Orobii
The Orobii (also Orobi, Oromobi or Orumbovii) were a Celto-Ligurian tribe dwelling around present-day Como and Bergamo during the Iron Age.
Name
They are mentioned as Orobii by Cato the Elder (early 2nd century BC).[1]
The ethnic name Orobii appears to be of Celtic origin. It can be compared with the Gaulish noun orbioi (sing. orbios), meaning 'the heirs', with the feminine forms Orobia and Urbia (earlier *Orbia), the ancient names of the Orge river and Orge stream, and with the i-stem Orobis, now the Orb river.[2]
Some classical writers such as Pliny the Elder thought that their name was of Greek origin, tracing the etymology from the Greek Orōn bion (Ορων βιον).[3]
Geography
The Orobii dwelled between the modern cities of Como and Bergamo. The Sottoceneri was part of their area of influence.[1]
Their territory was located north of the Gallianates, Bromanenses, and Anesiates, east of the Subinates and Ausuciates, west of the Gennanates, Trumplini and Camunni, south of the Aneuniates.[4]
History
Modern archaeologists and linguists see the Orobii as a population of Celticized Ligures, or Celtic-Ligures, formed with the contribution of Celtic immigrants from the Rhine and the Danube areas in an early historical period, before the Gallic invasions of the 4th century BC.[5][6]
Pliny the Elder says they founded the cities of Como, Bergamo, Licini Forum, and Parra.[7]
Culture
Like the Lepontii and Insubres, the Orobii are associated with the archaeological Golasecca culture.[1]
References
- Vietti 2008.
- Delamarre 2003, p. 243.
- C. Cantù, Storia di Como e sua provincia, Como, 1859.
- Talbert 2000, Map 19 Raetia; Map 39: Mediolanum.
- M. Gianoncelli, "Vecchie e nuove ipotesi sulla stirpe degli Orobi", in Oblatio; A. Noseda ed, Como, 1971.
- R. de Marinis, "La civiltà di Golasecca", in La Lombardia, Jaka book, 1985.
- Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, III, 124-125.
Bibliography
- Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental. Errance. ISBN 9782877723695.
- Talbert, Richard J. A. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691031699.
- Vietti, Gianluca (2008). "Orobi". Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz. 047242/2008-10-17.
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