Bituriges Vivisci

The Bituriges Vivisci were one of the tribes of Gaul. The tribe's capital was in Burdigala, modern-day Bordeaux. The Vivisci traded wine which they produced themselves. Whether there was any link to the Bituriges Cubi of the Berry region is not known.

Coins of the Bituriges Vivisci, 5th-1st century BCE, derived from the coin designs of Greeks in pre-Roman Gaul. Cabinet des Médailles.
A map of Gaul in the 1st century BC, showing the relative positions of the Celtic tribes.

Name

They are mentioned as Bitourígōn te tō͂n Ou̓iouískōn (Βιτουρίγων τε τῶν Οὐιουίσκων) by Strabo (early 1st c. AD),[1] as Bituriges liberi cognomine Vivisci by Pliny (1st c. AD),[2] and as Bitoúrges oi̔ Ou̓ibískoi (Βιτούργες οἱ Οὐιβίσκοι) by Ptolemy (2nd c. AD).[3][4]

The name Bituriges means 'kings of the world', stemming from the Gaulish root bitu- ('world') attached to riges ('kings'; sing. rix).[5]

Geography

According to Strabo their territory was surrounded by that of the Aquitanian people, but the Bituriges Vivisci were not themselves Aquitanian and took no part in their political affairs.[6]

History

Some believe that the Bituriges Vivisci and the Bituriges Cubi once made up one single tribe, but seemed to have fallen apart, with the Vivisci staying in Burdigala, and the Cubi founding a new capital, Avaricum in the Berry region. The latter defended Avaricum against the Roman armies under Julius Caesar, who destroyed the town and its inhabitants.[7]

See also
  • List of peoples of Gaul

References
  1. Strabo. Geōgraphiká, 4:2:1
  2. Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 4:108
  3. Ptolemy. Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis, 2:7:7
  4. Falileyev 2010, p. entry 3050.
  5. Delamarre 2003, p. 76.
  6. Geographia IV 2,1
  7. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/67280/Bituriges#ref210784

Bibliography
  • Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental (in French). Errance. ISBN 9782877723695.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • 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.


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