the outbreak of the second Punic war (218 BC) the Ligurian tribes had different attitudes. Some, like

989-503: The Roman colony of Placentia , effectively controlling the most important ford of the Po Valley. During the same period, the Romans were at war with the Apuani. Serious Roman efforts began in 182 BC, when both consular armies and a proconsular army were sent against the Ligurians. The wars continued into the 150s BC, when victorious generals celebrated two triumphs over the Ligurians. Here too,

1032-509: The Romans deported defeated populations in such a high number. In 177 BC other groups of Apuani Ligures surrendered to the Roman forces, and were eventually assimilated into Roman culture during the 2nd century BC, while the military campaign continued further north. The Frinatiates surrendered in 175 BC, followed by the Statielli (172 BC) and the Velleiates (158 BC). The last Apuani resistance

1075-488: The Romans drove many natives off their land and settled colonies in their stead ( e.g. , Luna and Luca in the 170s BC). During the same period, the Romans were at war with the Ligurian tribes of the northern Apennines. By the end of the Second Punic War, however, hostilities were not over yet. Ligurian tribes and Carthaginian holdouts operating from the mountain territories continued to fight with guerrilla tactics. Thus,

1118-609: The Romans were forced into continuous military operations in northern Italy. In 201 BC, the Ingauni signed a peace treaty with Rome. It was only in 197 BC that the Romans, under the leadership of Minucius Rufus, succeeded in regaining control of the Placentia area by subduing the Celelates, Cerdicates, Ilvati and the Boii Gauls and occupying the oppidum of Clastidium. Genua was rebuilt by

1161-573: The army of Hasdrubal Barca , when he arrived in Cisalpine Gaul (207 BC), in an attempt to rejoin the troops of his brother Hannibal. In the port of Savo (modern-day Savona ), then capital of the Ligures Sabazi, triremes of the Carthaginian fleet of Mago Barca , brother of Hannibal, which were intended to cut the Roman trade routes in the Tyrrhenian Sea, found shelter. In the early stages of

1204-566: The beginning of the 19th century, the river had no bridges; it was the border between France and the County of Nice , then part of Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia . The river name is attested in Latin as Vārus and in Ancient Greek as Ouãros (Οὐᾶρος). It stems from the Indo-European root * uōr - (earlier *uer- ), meaning 'water, river' (cf. Sanskrit vār , Old Norse vari ). The Var rises near

1247-404: The command of proconsuls Publius Cornelius Cethegus and Marcus Baebius Tamphilus , with the aim of putting an end to Ligurian independence. In 180 BC, the Romans inflicted a serious defeat on the Apuani Ligures, and deported 40,000 of them to the regions of Samnium . This deportation was followed by another one of 7,000 Ligurians in the following year. These were one of the few cases in which

1290-416: The end of the Second Punic War, Mago was among the Ingauni , trying to block the Roman advance. At the Battle of Insubria , he suffered a defeat, and later, died of wounds sustained in the battle. Genua was rebuilt in the same year. Ligurian troops were present at the Battle of Zama in 202 BC, which marked the final end of Carthage as a great power. In 200 BC, the Ligures and Boii sacked and destroyed

1333-399: The fifth or fourth millennium BC. According to excavations carried out in the city between 1898 and 1910, the Ligurian population that lived in Genoa maintained trade relations with the Etruscans and the Greeks, since several objects from these populations were found. In the 5th century BC the first town, or oppidum , was founded at the top of the hill today called Castello (Castle), which

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1376-401: The first villages in the Po Valley of the facies of the pile dwellings and of the dammed settlements , a society that followed the Polada culture , and is well suited in middle and late Bronze Age . The ancient name of the Po river (Padus in Latin) derived from the Ligurian name of the river: Bod-encus or Bod-incus. This word appears in the placename Bodincomagus , a Ligurian town on

1419-470: The founding of Bergamo and Brescia to the Etruscans . The Canegrate culture (13th century BC) may represent the first migratory wave of the proto-Celtic population from the northwest part of the Alps that, through the Alpine passes , penetrated and settled in the western Po valley between Lake Maggiore and Lake Como ( Scamozzina culture ). They brought a new funerary practice— cremation —which supplanted inhumation . It has also been proposed that

1462-464: The previous Bell Beaker Culture including the usage of the bow and a certain mastery in metallurgy. Apart from that, the Polada culture does not correspond to the Beaker culture nor to the previous Remedello culture . The Bronze tools and weapons show similarities with those of the Unetice Culture and other groups in north of Alps . According to Bernard Sergent , the origin of the Ligurian linguistic family (in his opinion distantly related to

1505-459: The proconsul Spurius Lucretius in the same year. Having defeated Carthage, Rome sought to expand northwards, and used Genua as a support base for raids, between 191 and 154 BC, against the Ligurian tribes of the hinterland, allied for decades with Carthage. A second phase of the conflict followed (197-155 BC), characterized by the fact that the Apuani Ligurians entrenched themselves on the Apennines, from where they periodically descended to plunder

1548-405: The right bank of the Po downstream near today's Turin. According to a legend, Brescia and Barra ( Bergamo ) were founded by Cydno, forefather of the Ligurians. This myth seems to have a grain of truth, because recent archaeological excavations have unearthed remains of a settlement dating back to 1200 BC that scholars presume to have been built and inhabited by Ligures. Others scholars attribute

1591-452: The surrounding territories. The Romans, for their part, organized continuous expeditions to the mountains, hoping to surround and defeat the Ligurians (taking care not to be destroyed by ambushes). In the course of these wars, the Romans celebrated fifteen triumphs and suffered at least one serious defeat. Historically, the beginning of the campaign dates back to 193 BC on the initiative of the Ligurian conciliabula (federations), who organized

1634-434: The tribes of the west Riviera and the Apuani , allied with the Carthaginians, providing soldiers to Hannibal's troops when he arrived in Northern Italy, hoping that the Carthaginian general would free them from the neighbouring Romans. Others, like the Taurini, took sides in support of the Romans. The pro-Carthaginian Ligurians took part in the Battle of the Trebia , which the Carthaginians won. Other Ligurians enlisted in

1677-419: The valley of Magra and the sea. In 185 BC, the Ingauni and the Intimilii also rebelled and managed to resist the Roman legions for the next five years, before capitulating in 180 BC. The Apuani, and those of hinterland side still resisted. However, the Romans wanted to permanently pacify Liguria to facilitate further conquests in Gaul. To that end, they prepared a large army of almost 36,000 soldiers, under

1720-424: The war, the pro-Roman Ligurians suffered. The Taurini were on the path of Hannibal 's march into Italy, and in 218 BC, they were attacked by him, as he had allied with their long-standing enemies, the Insubres . The Taurini chief town of Taurasia (modern-day Turin ) was captured by Hannibal's forces after a three-day siege. In 205 BC, Genua (modern-day Genoa ) was attacked and razed to the ground by Mago. Near

1763-461: Was a cultural horizon extended in the Po valley from eastern Lombardy and Veneto to Emilia and Romagna , formed in the first half of 2nd millennium BC perhaps for the arrival of new people from the transalpine regions of Switzerland and Southern Germany . Its influences are also found in the cultures of the Early Bronze Age of Liguria , Romagna , Corsica , Sardinia ( Bonnanaro culture ) and Rhone Valley. There are some commonalities with

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1806-419: Was directed towards the rich territories of Gaul and the Iberian Peninsula (then under Carthaginian control ), and the territory of the Ligurians was on the road (they controlled the Ligurian coasts and the south-western Alps). Despite Roman efforts, only a few Ligurian tribes made alliance agreements with the Romans, notably the Genuates. The rest soon proved hostile. The hostilities were opened in 238 BC by

1849-501: Was subdued in 155 BC by consul Marcus Claudius Marcellus . The subjugation of the coastal Ligures and the annexation of the Alpes Maritimae took place in 14 BC, closely following the occupation of the central Alps in 15 BC. The last Ligurian tribes (e.g. Vocontii and Salluvii ) still autonomous, who occupied Provence, were subdued in 124 BC. Var (river) The Var ( French: [vaʁ] , Occitan: [ˈbaɾ] ; Italian : Varo ; Latin : Varus )

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