Liguri – Wikipedia

I Ligurian (in latino Liguris ) They were an ancient population that gave its name to today’s region of Liguria and the Ligurian Sea that bathes it.

In pre-Roman times the Ligurians occupied the current Liguria, Piedmont south of the Po, the maritime Alps that are also found in the Italian geographical area and part of the north-western coast of Tuscany.

However, it is common opinion that, around 2000 BC, the Ligurians occupied a much larger area, including a large part of western northern Italy up to all northern Tuscany north of the Arno, the French region of Provence-Alps-blue blue ^{[first] [2] [3]} and presumably part of the Iberian peninsula ^{[4] [5]} ; The presence of Ligurian populations is also attested in the Tyrrhenian coasts of Central Italy (Virgil; Sesto Pomponio Festo) and in the islands of Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily and Elba (Ilvates). According to some scholars, also the findings of Mugello and Casentino, in ancient times, were inhabited by tribes of Ligurian shepherds (Maugelli and Casuentini).

Subsequently, upon arrival of new migratory waves (Italic, Venetics and Celts) retired until they were restricted in their historical borders. How to practice this “retreat” is still the subject of debate; The hypotheses vary from the peaceful fusion of peoples, to a voluntary withdrawal or war with subsequent ethnic cleaning.

According to a traditional invasionist vision, the Ligurians were originally an ancient pre-Indo-European people. According to a more continuous vision, they would represent an ancient Indo -European layer spread in the second millennium BC. throughout the Tyrrhenian area. ^[6]

The term Liguris It is Liguria derives from Latin and is of dark origin, however the Latin adjectives Ligusticum (as the Sea of ​​ligusticum ) It is Liguscus ^[7] They reveal the original-in the ligna root, which was simplified into -S- and then transformed into -r- in the Latin name Liguries According to Rotacism. The formant -Sc- (-Sk-) is present in the names Etruscan, Basque, Gascon and is considered by some researchers related to maritime or sailors. ^{[8] [9]}

We do not know how the Ligurians were called in their language and if they had a term to define themselves. “Liguri” is a term that derives from the name with which the Greeks called this ethnicity ( Ligam ^{[ without source ]} ) when the exploration of the western Mediterranean began. Subsequently, in the late era, they also began to use this term to differentiate themselves from other ethnic groups. The term “Ligurian” seems to be related to Loira. ^{[ without source ]} In fact, the name of the French river derives from the Latin “liger”, the latter in turn probably from the Gallic *Liga “, which means mud or silt. ^[ten] Liga derives from the proto-Indo-European root *Legʰ-, which means “lying”, as in the Welsh word lleyg. ^{[11] [ without source ]}

Some scholars, citing Plutarch, report a single episode (the battle of Aquae Sextiae of 102 BC), when the Ligurian allies of the Romans against the Cimbri and the Teutons screamed “Ambrones!” as a battle cry, obtaining in response the same battle cry from the adverse front; But on the episode there are opposite interpretations.

An opinion, shared by most, is that originally the Ligurians did not have a term to define all their ethnicity, but had only names with which they defined themselves as members of a particular tribe. Only when they had to confront each other with united and organized peoples (Greeks, Etruscans, Romans) and had to federate to defend themselves would have felt the need to recognize themselves ethnically through a single term.

Other scholars hint at the hero lúg of the Celta tradition in whose name the root of the word “Ligurian” is contained. ^[twelfth]

The oldest source that cites the Ligurians is represented by a discussed version of a fragment of Hesiod (end of VIII-serious VII century BC), reported by Strabone ^[13] that cites the Ligurians (Libuas or the Libi?) ^[14] Together with the Ethiopians and the Sciti as the oldest inhabitants in the world: ” Ethiopi, Ligurian and Sciti Cavalli breeders “, Hesiod considers the Ligurians the main nation of the West, describes the three large peoples that defines barbarians, who controlled the world then known, the Ski to the East, the Aetiopi in Africa, the Ligurians to the west. Also Hesiodo draws up the mythical story of the fall of Fetonte, near Eridano (often identified in the Po), where he was cried by the king of the Ligurians Cicno. Cupavone, son and successor of Cicno, and Cunaro, his colleague of kingdom, are mentioned by Virgil as allies of Enea in the war against turn; Other sources lead the foundation of Janua (Genoa) to a different group of Trojan exiles. ^[15]

Ecateo di Mileto confirms the presence of the Ligurians from the south of Spain until Tuscany in the 6th century. B.C.

Aeschylus, in the fifth century. B.C., confirms the presence of the Ligurians in France in the age of the Foundation of Marseille in the 6th century BC. ^{[ without source ]} Eschilo also, to emphasize the fame of the Ligurians on the Athenian land, puts the following warning for Ercole in Prometheus: “… you will meet the intrepid oste of the Ligurians, and you valiant you will see how skilled in fighting …”.

Thucidide ^[16] (5th century BC) reports how the Sicans would have settled in Sicily, driven out by the Ligurians from their original territory at the Sicano river in the Iberian peninsula, before the Trojan war. While, according to Filisto by Syracuse (V-IV century BC), the Sicilians, people who arrived in Trinacria after the Sicans, would have been Ligurian, kicked out of their land by the Umbrian and Pelasgi and passed in Sicily under the guidance of Sicilus (mythological king ), eighteen years before the Trojan war. ^[17]

Herodotus ^[18] (5th century BC), listing the peoples who took part in the expedition of Serse against the Greeks, enumera the Ligurians together with the paflagons and Siri. Again he mentions them among the members of the army gathered by the tyrant Terillo of Imera and commanded by the Carthaginian Amilcare, son of Annone, who was defeated by Gelone di Siracusa and Teron of Agrigento. Always Herodotus in the middle of the fifth century BC He places the Ligurians along the eastern coast of Hiberia, calling them “Ligues”.

The Periplo of skilace , a description of the Coasts of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea dated between the 4th and third century BC, reports the presence of the Ligurians mixed with the Iberians between the Pyrenees and the Rhone river and the “real Ligurians” on the coasts between the Rhone and The Arno river. ^[19]

Diadoro in the 4th century. BC, describes the territory of Liguria and its inhabitants, referring in particular to that region located in the center of the territories inhabited by populations belonging to the same ethnicity, that is, the Ligurians.

Apollonio Rodio (III century BC), in his Argonautical , says that Jason’s return was a long wandering through the river routes of Europe (Danube, Eridano). On this occasion he had to cross the territories of the Ligurians, from whom he hid thanks to a divine intervention that sent the fog.

Dionysius of Alicarnasso (1st century BC) in Roman antiquities , speaking of the Aborigines, reports the opinion of some according to which they would have been settlers of the Ligurians and defines the latter “neighbors of the Umbrian”, reporting that they would live “many parts of Italy and some parts of Gaul” but that it is not known their place of origin. ^[20] Also reports ^[21] of the verses of the Trittolemo of Sophocles (5th century BC), which enumerates the Ligurians along the Tyrrhenian coast north of the Tyrrhenians and again ^[22] The news of Tucidide, relating to the Sicans, resumes. Finally reports that the Ligurians occupied the passages of the Alps and would have fought against Ercole (citing the Prometheus freed of Aeschylus). ^[23]

In the Aeneid, Virgil (1st century BC), says that the Ligurians were one of the very few populations who fought alongside Enea in the war against the Rutuli. Virgil also appoints their leaders, Cunaro and the young gloomy: the latter was Cicno’s son and successor. ^[24]

Tacitus reports in “Germany” who lived there several people “Lygiorum nomen”, in other Ligurian words; He did not consider them of Italy, which confirms the presence of Ligurian ethnic populations in those territories, this statement is very important for the purpose of defining the territorial expansion of the Ligurians within Europe.

The Greek historian of the 1st century AD Plutarch ^[25] reports that, in the battle of Mario ad Water in six (102 BC), the Ligurians called themselves Ambrones , the same name as the enemies (Ambroni). This gave birth to the hypothesis (in modern times) that the Ligurians saw in the Germans of the ancient kinships of origin; In reality it is common opinion that the term was used as their battle cry, to distinguish themselves from that from the Italian allied Italian militias.

Several authors (Diodorus Siculo, Virgil, Livio, Cicero) report how the Ligurians still in the second century BC. They lived in primitive conditions and deliver the image of a semi -sealvage, Ferino people, whose warriors entrust fear only with their appearance. At the same time, however, the qualities of solidarity and honesty of an agricultural and pastoral population not yet divided into classes and in which women face the same labors of men in a land defined as a stony, sterile, harsh or covered with trees to be knocked down. Not all ancient authors express positive judgments, for example Marco Porcio Catone defines the ignorant and liars, a people who have lost memory of their origins. All these elements make us understand how the Ligurians, a very ancient people whose diffusion in remote times affect most of the western Mediterranean, were subject to difficulties by the Romans, against whom the lack of a culture, of rooted traditions, of an identity, Of a political unity and a noble class with decision -making power, they were a reason for weakness not sufficiently balanced by the vigorous temperament that characterized them.

One of the most debated topics on this people is linked to their origin.

The ancient Roman and Greek sources are very few and it is not known how accurate. As already mentioned, in the most ancient source (VIII century BC), Strabo quoting Hesiod reports that the Ligurians were among the oldest inhabitants of the West. Dionysius of Alicarnasso (1st century BC) reports that their origin is not known.

Furthermore, the Ligurians, not knowing the writing, did not leave direct testimonies on their myths. This has left a large margin to intellectual speculation, more or less supported by indirect clues of historical, archaeological, linguistic and recently genetic nature.

Theories on origins [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

In the nineteenth century some historians began to deal with the Ligurians. This happened above all under the push of historical and linguistic research to make a construct to the theory of Indo -European peoples.

They soon emerged in essence two theories (with many variants):

• The pre-Indo-European thesis, in which it is claimed that the Ligurians were a pre-Indo-European people;
• The Indo -European thesis, in which it is claimed that the Ligurians are among the oldest Indo -European peoples.

It being understood that the opinions are still conflicting, the thesis that has found greater adhesions is still contrasting is the pre-Indo-European one.

Therefore ^[26] The ancient Ligurians are considered a group of peoples initially non-Indo-European (pre-Indo-European), coming from the Iberian peninsula and diffuse in prehistoric times in Linguedoca and in north-western Italy.

Subsequently, during the Neolithic, following migratory waves, the Ligurians came into contact with other peoples who merged with pre -existing Ligurian ethnicity, or who at least had a profound cultural influence on it.

Some linguists have found trace of three cultural impacts in succession:

• A contact with Indo-European elements (III Millennium BC), speaking a language still not specialized in the various Indo-European Note languages, which led the Ligurians to be themselves proto-Indo-European, speaking a mixture of the two languages;

• A contact with proto-celtic elements (II millennium BC), speaking a archaic form of Celtic language, even if the Ligurians managed to keep part of the ancient-Ligurian language again;
• a contact with Celtic elements ^[27] or celtized (from 1000 BC ^[28] ). ^{[ without source ]}

According to the linguist Villar, in Roman times, Liguria presented at least five well -identified layers ^[29] : Latin, Gallic, Lepontic, ancient European ^[30] It’s pre-Indoeuropeo. ^{[thirty first]}

Ligurian ethnicity remained identifiable even after the Roman conquest: the latter called ‘Ligurian with long hair’ ( Liguria Comati ) the population allocated in the most mountainous areas of Liguria and the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. In the Maritime Alps, many tribes remained still hostile to the Romans for a long time, still continuing to call themselves Liguria hair to the time of Augustus.

Ligurian ethnicity dissolved in “Roman citizenship”, with the progress of Romanization in the conquered territories.

Tesi pre-Indoeuropea [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Karl Viktor Müllenhoff (1818-1884), professor of Germanic antiquity at the universities of Kiel and Berlin, studying the sources of the Maritima time by Rufio Festo Avieno (Latin poet who lived in the fourth century, but which would have used a Phoenician perip of the 6th century BC for his work) ^[32] , he believed that the name of the Ligurians was generally referred to several populations who lived in western Europe, including the Celts ^{[ without source ]} , but he believed the Ligurians real as a pre-Indo-European population. ^[33]

In favor of a pre-Indo-European origin, it was Henri d’Arbois de Jubainville, a nineteenth-century French historian, who claimed that the Ligurians, together with the Iberians, constituted the remains of the native population that had spread in Western Europe with the culture of the Cardial ceramic. ^[34] Amédée Thierry (1797-1873), a French historian, also believed that the Ligurians were to be connected to the Iberi ^[35] , but he did not take sides in a decisive way towards one of the basic theses.

Always in favor of a pre-Indo-European origin, Arturo Isssel ^[36] , Genoese geologist and paleontologist, who considered them direct descendants of the man of Cro-Magnon, and diffused starting from Mesolithic throughout the European West. ^[37]

Recently, in partial support of the pre-Indo-European thesis, there are searches for comparative genetics ^[38] , which highlight a significant genetic diversity in the original populations of the Ligurian area, Langarola and Monferrina. Some of the highlighted characteristics bring them closer to other populations (Basche, Welsh, Bretons), traditionally indicated as inventories of the ancient pre-Indo-European populations.

Indo -European thesis [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Dominique François Louis Roget de Belloguet ^[39] Instead, he supported a “Gallic” origin. Moreover, the origin of the Gallic peoples is still the subject of debate and it should not be forgotten that Celtic peoples are identified exclusively by means of their languages ​​and their cultures. During the iron age the spoken language, the main deities and the invoice of the artifacts brought to light in the Ligurian area (see the numerous torques) they were of the Celtic type ^{[ without source ]} . In fact, it should be considered that many times the clear divisions between the cultures of an era and another and between neighboring territories are the result of a need for historical location. As in the rest of Europe it is likely that a pre-index European ethnic component, in this case Ligurian, survived in Celtic era and the successions were not always traumatic but of osmotic overlaps ^{[ without source ]} . ^[40]

Silcan ^[41] underlines the uncertainty of contemporaries in distinguishing the Ligurians from the Celts and who at the time of Strabone had to be a single people ^{[ without source ]} .

According to Bernard Sergent ^[42] , the origin of the Ligurian linguistic family – in his opinion related to the distant with the Celtic and the Italian one – would be to be found in the culture of Polada and in that of the Rhone (first Bronze Age), southern emanations of the culture of unethex. ^[43]

The oldest traces of sedentarization found in the Genoa region date back to the Neolithic until the 5th millennium BC. Remains of more recent homes (a dry wall ^[44] ) dating back to the Bronze Age were also found in the mouth of the Bisagno.

Between the X and the 4th century BC,, The Ligurians are located above Marseille. ^{[ without source ]} According to Strabone, the Ligurians live near numerous Celtic tribes, but despite being “similar to the Celts in their ways of life” ^[45] They are a different people (ἑτεροεθνεῖς).

Between the fifth and fourth centuries BC Commercial contacts with Etruscans, Carthaginians, Campania and mainly with the Athenian Greeks were frequent, but none of these peoples managed to colonize the territories occupied then by the Ligurians.

Between the VIII and fifth century BC Even Celtic tribes, probably from Central Europe, began to move to the area. ^{[ without source ]} They had iron weapons, which allowed them to easily defeat the local tribes, still armed with bronze weapons.

I Liguri and new arrivals Celts ^{[ without source ]} They spread throughout the area, sharing the territory of the region between the Po, Varo and Magra rivers. Celts and Ligurians later began to mix together and form a Celto-Ligurian culture, ^{[ without source ]} with many tribes. Each with a settlement in a valley or along a river, each with its tribal boss. Of these numerous Celto-Liguri tribes, the Salluvi took sorrowed north of Massalia, in the Aix-en-Provence area, ^{[ without source ]} While the Caturigi, Tricastini and Cavari settled west of the Durance river. ^{[forty six]} They built fortresses and settlements at the top of the hill: the towns . Today the traces of 165 towns they are found in the department of the launch ^{[ without source ]} and 285 in the Maritime Alps. ^[47]

Between Celts and Etruscans [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Starting from the twelfth century BC, from the union of the previous cultures of Polada and Canegrate, or by the union of pre -existing Ligurian populations with the arrival of Celtic populations, at the same time as the birth of Hallstatt’s culture in Central Europe and the culture of Villanova in Central Italy, a new civilization developed that archaeologists call Golasecca from the name of the place where the first discoveries were made.

The Golasecchiani lived in a territory of about 20 000  km² , from the Alpine watershed to the Po, from Valsesia to Serio, gravitating around three main centers: the area of ​​Sesto Calende, Bellinzona, but above all the Protourbano di Como center.

With the arrival of the Gallic populations from beyond the Alps, in the 4th century BC This Celtic-Ligurian civilization declines and ends.

The cultures of Canegrate and Golasecca [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The culture of Canegrate (13th century BC) could represent the first migratory wave of a native population ^[48] From the north-western sector of the Alps who, through the Alpine steps, penetrated and established himself in the Western Po Valley between Lake Maggiore and Lake Como (culture of the Scamozzina). He brought a new funeral practice, the cremation, which supplanted the inhumation. It has also been proposed that an ancient proto -cetic presence can be traced back to the beginning of the average bronze age (16th-18th century BC), when north-western Italy appears strictly linked to the production of bronze artefacts, including ornaments, to the western groups of the Culture of Tumuli (in Central Europe, 1600 BC – 1200 BC). ^[49] The bearers of Canegrate’s culture maintained their homogeneity only for a century, after which they pretended to the Ligurian populations and from this union they gave rise to the culture of Golasecca ^{[50] [51]} , which is now identified with leponzes ^{[52] [53]} and other Celto-Liguri tribes. ^[54]

Within the cultural territory of Golasecca, which later became part of the Cisalpine Gaul, now included in areas belonging to two Italian regions (Western Lombardy and Eastern Piedmont) and Canton Ticino in Switzerland, it is possible to observe that some areas with greater concentration of finds , largely correspond to the different archaeological facies attested in the culture of Golasecca. They coincide significantly with the territories occupied by those tribal groups whose names are reported by Latin and Greek historians and geographers:

• Insubri : in the area south of Lake Maggiore, in Varese and part of Novara, Sesto Calende, Castelletto Sopra Ticino; from the fifth century BC This area suddenly remains depopulated, while the first settlement of Mediolanum (Milan) stands.
• Leponti : in the Canton Ticino, with Bellinzona and Sopceneri; in the Ossola.
• Anx : in the Como and Bergamo area.
• Brilliant It is Marica In the Lomellina (Pavia / Ticino).

The Celts did not establish existing tribes, but mixed with them. When the Etruscans and the Romans arrived, north-western Italy was inhabited by a complex network of Celto-Ligurian populations with some geographical differences: in general, north of the Po (called Gallia Transpadana in followed by the Romans ) , Celtic culture prevailed decisively, while in the south (later France cispadana ) The Ligurian imprint continued to leave important traces.

Observing north-western Italy of the Po river, while in modern Lombardy and Eastern Piedmont the culture of Golasecca emerged, in the western part there are two main tribal groups:

The Etruscan expansion and the Foundation of Genoa [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

In the seventh century BC, in addition to the Greeks, the Etruscans also began to go to the northern Tyrrhenian Sea, until what we today call Ligurian Sea. While entertaining intense commercial exchanges, in fact they were competitors of the Greeks, with whom they often came to short irons.
After the battle of Alalia (6th century BC), the Etruscans seemed to excel in the Tyrrhenian Sea and central Italy.

However, their expansionist policy was different from that of the Greeks: their expansion took place mainly due to the ground, gradually seeking to occupy the areas bordering them. Despite being good sailors, they did not base distant colonies, but at the limit empori destined to support trade with local populations. This created an ambivalence in relations with the Ligurians; On the one hand, excellent commercial partners were for all coastal emporiums, on the other, their expansionist policy led them to press on the Ligurian populations allocated north of the Arno, making them back to inside the mountain areas.

Also in this case, the Ligurian opposition ability prevented the Etruscans from going further; Indeed, although traditionally the border between the Ligurian area and the Etruscan area is considered the lean, it is evidenced that all Etruscan settlements north of the Arno (e.g. Pisa) were periodically attacked and sacked by the Ligurian tribes of the mountains.

As already mentioned, hostility on the borders did not prevent an intense commercial relationship, testified by the large amount of Etruscan ceramics found in the Ligurian sites. Of this period is the foundation of the opposite of Knee (Genoa, approximately 500 BC); the urban core of the castle (perhaps an ancient Ligurian Castelliere) began ^[55] , for the flourishing trade, to expand to today’s Prè (the area of ​​the meadows) and towards the Turbid rivo . In this regard, some scholars believe that Genoa was an Etruscan emporium, and that, only at a later time, the local Ligurian tribe took control (or merged with the Etruscans). ^[56]

Starting from the beginning of the fifth century BC, the Etruscan power began to decline: attached to the north by the Gauls, south by the Greeks and with the revolts of the controlled cities (e.g. Rome), the Etruscan presence among the Ligurians was gradually less , strengthening that Massaliota and Gallica.

From that moment Genoa, inhabited by Liguri genuati , it was considered by the Greeks, given its strong commercial character, “The Emporium of the Ligurians”: timber for naval construction, cattle, skin, honey, fabrics were some of the Ligurian products of commercial exchange.

The clash with the Romans (III-II century BC) [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

In the third century BC, the Romans, having been right of the Etruscans and integrated their territories, found themselves in direct contact with the Ligurians. The Roman expansionism, however, aimed towards the rich territories of Gaul and the Iberian peninsula (then under Carthaginian control), and the territory of the Ligurians was on the road (they controlled the Ligurian coasts and the southern Alps).

At the beginning the Romans had a rather condescending attitude: the territory of the Ligurians was considered poor, while the fame of its warriors was known (they had already met them as mercenaries), finally they were already engaged in the First Punic War and were not intentioned to open new fronts; Therefore they first tried to make them allies. However, despite their efforts, only a few Ligurian tribes did with the Romans alliance (the alliance with the genuats famous), the remaining were immediately hostile.

Hostities were opened in 238 BC From a coalition of Ligurian and Galli Boi, but the two peoples soon disagree with and the military countryside stopped with the dissolving of the alliance. Meanwhile, a Roman fleet commanded by Quinto Fabio Massimo was disfigured by the Ligurian ships on the coast (234-233 BC), allowing the Romans to control the coastal route to and from Gaul.

With the outbreak of the second Punic war (218 BC) the Ligurian tribes had different attitudes:

• A part (the tribes of the west, the Apuan and Apennine ones) attached themselves to the Carthaginians, providing soldiers to the troops of Hannibal when he arrived in northern Italy (they hoped that the Carthaginian general freed them from the nearby Roman);
• Another part (the Genuates, the tribes of the Levante and the Taurini) sided in support of the Romans.

The Ligurian Pro-Artagine participated in the battle of the Trebbia, in which the Carthaginians obtained the victory. Other Ligurians enlisted in the ASDRUBAL Army, when they calm in Italy (207 BC), in an attempt to reunite with the troops of his brother Annibale. In the port of One’s own (the current Savona), then the capital of the Ligurians Sabazi, found shelter the triremes ships of the Carthaginian fleet of General Magone Barca, brother of Annibale, destined to cut the Roman commercial routes in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

At the Ligurian pro-Roman, at the beginning it did not go as well. Annibale, as soon as the Alps exceeded, attacked the Taurini (218 BC) and destroyed their capital. In 205 BC, Genua was attacked and razed to the ground from Magone.

With the reversal of the fate of the second Punic war, we find Magone (203 BC) among the Ingauni, to try to block the Roman advance: he suffered a serious defeat that also cost him his life; In the same year he was rebuilt genua. Ligurian troops are still present, as a chosen troop of Annibale, to the battle of Zama in 202 BC, who decreed the defeat of Carthage.

The Romans, with the support of the Federati Liguri, took control of the territory, creating the IX Regio of the Roman Empire (called Liguria), which extended from the Maritime Alps and Cozie, to the Po, to the Trebbia and the Magra. ^[57]

With the end of the second Punic war, however, hostilities were not over. Of the Ligurian tribes, the Gauls and the Carthaginian troops, starting from the mountain territories, they continued to fight with guerrilla tactics. Thus the Romans were forced to continuous military operations in northern Italy.

In 201 BC The Ingauni were forced to surrender. In 200 BC, Ligurian and Boi looted and destroyed the Roman colony of Piacenza, effectively controlling the most important ford of the Po Valley.

Only in 197 BC The Romans, under the guidance of Minucio Rufo, managed to resume control of the Piacenza area by submitting the Celebrate , i Cerdiciati , The Ilavati And the Galli Boi and occupying the oppida of Casteggio.

A second phase of the conflict was followed (197-155 BC), characterized by the fact that the Ligurians had a trusted on the Apennines, from where they periodically descended to plunder the surrounding territories. The Romans, for their part, organized continuous shipments in the mountains, hoping to make to heal, encircle and defeat the Ligurians (taking care not to be destroyed with ambushes). Over the course of the whole war the Romans boasted fifteen triumphs and at least a serious defeat.

Historically the beginning of the campaign is dated to 193 BC. on the initiative of conciliabula (Federations) of the Ligurians, who organize a large raid by pushing themselves to the right bank of the Arno river. The Roman countryside (191, 188 and 187 BC followed), victorious but not resolutive.

With the campaign of 186 BC, the Romans were beaten by the Ligurian Sengauni on Monte Caprione. In the battle, which took place in a narrow and clouded place, the Romans lost about 4 000 soldiers, three eagles of the second leg and eleven banners of the Latin allies. In addition, the Quinto Marzio console was also killed in the clash. It is thought that the place of the battle and death of the consul has given rise to the toponym of march or to that of the March channel on Monte Caprione in the municipality of Lerici and close to the ruins of the city of Luni, which will then be founded by the Romans ^{[ without source ]} . This mountain had a strategic importance because the Magra valley and the sea was controlled from it.

In 185 BC, the Ingauni and Intimeli also rebelled, who managed to resist the Roman legions until 180 BC. The Apuani, the Ligurians Alpine and those of the “Piedmontese” side still resisted.

However, wanting to “have” Liguria for their next conquest of Gaul, the Romans prepared a large army of almost 36 000 soldiers, under the orders of the proconsals Publio Cornelio Cetego and Marco Bibio Tamfilo, with the aim of ending Ligurian independence .

In 180 BC The Romans broke a very serious defeat to the Ligurians (especially to the irreducible Apuan Ligurian), and deported 40 000 in the Sannio regions (between Avellino and Benevento). This deportation was followed by another 7,000 Ligurian during the following year. These were one of the few cases in which the Romans deported populations defeated in such a high number. In 177 BC Other groups of Apuan Ligurians arrested themselves from the Roman forces, while the military campaign continued further north. The surviving Ligurian tribes, now isolated and in absolute inferiority, however, continued to fight.

In succession, Frinati (175 BC), Statielli (172 BC), the Ligurians Alpine (162 BC) and the Velleiati (158 BC), had to surrender. The latest Ligurian resistances, the Sengauni, on the territory of Mount Carpione were won only in 155 BC. from the consul Marco Claudio Marcello (from him the name of the village of Montemarcello).

Le last tribbled Liguri (es. VOCONTIUS e Salluvi ^[58] ) still autonomous, which occupied part of Provence, were submitted in 124 BC. The kingdom of the cozii deserves a separate discussion which, thanks to an elevated alliance with the Romans, remained formally independent until the middle of the first century AD, at the time of Nero, when the population was now completely Romanized.

During the campaign, the Romans founded, on pre -existing agglomerations, the colonies of Lucca (180 BC) and Luni (177 BC), originally conceived as military outposts for the control of the territory and as a refueling bases for the legions engaged in the war.

After their definitive defeat, some contingents of Ligurian operated for some time as auxiliaries in Roman armies, fighting in the war against Giugurta and in the campaign against the Cimbri and Teutons. A Legion of Ligurian was allocated to Olbia to oppose the raids of the Sardinians of the interior ^{[ without source ]} .

In the year 6 AD Genoa became the center of the IX Region of Augustan Italy and the Ligurian populations were heading towards definitive Romanization.

The Ligurians never formed a centralized state, they were in fact divided into independent tribes, in turn organized into small villages or castellar. The oppida were rare, to which the federal capitals of the individual tribes or important commercial empors had corresponded.

The area of ​​a tribe was in almost all public property, only a small percentage of the land (cultivated) was “private”, in the sense that, behind the payment of a small tax, it was given in concession. Only in the late age, does the concept of private property, inheritable or salable develop.

By reflecting the decentralized character of Etnia, the Ligurians did not have a centralized political structure. Each tribe decided for themselves, also in contrast to the other tribes; As evidence of this, they are the opposite alliances that over time the Ligurian tribes made towards Greeks, Etruscans and Romans.

An egalitarian and community spirit prevails within the tribes. Even if there is also a noble class, this is tempered by “tribal rallies” in which all classes participate; There are no pre -organized magistrates. There were not even dynastic garments: the Ligurian “king” was elected as a leader of a tribe or a federation of tribes; Only in the late age does a real aristocratic class of the dynastic type begin to emerge. Originally there was no slavery: the prisoners of war were massacred or sacrificed. ^[59]

The stories of the Foundation of Massalia ^[60] , ^{[ without source ]} They provide us with some interesting information:

• they had a strong sense of hospitality;
• The women chose their husband, demonstrating an emancipation unknown to the Eastern peoples.

In this regard, always Diodoro Siculo ^{[sixty one]} in the first century BC He writes that women take part in the fatigue work alongside men. Narratives of Tacit ^{[ without source ]} , present in Historical , but also of Strabone ^{[ without source ]} , they tell of courageous women dedicated to work.

Clothing [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Siculo diadoro reports the use of a tunic tight at the waist by a leather belt and closed by a generally bronze clip. Other garments used were “sagi” cloaks, and during the winter animal skins to shelter from the cold ^[62] . The characteristic element was the fibula, used to close the clothes and cloaks, made of amber (imported from the Baltic) and vitrea pasta, enriched with ornamental elements in bone or stone.

The warriors and the army [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Sicilian diadoro describes the Ligurians as very fearsome enemies: although not particularly impressive from a physical point of view, strength, will and tenacity makes them more dangerous warriors of the roosters. As proof of this, the Ligurian warriors were very coveted as mercenaries and several times the Mediterranean powers went to Liguria to recruit armies for their shipments (for example, the elite troops of Hannibal were made up of a contingent of Ligurian) .

The armament varied on the basis of the class and the owner of the owner, in general, however, the great mass of the Ligurian warriors was substantially light infantry, armed in a poor way ^{[62] [63]} . The main weapon was the spear, with cuspids that could exceed a cubit (about 45 cm), followed the sword, of Foggia Gallica (often poor because they were made with sweet metals), very rarely the warriors were equipped with bow and arrows. The protection was entrusted to an oblong wooden shield ^{[sixty four]} , always of a Celtic type (but unlike the latter without a metal Umbone) ^[65] and a simple, Monteforino type helmet; The use of armor is unknown, even if it is possible that the richest warriors possessed armor in organic material similarly to the Gauls ^[66] Or Linothorax on the Greek model. ^{[sixty seven]}

The tactic was mainly based on the ambushes and hand -to -hand combat.

In antiquity, a collateral activity to the marinery was piracy, and the Ligurians were no exception. If they believed they appropriate, they assaulted and plundered ships in navigation along the coast. The thing must not surprise: already in antiquity the fastest way to get assets is to steal them. Moreover, the continuous raids of the Ligurian tribes in the territories of neighboring peoples is well documented, and constitutes an important voice in their economy.

Ligurian tribes [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Despite the sources that have come to us are few, confused and sometimes contradictory, the researchers have tried to order the ethnic structure of this ancient people. So some of the tribes have been identified (or Pag ) in which the Ligurians grouped:

“Litoranea” area [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

• Sweetheart , Deciati It is Odom who lived west of the Alps; ^[58]
• I Vediatians , who lived in the current area of ​​Nice;
• I Tiguli , settled in the Riviera di Levante up to Framura;
• I Genuati , settled in the Genoa area;
• I Sabazi , settled in the Savonese (Vada Sabatia and Savo Oppidum Alpinum), between the area of ​​the Rio Term and the Finalese (Finale Ligure);
• I Docile , settled between the Albisole area (Albissola Marina) (Alba Docilia) and the Varazzino (Varazze), up to the Apennine counterfeit of the GIOVO Ligure and Sassello hill.
• The Dance , settled in the territory of Albenga, from Diano Marina to the Rocca and Altipiano di Caprazoppa (inhabited since the Paleolithic) and Verezzi;
• The Beneli , settled in the Ponente Riviera, near Ventimiglia ( Albintimilium ) up to Cervo (Italy);
• The Sengauni, on the heights of the Gulf of La Spezia, from Val di Vara to Carpione and the Magra river ( Tavola Steeriana ). Often confused with the Apuan, but in reality of different areas

“Internal-Apennine” area [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

• I Frinati , settled inside, in the Apennines, among the current provinces of Parma (Valli del Parma and of the ance), Reggio Emilia, Modena (a large area of ​​the Modena Apennines is called Frignano It seems precisely from the name of the Ligurian tribe of the Friniati) and Pistoia;
• The Ilavati or “Eleati” (then called Veletes) were installed in the Parma Apennines (Valli Taro, Ceno and perhaps Baganza), Piacenza (Valli Nure, Trebbia, Tidone) and in part Genoese (Alta Trebbia, Val d’Aveto) and perhaps until In the high valleys Staffora (PV) and Curone (AL) (main center in the Roman age: the town hall of Velleia );
• I Uterus (divided into the subdits of the Deep , Sets , Mentovines and gods Langenses ), installed in the current Genoese west and in Val Polcevera, where in 1506 the well -known bronze table of Polcevera was found, drawn up in Rome in 117 BC;
• The Napini , in Lunigiana, Garfagnana and Versilia; Their territory was located between the north bank of Lake Massaciuccoli and the Pedogna and Fegana streams (tributaries of the average of the Serchio course) to the south and the ridge of the Apennines from the mouth to Giovo to Mount Zatta and the Bracco to the north.

“Piedmontese” area [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

• The Statielli , ^[58] installed in today’s province of Alessandria in the territory of Acqui, in the valleys of the two Bormide and the tributaries Orba and Belbo;
• I Dectunini , settled in the Tortonese and the Novese;
• I Swampy (O Vegenni ), ^[58] installed in the area between the Alta Valle del Tanaro and the Equo of Demonte and then partly moved to Val Trebbia in Bobbio (headquarters of village of the same name under the town hall of Velleia ), the main center in the Roman age was Augusta Bagnorum – Now well Vagienna; another noteworthy center Beinette;
• The Epanteri Mountain tribes that were originally allocated in the Roero area, but went up to Val Bormida;
• I Caught up ^[58] which originally were allocated in the area between the Pellice and the Po;
• I Taurini who occupied the plain overlooking the valleys of Susa and Lanzo (according to Tito Livio and Strabone they also occupied the valleys and controlled the relative steps);
• I Speakers allocated in the lower Vercellese;
• Maielli ^[58] Along the Alpine Valleys to the Ost of Turin;
• Venom , Towers , Out , Bimbelli It is Casmoned of uncertain location, but still in the east of the maritime Alps and Cozie. ^[58]

Padana Center area [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

“Provencal” area [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

* I Segobrer (or communes), inhabitants of Provence and protagonists of the Greek legend of Massalia; ^{[ without source ]}

“Linguadoca” area [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

* The Elisici Inhabitants of the area between the Pyrenees and the Aude are appointed for the first time by Ecateo who says they are Ligurian subject to the Iberians. They participated in the campaigns of Annibale in Italy against Rome. Narbona was their most important center. ^{[ without source ]}

Corso-Sarda area [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

• I Courses They lived in Corsica and the extreme north-east of Sardinia. ^[68] The legend, reported by Sallustio and other authors, tells that a Ligurian woman named Corsa grazing her armies pushed to the island which will then take the name of Corsica in her honor. ^[69] Pausania the Periegeta reports that a part of the courses then moved from Corsica to Sardinia. ^[70]

As for the rest of the aspects, there have been few testimonies, mostly of archaeological nature.

Among the most important testimonies, the Montani sacred sites (Monte Bego, Monte Beigua) and the development of megalitism (statues-stele of the Lunigiana) should be reported.

The spectacular valley of the wonders of Mount Bego is the most representative site of the numerous sacred sites covered with cave engravings, and in particular of cups, channels and ritual tanks. The latter would indicate that the fundamental part of the rites of the ancient Ligurians, they foresee the use of water (or milk, blood?). The Mount Bego website has an extension and spectacularity comparable to the sites of the Val Camonica. Another interesting place, which presents a rock where channels, trays and cups are dug, is the so -called “Ciappo delle Conche” and the neighboring “Ciappo dei chickpeas” in Orco Feglino. Another important sacred center is Mount Beigua, but the reality is that many promontories of Liguria and the Alpine arc present these types of sacred centers.

The other relief testimony is the proliferation of megalithic manifestations, whose most spectacular and original is that of the stele statues in the Lunigiana. These particular oblong stones, stuck in the woods of the woods, ended with stylized human heads, and could be equipped with arms, sexual attributes and significant objects (e.g. daggers). Their real meaning has been lost memory, today it is assumed that they represented:

• of the;
• divinized ancestors and heroes;
• The birth from the maternal womb to symbolize the origin of their breed resulting directly from the womb of the earth and nature.

The test , so much represented, for the Ligurians were the seat of the soul, the center of emotions and the point of the body where all the senses were concentrated, consequently the essence of the divine and hence its cult.

In principle, it is believed that the Ligurian religion was quite primitive, aimed at supernatural tutelary gods, representing the great forces of nature, and from which help and protection could be obtained through their divination.

The proliferation of sacred centers near the peaks would indicate the cult of majestic celestial gods, represented by the high peaks: in fact Beg- (Give a baginus e baginatie) Penn- (then transformed with the Romanization into Jupiter Poenine and in the Appenninus father ) It is White- (from which Albiorix) are indicated as the tutelary gods of the Ligurian peaks.

Numi such as Pure It is A drilling , linked to the cult of the waters, and the cult of Matron (hence the Sanctuary of Mons Matrona, today Montinevro).

Among the many engravings, significant is the presence of the figure of the bull, even if only stylized through the symbol of the horns, this would indicate the cult of a taurine, male and fertilizer divinity, already known to the Anatolian and Semitic cultures.

Another important number was Cycle (the swan), which perhaps represents the divinization of a mythical ancient king (the Cicno of the Greeks) or, as for many Nordic cultures, the totemic animal associated with the cult of the sun.

Thanks to the long contact with the Celtic populations, the Ligurians probably acquired beliefs and myths from that world. Certainly, starting from the seventh century BC, the funeral equipment are similar to those found in populations of Celtic culture. ^{[ without source ]}

Extract from Marco Anneo Lucano on the religion of the Ligurians:

“And now tonse liger, once in a neck Braids of the whole praese Comatus And to whom the morally Teutates, horror of the wild altars, hesum; The Taranis Scythicae is mildly Ara Diana. You also, who are strong in the souls, and the wars of the peremtas, Praise in a long biddance Most secure poems, Bardi. And you have a barbarously left Sacers, Druid, placing the arms. ”

translation :
Here you are free, comate with long wandering hair on the white shoulders; And you, Ligurian, whose forehead is without hair, but whose value is more celebrated. You who appease with floods of Teuta human blood the ruthless, the horrible altar of Hesus, and Taranis more cruel than Taurica Diana; You who revive strong souls lost in battle, singers whose praise gives eternity, Bardi! You are no longer afraid to repeat your hymns; druids! resume your barbaric rites, your bloody sacrifices that war had abolished.

The Ligurian economy was based on primitive agriculture, on shepherdness, hunting and exploitation of forests. Siculo diadoro writes of the Ligurians:

«Being their country mountainous and full of trees, one of them everything on the day use in cutting wood, to this by using strong and heavy dark; Others, who want to cultivate the earth, must deal with stones to break, since so much the soil that with instruments cannot be removed a clod, that stones do not raise with it. However, although they have to fight with many disasters, by force of obstinate work they exceed nature […] they often give themselves to the game, and finding quantity of wild, with it compete with the lack of biad; And therefore it comes, that by scrolling through their mountain covered mountains, and by adducting to practice more difficult places of the woods, they delay their bodies, and fortify their muscles admirably. Some of them for the famine of food drink water, and live on meat of pets and wild animals. ”

( Sicilian diador, in Luca Ponte, The Genoese )

Thanks to the contact with the “metal seekers” of the bronze, the Ligurians also dedicated themselves to the action of minerals ^[71] and to metallurgy; Although most of the metal in circulation are of central European origin.

The commercial activity is important. Already in ancient times the Ligurians were known in the Mediterranean for the trade of the precious Ambra Baltic. With the development of the Celtic populations, the Ligurians found themselves controlling a crucial access to the sea, becoming (sometimes despite them) custodians of an important communication route.

Although they were not renowned navigators, they came to have a small maritime fleet, and their attitude to navigation is described as follows:

«They navigate eziandio for the cause of shops for the sea of ​​Sardinia and Libya, spontaneously exposing itself to extreme dangers; They use this of smaller hulls of the vulgar boat; nor are they practical of the convenience of other ships; And what is surprising, one is not to fear to support the very serious risks of storms. ”

( In the same place )

Of the spoken language, only anthroponyms and toponyms are known (typical suffixes -asca O -asco = ending for village). Not knowing the writing, they did not leave their own texts.

Between location with supisso,-Iusku i would cital clothes, taraston, plane, cheap, staircase, bushing In France e bellasque, veliqueco o souces in Spain. Arlanc, non -eque and the old name Gap (vappincum) AM TYPE -IZE. The Type -el and Represented by Cemenelum (Now Cmiez)

The study of the toponymy revealed the presence of Ligurian elements in the western Alps and in the north-western Apennines, in the Aosta Valley (Barrmasc and Périasc in the upper Valle d’Ayas), in Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy, Emilia; Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio, but also in Linguadoca and Rossiglione and in some parts of the Iberian peninsula. But also in Sicily, the town of the Emes, the Rodano and Corsica Valley (Grillasca, Palasca, Popolasca, Salasca, ASCO).

The common thesis is that these are an ancient pre-Indo-European language, subsequently influenced by Celtic (Gallic) and Latin languages, and therefore hidden.

Other theses argue that the ancient Ligurian would have been a variant of the Celtic language, cousin of Gallic (Xavier Delamarre ^[72] ).

Architecture [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The castelliere constitutes one of the most characteristic sites of the Ligurian people. Located on top of a promontory (or a raised position), it consisted of a central mastio, embankment and with one or more concentric walls; All made with the dry wall technique, often using cyclopic stones. Although some hosted villages, the castellari are mostly used military structures for the control of the territory, the aquamentaria of the soldiers or as a refuge in the event of invasion. Many were built, mostly in the border areas against the peoples who were expanding towards them (Greeks, Etruscans and Galli).

The Ligurian villages were made up of a few scattered huts, preferably at “halfway coast” of mountain slopes or hilly. The high position had a dual function, obviously to better control the territory, but above all to stay away from the areas, yes more flat, but unhealthy. In fact, the bi-climate conditions of the area occupied by the Ligurians in the II and the millennium BC must be taken into consideration, dense with coastal marshes or aquitrinous forests. Only millennia of felling, reclamation and operations in the area have managed to make the plains livable for how we know them today.

• Arslan E. A. 2004b, LVI.14 Garlasco, in The Ligurians. An ancient European people between Alps and Mediterranean , Exhibition catalog (Genoa, 23.10.2004-23.1.2005), Milan-Ginevra, pp. 429–431;
• Arslan E. A. 2004 C.S., Ligurian and Galli in Lomellina , in The Ligurians. An ancient European people between Alps and Mediterranean , Essays exhibition (Genoa, 23.10.2004-23.1.2005);
• Raphaele de Marinis, Giuseppina Spabate (Popular di), Still on the Ligurians. An ancient European people between Alps and Mediterranean , De Ferrari Editore, Genoa 2007 ( Volume card );
• Renato del Ponte, The Ligurians, ethnogenesis of a people , Ecig, Genoa 1999;
• Bianca Maria Giannattasio, The Ligurians and Liguria, history and archeology of a territory before the Roman conquest , Longanesi, Milan 2007;
• John Patterson, Samnites, Ligurian and Romans , Municipality of Circello; Benevento;
• Ausilio Priuli-Italo Pucci, Rock and megalithism engravings in Liguria , Priuli & Verlucca Editori; Ivrea 1994;
• I like Russiappine (the care of), The Ligurians. An ancient European people between Alps and Mediterranean (Exhibition catalog, Genoa 2004-2005), Skira Editore, Genoa 2004.
• Bernard Sergent, Indo-European. History, languages, myths , Paris, Payot, 1995, ISBN 2-228-88956-3.

• Adriano Maggiani (2004), Peoples and cultures of pre -Roman Italy. The Ligurians , in The world of archeology , Rome, Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia, 2002-2005.
• Marco Milanese (2004), Pre -Roman Italy. Ligurian sites: Genoa , in The world of archeology , Rome, Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia, 2002-2005.
• Piera Melli (2004), Pre -Roman Italy. Ligurian sites: Chiavari , in The world of archeology , Rome, Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia, 2002-2005.
• Giuseppina Spadea, Liliana Mercando (2004), Roman Italy of the Regiones. Regio IX Liguria , in The world of archeology , Rome, Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia, 2002-2005.
• Piera Melli (2004), Roman Italy of the Regiones. Regio IX Liguria: Albenga , in The world of archeology , Rome, Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia, 2002-2005.
• Ligurian , in TRECCANI.IT – encyclopedia online , Rome, Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia.
• Welcome Terracini (1934), Ligurian , in Italian Encyclopedia , Rome, Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia.
• Ligurian tribes
  • Napini , in TRECCANI.IT – encyclopedia online , Rome, Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia.
  • Pietro Baroccelli (1929), Napini , in Italian Encyclopedia , Rome, Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia.
  • Swampy , in TRECCANI.IT – encyclopedia online , Rome, Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia.
  • Pietro Baroccelli (1930), Swampy , in Italian Encyclopedia , Rome, Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia.
  • Capitati , in TRECCANI.IT – encyclopedia online , Rome, Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia.
  • Frinati , in TRECCANI.IT – encyclopedia online , Rome, Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia.
  • Pietro Baroccelli (1932), Friniati , in Italian Encyclopedia , Rome, Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia.
  • Dance , in TRECCANI.IT – encyclopedia online , Rome, Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia.
  • Pietro Baroccelli (1933), Dance , in Italian Encyclopedia , Rome, Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia.
  • Pietro Baroccelli (1934), Montani Liguri , in Italian Encyclopedia , Rome, Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia.
• Card on the exhibition The Ligurians. An ancient European people between Alps and Mediterranean , Genoa 2004-2005 on the website of the Palazzo Ducale of Genoa.