The Tarbelli were an Aquitani tribe dwelling in the present-day regions of Labourd and Chalosse, in the west of Aquitania, during the Iron Age.

Aquitani tribes at both sides of the Pyrenees.

Alongside the Auscii, they were one of the most powerful peoples of Aquitania.[1]

They were subjugated in 56 BC by the Roman forces of Caesar's legatus P. Licinius Crassus.[2]

Name

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They are mentioned as Tarbelli by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC),[3] as Tárbelloi (Τάρβελλοι) by Strabo (early 1st c. AD),[4] as Tarbelli Quattuorsignani by Pliny (1st c. AD),[5] and as Tarbellus on an inscription.[6][7]

Joaquín Gorrochategui proposed to see the name as the suffix tar- attached to the adjective bel ('black'), which is common in Aquitanian onomastics.[7]

Geography

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The Tarbelli lived in the regions of Labourd and Chalosse, on both sides of the Adour river.[8][2] Their territory was located east of the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Vardulli, south of the Cocosates, west of the Tarusates, Atures and Venarni.[9]

Their chief town was known as Aquae Terebellicae or Aquae Tarbellicae (present-day Dax).[2]

Culture

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It is believed that the Tarbelli spoke a form or dialect of the Aquitanian language, a precursor of the Basque language.[10]

Political organization

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The Tarbelli were a confederation of four tribes. The Cocosates and Tarusates were probably their clients.[11]

Economy

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Gold extraction and mineral springs brought them a certain wealth, although their main activities remained centred on field and meadow husbandry.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Duval 1989, p. 739.
  2. ^ a b c d Demarolle 2006.
  3. ^ Caesar. Commentarii de Bello Gallico, 3:27:1.
  4. ^ Strabo. Geōgraphiká, 4:2:1.
  5. ^ Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 4:108.
  6. ^ CIL 2:3876.
  7. ^ a b Falileyev 2010, s.v. Tarbelli (Quattuorsignani).
  8. ^ Duval 1989, p. 725.
  9. ^ Talbert 2000, Map 25: Hispania Tarraconensis.
  10. ^ Jacques Lemoine, Toponymie du Pays Basque Français et des Pays de l'Adour, Picard 1977, ISBN 2-7084-0003-7
  11. ^ Duval 1989, pp. 725, 728.

Bibliography

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  • Demarolle, Jeanne-Marie (2006). "Tarbelli". Brill's New Pauly. doi:10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e1200600.
  • Duval, Paul-Marie (1989). "Les peuples de l'Aquitaine d'après la liste de Pline". Travaux sur la Gaule (1946-1986). Vol. 116. École Française de Rome. pp. 721–737. ISBN 9782728301676.
  • Falileyev, Alexander (2010). Dictionary of Continental Celtic Place-names: A Celtic Companion to the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. CMCS. ISBN 978-0955718236.
  • Talbert, Richard J. A. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691031699.