Quariates Explained

The Quariates or Quadiates were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the valley of Queyras, in the Alps, during the Iron Age.

Name

They are mentioned as Quariates (var. quadr-) by Pliny (1st c. AD),^[1] and as Quadiatium and Quariat(ium?) on inscriptions.^{[2] [3]}

The etymology of the name is obscure. Christian-Joseph Guyonvarc'h and Xavier Delamarre proposed to derive it from Celtic *k^wario- ('cauldron'), with sporadic preservation of the initial k^w, attached to the suffix -ati- ('belonging to'). Alexander Falileyev notes that the q-Celtic reflex remains problematic in this scenario.

The region of Queyras, whose castle is attested as Quadratum in the 12th century, may be named after the Gallic tribe.

Geography

The Quariates dwelled in the valley of Queyras, in the Alps. Their territory was located south of the Brigianii, east of the Segovii, and north of the Caturiges and Veneni.^[4]

History

They appear on the Arch of Susa, erected by Cottius in 9–8 BC.

References

Primary sources

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

Bibliography

• Book: Barruol, Guy. Les Peuples préromains du Sud-Est de la Gaule: étude de géographie historique. 1969. E. de Boccard. 3279201. Guy Barruol.
• 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: Nègre, Ernest. Toponymie générale de la France. Librairie Droz. 1990. 978-2-600-02883-7. Ernest Nègre.
• 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. [Pliny the Elder|Pliny]
2. [Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum|CIL]
3. , s.v. Quariates.
4. , Map 17: Lugdunum.