Editing Volcae

{{short description|Gallic tribal confederation}}
The '''Volcae''' ({{IPA|la|ˈwɔɫkae̯}}) were a [[Gauls|Gallic]] tribal confederation constituted before the raid of combined [[Gauls]] that invaded [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]] c. 270 BC and fought the assembled Greeks at the [[Battle of Thermopylae (279 BC)|Battle of Thermopylae in 279 BC]]. Tribes known by the name Volcae were found simultaneously in southern Gaul, [[Moravia]], the [[Ebro]] valley of the [[Iberian Peninsula]], and [[Galatia]] in [[Anatolia]]. The Volcae appear to have been part of the late [[La Tène culture|La Tène material culture]], and a [[Celts|Celtic]] identity has been attributed to the Volcae, based on mentions in Greek and Latin sources as well as [[onomastic]] evidence. Driven by highly mobile groups operating outside the tribal system and comprising diverse elements, the Volcae were one of the new [[Ethnic group|ethnic entities]] formed during the Celtic military expansion at the beginning of the 3rd century BC.<ref>Kruta, Venceslas. ''Celts: History and Civilization''. London: Hachette Illustrated, 2004: 204.</ref> Collecting in the [[Celtic settlement of Eastern Europe|famous excursion into the Balkans]], ostensibly, from the Greek point of view, to raid [[Delphi]], a branch of the Volcae split from the main group on the way into the Balkans and joined two other tribes, the [[Tolistobogii]] and the Trocmi, to settle in central Anatolia and establish a new identity as the [[Galatia]]ns.

The [[Tectosagii]] were a group of the Volcae who moved through [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]] into Anatolia c. 277 BC. [[Strabo]] says the Tectosagii came originally from the region near modern [[Toulouse]], in France.

==Name==
They are mentioned as ''Volcis'' and ''Volcarum'' by [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]] (mid-1st c. BC),<ref>[[Julius Caesar|Caesar]]. ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'', 7:7:4, 1:35:4.</ref> as ''Ou̓ólkai'' (Οὐόλκαι) by [[Strabo]] (early 1st c. AD) and [[Ptolemy]] (2nd c. AD),<ref>[[Strabo]]. ''Geōgraphiká'', 4:1:12; [[Ptolemy]]. ''Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis'', 2:10:6.</ref> and as ''Volce'' on the ''[[Tabula Peutingeriana]]'' (4–5th c. AD).<ref>''[[Tabula Peutingeriana]]'', x:x.</ref><ref name=":02">{{Harvnb|Falileyev|2010}}, s.v. ''Volcae Arecomici'' and ''Volcae Tectosages''.</ref>

Most modern Celtologists regard the tribal name ''Uolcae'' (<small>sing.</small> ''Uolcos'') as stemming from a [[Gaulish]] noun ''uolcos'', ''uolca'' ('hawk, falcon'), which can be compared with the [[Welsh language|Welsh]] ''gwalch'' ('hawk, rascal' > 'fighter'). In particular, the Gaulish personal name [[Cativolcus|''Catu-uolcos'']] has an exact parallel in the Welsh ''cadwalch'' ('hero, champion, warrior'), itself from an earlier [[Old Brittonic]] *''katu-wealkos'' ('battle-hawk'). The Gaulish stem ''uolc''- can also be found in the personal names ''Uolcius'', ''Uolcenius'', ''Uolcenia'', ''Uolcinius'', ''Uolcacius'', ''Uolciani'', and ''Uolcanus''.{{sfn|Evans|1967|p=292}}{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=327}}{{sfn|de Bernardo Stempel|2008|p=103}} The [[Old English]] ''wealc''- ('hawk'), which has no known cognate in other Germanic languages, was most likely borrowed from Old Brittonic ''*wealkos''.{{Sfn|Koch|2020|p=151}} The etymology of those forms remains obscure. [[Xavier Delamarre]] has proposed to derive Gaulish ''uolcos –'' alongside Latin ''falcō'' ('falcon') and ''falx'', ''falcis'' ('hook, sickle') – from a stem *''ǵhwol-k''-, itself based on the [[Proto-Indo-European]] (PIE) root *''ǵʷhel-'' ('bend, curve'). In this view, the animal may have been named after the shape of his beak, just like the Ancient Greek ''[[Harpe|harpē]]'' designates both a sickle and a bird of prey.{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=327}}

Alternatively, the name ''Uolcae'' has been derived by some scholars from the PIE name of the wolf, *''wḷkʷos''.{{Sfn|Hughes|2012|p=166}}{{Sfn|Koch|2020|pp=96–98}} According to [[Ranko Matasović]], however, this is unlikely since the Gaulish form would have preserved the o-grade *''wolkʷo''-; he argues that descendants of Proto-Celtic *''ulkʷos'' ('bad, evil' < <small>PIE</small> *''wḷkʷos'' 'wolf') rather include [[Lepontic language|Lepontic]] ''Ulkos'' and Old Irish ''olc'' ('bad, evil').{{Sfn|Matasović|2009|p=400}} Delamarre finds it doubtful since *''wḷkʷos'' would have given **''flech'' (rather than ''olc'') in Old Irish and **''ulipos'' in Gaulish (after the [[P Celtic|P-Celtic]] sound shift).{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=327}} [[John T. Koch]] derives Old Irish ''olc'' from a Proto-Celtic form *''elko''- ~ *''olko''-, which may be compared with [[Old Norse]] ''illr'' (from Proto-Germanic *''elhja''- < Pre-Germanic *''elkyo''-; cf. the Finnish loanword ''elkiä'' 'mean, malicious'); he proposes that reflexes of PIE *''wḷkʷos'' ('wolf') include Old Irish ''foilc'' (from a 9th-century poem) and Old Welsh ''gueilc[h]'' (from the poem ''[[Y Gododdin]]'').{{Sfn|Koch|2020|pp=96–98, 140}}

After Volcae Tectosages settled in the [[Hercynian Forest|Hercynian forest]] (Central Europe), neighbouring Germanic tribes designated them by the name *''[[walhaz]]'', a loanword from Gaulish ''uolcos'' that came to refer more generally to Celtic and Romance speakers in medieval Germanic languages (e.g. ''[[Welsh people|Welsh]]'', ''[[Walloons|Waals]]'', ''[[Vlachs]]'').{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=327}}

==Volcae of the Danube==
[[File:Volcae Arecomisci and Tectosages (migrations).svg|thumb|300px|Caesar's ethnogenesis and migrations of the Volcae.]]

[[Julius Caesar]] was convinced that the Volcae had originally been settled east of the [[Rhine]], for he mentioned the Volcae Tectosages as a [[Gauls|Gaulish]] tribe which still remained in western Germany in his day (''[[Commentarii de Bello Gallico|Gallic War]]'' 6.24):
{{blockquote|And there was formerly a time when the Gauls excelled the Germans in prowess, and waged war on them offensively, and, on account of the great number of their people and the insufficiency of their land, sent colonies over the Rhine.

Accordingly, the Volcae Tectosages, seized on those parts of Germany which are the most fruitful [and lie] around the [[Hercynian Forest|Hercynian forest]], (which, I perceive, was known by report to [[Eratosthenes]] and some other Greeks, and which they call Orcynia), and settled there. Which nation to this time retains its position in those settlements, and has a very high character for justice and military merit; now also they continue in the same scarcity, indigence, hardihood, as the Germans, and use the same food and dress; but their proximity to the Province and knowledge of commodities from countries beyond the sea supplies to the Gauls many things tending to luxury as well as civilization. Accustomed by degrees to be overmatched and worsted in many engagements, they do not now even compare themselves to the [[Germania|Germans]] in prowess.}}
Caesar related a tradition associating the Celtic tribe of the Volcae to the vast Hercynian Forest, although they were possibly located in the eastern range of the [[České Středohoří]];{{citation needed|date=September 2019}} yet, Volcae of his time were settled in [[Moravia]], east of the [[Boii]].  Their apparent movement may indicate that the Volcae were newcomers to the region.  Caesar's remark  about the wealth of this region may have referred not only to agriculture but also to the mineral deposits there, while the renown attributed to the Volcae "in peace and in war" resulted from their [[metallurgy|metallurgical]] skills and the quality of their weapons, both attracting the attention of their northern neighbors.<ref>Green, D. H. ''[[Language and history in the early Germanic world]]''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998: 163.</ref>  Together with the [[Boii]] in the upper basin of the [[Elbe]] river to the west and the [[Cotini]] in [[Slovakia]] to the east, this area of Celtic settlement in ''[[oppidum|oppida]]'' led to the exploitation of natural resources on a grand scale and the concentration of skilled craftsmen under the patronage of strong and wealthy chieftains.  This culture flourished from the mid second to the mid-1st century BCE, until it buckled under the combined pressure of the [[Germanic peoples]] from the North and the [[Dacians]] from the East.

Allowance must be made for Julius Caesar's usual equation of primitive poverty with admirable hardihood and military prowess and his connection of luxurious imports and the proximity of "civilization", meaning his own, with softness and decadence. In fact, long-established trading connections furnished Gaulish elites with Baltic amber and Greek and Etruscan wares.

Caesar took it as a given that the Celts in the Hercynian Forest were emigrant settlers from Gaul who had "seized" the land, but modern archeology identifies the region as part of the La Tène homeland. As Henry Howarth noted a century ago, "The Tectosages reported by Caesar as still being around the Hercynian forest were in fact living in the old homes of their race, whence a portion of them set out on their great expedition against Greece, and eventually settled in [[Galatia]], in Asia Minor, where one of the tribes was called Tectosages."<ref>Howorth 1908:431.</ref>

==Volcae of Gaul==<!--[[Tectosages]] redirects here-->
[[File:Volcae Tectosages.jpg|thumb|Map showing the relative position of the Volcae and Tectosages.]]

===Volcae Arecomici===
The [[Volcae Arecomici]] ({{lang|grc|Οὐόλκαι Ἀρικόμιοι}} of Ptolemy's ''Geography'' ii), according to Strabo,<ref>Strabo, IV.1.12</ref> dwelt on the western side of the lower [[Rhône]], with their metropolis<ref>"Capital" applied to Gallic tribes offers misleading expectations.</ref> at Narbo ([[Narbonne]]): "Narbo is spoken of as the naval-station of these people alone, though it would be fairer to add 'and of the rest of Celtica', so greatly has it surpassed the others in the number of people who use it as a trade-centre." They were not alone in occupying their territory,<ref>"Situated alongside the Arecomici as far as the Pyrenees, are other tribes, which are without repute and small" (Strabo, IV.1.12).</ref> with its capital at [[Nîmes#History|Nemausus]] ([[Nîmes]]).

The Volcae Arecomici of their own accord surrendered to the [[Roman Republic]] in 121 BC. They occupied the district between the [[Garonne]] (''Garumna''), the [[Cévennes]] (''Cebenna mons''),<ref>The Cévennes "formed a natural boundary between the Volcae Arecomici and the [[Gabali]] and [[Ruteni]]" to the east (Smith 1854).</ref> and the Rhône.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Volcae|volume=28|page=178}}</ref><ref>"At the time of [[Hannibal]]'s [[Second Punic War|invasion of Italy]], the Volcae had also possessions east of the Rhône" (Smith 1854); see [[Livy]] xxi. 26 and [[Strabo]] 203).</ref> This area covered most of the western part of the Roman province of [[Gallia Narbonensis]]. They held their assemblies in the sacred wood of [[Nemausus]], the site of modern [[Nîmes]].

In Gaul they were divided into two tribes in widely separated regions, the Arecomici on the east, living among the [[Ligures]], and the Tectosages (whose territory included that of the Tolosates) on the west, living among the [[Aquitani]]; the territories were separated by the [[Hérault (river)|Hérault]] (''Arauris'') or a line between the Hérault and the [[Orb (river)|Orb]] (''Orbis'').<ref name="EB1911"/>

===Volcae Tectosages===
[[File:Tectosages coins Southern France 5 to 1st century BCE.jpg|thumb|300px|Tectosages coins, Southern France, 5th-1st century BC.]]
[[File:Volcae Tectosages silver 3580mg.jpg|thumb|Coin of the Volcae Tectosages, silver {{convert|3.58|g|oz|3|abbr=on}}. [[Monnaie de Paris]].]]
West of the Arecomici the [[Volcae Tectosages]] (whose territory included that of the Tolosates) lived among the Aquitani; the territories were separated by the Hérault (''Arauris'') or a line between the Hérault River and the Orb (''Orbis''). Strabo says the Volcae Tectosages came originally from the region near modern Toulouse and were part of the Volcae.<ref>"that people of the Volcae who are called Tectosages" (Strabo, IV.1.12 [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/4A*.html on-line text]).</ref>

The territory of the Volcae Tectosages (Οὐόλκαι Τεκτόσαγες of Ptolemy's ''Geography'' ii) in Gaul lay outside the Roman Republic, to the southwest of the Volcae Arecomici. From the 3rd century BC, the [[capital city]] of the Volcae Tectosages was ''Tolosa'' (Toulouse). When the [[Cimbri]] and [[Teutones]] invaded Gaul, the Tectosages allied themselves with them, and their town Tolosa was sacked in retribution by [[Quintus Servilius Caepio (consul 106 BC)|Quintus Servilius Caepio]] in 106 BC.<ref>Howorth 1908:432.</ref> Tolosa was incorporated into the Roman Republic as part of the province of [[Gallia Aquitania]] with the conquest of [[Gaul]] by [[Julius Caesar]] in 52 BC. The Roman conquest of Tolosa ended the cultural identity of the Volcae Tectosages.

According to Ptolemy's ''Geography'', their inland towns were [[Elne|Illiberis]],<ref>In Roman times Illiberis— in Basque, "iri-berri" or "ili-berri", still signifies "new town"— signified more than one place: see [[Illiberis (disambiguation)|Illiberis]].</ref> [[Perpignan|Ruscino]], [[Toulouse|Tolosa colonia]], [[Saint-Thibéry|Cessero]], [[Carcassonne|Carcaso]], [[Béziers|Baetirae]], and [[Narbonne|Narbo colonia]].

The Volcae Tectosages were among the successful raiders of the Delphi expedition and were said to have transported their booty to Tolosa. A significant part of these raiders however did not return and crossed the [[Bosporus]] instead. As a result, [[Tectosages]] was also the name of one of the three great communities of Gauls who invaded and settled in Anatolia in the country called after them "[[Galatia]]".<ref name="EB1911"/>

Venceslas Kruta suggests that their movement into this region was probably motivated by a [[Carthage|Carthaginian]] recruiting post situated close by, a main attraction of the region for Celtic mercenaries eager for more campaigning.<ref>Kruta, Venceslas. ''Celts: History and Civilization''. (London: Hachette Illustrated), 2004: 82-3.</ref> Indeed, after crossing the Pyrenees in 218 BC, [[Hannibal]] in travelling through southern Gaul was greeted by warlike tribes: the Volcae, the [[Arverni]], the [[Allobroges]], and the [[Gaesatae]] of the Rhône Valley, who rose to prominence around the middle of the 3rd century BC.  From around that time, this part of [[Gaul]] underwent a process of stabilization buttressed by the formation of new and powerful tribal confederations as well as the development of new-style settlements, such as Tolosa and [[Nemausus]] (Nîmes), resembling the urban centers of the Mediterranean world.<ref>Kruta 2004:99.</ref>

In 107, the Volcae, allies of the [[Tigurini]], a branch of the [[Helvetii]] who belonged to a coalition that formed around the Cimbri and the Teutons, defeated a Roman army at Tolosa.<ref>Kruta 2004:108.</ref>  In 106–5, Q. Servilius Caepio was sent with an army to put down the revolt, and as a result, Tolosa was sacked, and thereafter the town and its territory were absorbed into Gallia Narbonensis, thereby establishing firm control over the western Gallic trade corridor along the [[Carcassonne]] [[Gap, Hautes-Alpes|Gap]] and the Garonne.<ref>Cunliffe, Barry. ''The Ancient Celts''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997: 236</ref>

{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2018}}
The Volcae were highly influential in Moravia, and together with the Boii and the Cotini and other Danubian tribes, they controlled a highly active network of trade routes connected to the Mediterranean and the German lands.

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
*{{Cite book|last=de Bernardo Stempel|first=Patrizia|chapter=Linguistically Celtic ethnonyms: towards a classification|date=2008|publisher=Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca|title=Celtic and Other Languages in Ancient Europe|editor-last=García Alonso|editor-first=Juan Luis|isbn=978-8478003358|author-link=Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel}}
*{{Cite book|last=Delamarre|first=Xavier|title=Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental|year=2003|publisher=Errance|isbn=9782877723695|author-link=Xavier Delamarre}}
*{{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 book|last=Falileyev|first=Alexander|title=Dictionary of Continental Celtic Place-names: A Celtic Companion to the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World|publisher=CMCS|year=2010|isbn=978-0955718236}}
*{{Cite journal|last=Hughes|first=A. J.|date=2012|title=On substantiating Indo-European *wḷHos 'wolf' in Celtic, Continental and Insular|journal=Études celtiques|volume=38|issue=1|pages=165–173|doi=10.3406/ecelt.2012.2352}}
*{{cite book|last=Koch|first=John T.|title=Celto-Germanic, Later Prehistory and Post-Proto-Indo-European vocabulary in the North and West |publisher=University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies|year=2020|isbn=9781907029325|author-link=John T. Koch}}
*{{Cite book|last=Matasović|first=Ranko|title=Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic|year=2009|publisher=Brill|isbn=9789004173361|author-link=Ranko Matasović}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
*John King, Celt Kingdoms
*[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Periods/Roman/_Texts/Ptolemy/2/9*.html Ptolemy, ''Geography'' at Lacus Curtius site]
* William Smith, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography'' (1854)

==External links==
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[[Category:Historical Celtic peoples]]
[[Category:Tribes in pre-Roman Gaul]]
[[Category:Gauls]]
[[Category:Ancient Galatia]]
[[Category:Military history of Toulouse]]
[[Category:Tribes conquered by Rome]]