Rauraci
The Rauraci or Raurici were a small
Name
They are mentioned as Rauracis and Rauracorum by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC),[1] Raurici (var. -aci) by Pliny (1st c. AD),[2] and as Rauracense in the Notitia Dignitatum (5th c. AD).[3][4]
The ethnonym Rauraci derives from the ancient Celtic name of the river Ruhr, Raura.[5][6]
The city of Augst, attested in the 2nd century AD as Augoústa Rhauríkōn (Αὐγούστα Ῥαυρίκων), is indirectly named after the tribe.[4][7]
Geography
Territory
Their name seems to indicate an original homeland near the
The Rauraci dwelled south of the Leuci and Brisigavi, north of the Helvetii, east of the Lingones, and west of the Lentienses.[11] They were probably clients of the larger Helvetii.[9]
Settlements
The oppidum of Basel-Münsterhügel, occupied since at least the mid-1st century BC, was their pre-Roman chief town.[9] The archaeological site of Basel-Gasfabrik (ca. 150–80 BC) is also attributed to the Rauraci.[10]
In 44 BC, the Roman consul
Another town, known as Argentovaria (modern Oedenburg, in Biesheim) and mentioned by Ptolemy ca. 150 AD, probably served as the capital of the civitas Rauricorum, or else of an unattested pagus of the Rauraci.[10]
Religion
The temple at the forum of Augusta Raurica was dedicated to Romae et Augusto. The temple of Schönbühl replaced indigenous shrines around 70 AD. Inscriptions give evidence of the
History
In 58 BC, the Raurici were part of a failed migration attempt towards southwestern Gaul, alongside the Helvetii, Tulingi and Latobrigi. After their defeat by Caesar at the Battle of Bibracte in the same year, they were sent back as a foederati (allies bound by a treaty), probably to their territory of departure.[10]
In 52 BC, they provided 1,000 men to the Gallic coalition against
References
- ^ Caesar. Commentarii de Bello Gallico, 1:5:4, 1:29:2.
- ^ Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 4:106.
- ^ Notitia Dignitatum, 9:9.
- ^ a b Falileyev 2010, s.v. Rauraci and Col. Augusta Raurica.
- ^ Lambert 1994, p. 34.
- ^ a b Kruta 2000, p. 71.
- ^ Diederich, Silke; Rathmann, Michael; Schuol, Monika (2023-01-05). "Augusta Rvracum (Augusta Ruracum)". Tabula Peutingeriana online (Database is part of the DFG project "Commentary on the Tabula Peutingeriana"). Retrieved 2023-06-16.
- ^ a b Walser 2006.
- ^ a b c d Kruta 2000, p. 790.
- ^ a b c d Schwarz 2010.
- ^ Talbert 2000, Map 18: Augustonemetum-Vindonissa.
- ^ a b Schwarz 2004, p. 358.
- ^ Schwarz 2004, p. 355.
- Bibliography
- Baruffi, A. (2020). Spirit of Rhaetia: The Call of the Holy Mountains. LiteraryJoint, Philadelphia, PA. ISBN 978-1-716-30027-1.
- 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.
- ISBN 2-221-05690-6.
- ISBN 978-2-87772-089-2.
- Schwarz, Peter-Andrew (2004). "Augst / Augusta Raurica (Suisse)". Supplément à la Revue archéologique du centre de la France. 25 (1): 355–359. ISSN 1951-6207.
- Schwarz, Peter-Andrew (2010). "Rauriker". Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ISBN 978-0691031699.
- Walser, Gerold (2006). "Rauraci, Raurici". Brill's New Pauly. .