Velaunii

They are mentioned as Velauni by Pliny (1st c. AD), and probably as Οὐελαυνίους on an inscription.{{Sfn|Barruol|1969|pp=372–373}}{{Sfn|Mullen|2013|pp=161–162}}

The ethnonym Velaunī is a latinized form of Gaulish *Uelaunoi (sing. *Uelaunos). It may mean the 'chiefs, commandants',{{Sfn|Evans|1967|p=276}} or else be derived from the Indo-European root *wel- ('to see') attached to the suffix -auni (< *āmn-ī), also found in Ingauni and Ligauni.{{Sfn|Barruol|1969|p=141}}

The Velaunii dwelled in the western Alps,{{sfn|Graßl|2006}} possibly in the valley of the Estéron, a tributary of the Var.{{Sfn|Mullen|2013|pp=161–162}} Their chief town may have been Brigantio (modern Briançonnet). Although no pre-Roman occupation has been found in archaeological records, the development of the Roman city suggests the presence of preexisting communities in the valley of the Estéron.{{Sfn|Barruol|2004|p=376}}

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.{{sfn|Graßl|2006}}Pliny. Naturalis Historia, [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/pliny_elder-natural_history/1938/pb_LCL352.103.xml 3:20].

A treaty of hospitality with a Greek city, possibly Massalia, was recorded by an inscription on a bronze hand dated to the 2nd–1st century BC.{{sfn|Graßl|2006}}{{Sfn|Mullen|2013|pp=161–162}} According to Guy Barruol, it may have been a laissez-passer for Greek caravan merchants on the Velaunian territory.{{Sfn|Barruol|1969|pp=372–373}}

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• {{Cite book|last=Pliny|title=Natural History|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1938|isbn=978-0674993648|series=Loeb Classical Library|translator-last=Rackham|translator-first=H.|author-link=Pliny the Elder}}

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• {{Cite book|last=Barruol|first=Guy|title=Les Peuples préromains du Sud-Est de la Gaule: étude de géographie historique|date=1969|publisher=E. de Boccard|oclc=3279201|author-link=Guy Barruol}}
• {{Cite journal|last=Barruol|first=Guy|author-link=Guy Barruol|date=2004|title=Briançonnet / Brigantio (Alpes-Maritimes)|journal=Supplément à la Revue archéologique du centre de la France|volume=25|issue=1|pages=375–376|issn=1951-6207}}
• {{Cite book|last=Evans|first=D. Ellis|title=Gaulish Personal Names: A Study of Some Continental Celtic Formations|date=1967|publisher=Clarendon Press|oclc=468437906|author-link=Ellis Evans}}
• {{Cite journal|last=Graßl|first=Herbert|date=2006|title=Velauni(i)|journal=Brill's New Pauly|doi=10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e1229250}}
• {{Cite book|last=Mullen|first=Alex|title=Southern Gaul and the Mediterranean : multilingualism and multiple identities in the Iron Age and Roman periods|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2013|isbn=978-1-107-34165-4}}

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{{Gallic peoples}}

Category:Historical Celtic peoples

Category:Gauls

Category:Tribes in pre-Roman Gaul

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