Ambisontes Explained

The Ambisontes (Gaulish: 'those around the Isontia') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper Salzach valley during the Roman period.

Name

They are mentioned as Ambisontes by Pliny (1st c. AD), and as Ambēsóntioi (Ἀμβησόντιοι) by Ptolemy (2nd c. AD).^[1]

The Gaulish ethnonym Ambisontes means 'the people from around the Isontia', stemming from the root *amb(i)- ('around, on both sides') attached to the name of the river Isontia (modern Salzach). The hydronym itself, while not necessarily Celtic, is most likely of Indo-European origin, and can be derived from the stem *[h₁]ish₁-ont- ('she who moves quickly').^[2]

Geography

The Ambisontes lived in the upper valley of the Salzach river. Their territory was situated north of the Saevates and Laianci, south of the Alauni, and east of the Breuni and Cosuanetes.^[3]

History

They are mentioned by Pliny the Elder as one of the Alpine tribes conquered by Rome in 16–15 BC, and whose name was engraved on the Tropaeum Alpium.^[4]

References

Primary sources

• Book: Pliny. Natural History. Harvard University Press. 1938. 978-0674993648. Loeb Classical Library. Rackham. H.. Pliny the Elder.

Bibliography

• Book: de Bernardo Stempel, Patrizia. Der obere Donauraum 50 v. bis 50 n. Chr.. Frank & Timme. 2015. 978-3-7329-0143-2. Lohner-Urban. Ute. Zu den keltisch benannten Stämmen im Umfeld des oberen Donauraums. Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel. Scherrer. Peter.
• Book: Delamarre, Xavier. Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental. Errance. 2003. 9782877723695. Xavier Delamarre.
• Book: Falileyev, Alexander. Dictionary of Continental Celtic Place-names: A Celtic Companion to the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. CMCS. 2010. 978-0955718236.
• Book: Talbert, Richard J. A.. Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. 2000. 978-0691031699. Richard Talbert.

Notes and References

1. [Ptolemy]
2. , s.v. Ambisontes.
3. , Map 19: Raetia.
4. [Pliny the Elder|Pliny]