Taurisci

The Taurisci, latin Taurisci were ( taur = celtic for mountain ) from the 3rd to the 1st century BC, a Celtic tribal group at the Eastern Alps edge whose settlement area is usually restricted to Carinthia and Slovenia. Your relationship to the Noriker is not fully understood. Of the Tauris core the name of the Tauern Mountains is derived from case to case.

History

At the battle of Telamon in 225 BC, the Celtic Taurisci were part of the allies, who suffered a heavy defeat against the Romans. The inferior Taurisci likely settled at Turin have ( Taurini ), while the parts not involved in the battle of the Taurisci settled on the upper Sava and subsequently mainly traded with the Romans with gold.

The oldest mention of Taurisci comes from Polybius, who reported their discovery of gold near Aquileia. Gold production increased their political and economic power. In around 200 BC, the population ( iron ploughshare ) increased rapidly due to improved farming methods and technological progress. The lack of land was 186 BC so oppressive that 12,000 Taurisci and Boii moved to Italy in the Adriatic Sea. While Rome was able to prevent a city founded in Friuli, but not that the Celts settled in the Po Valley and the coast of today's Veneto region.

When the Germanic Cimbri pressed the Taurisci, they called the Romans for help, which led to their defeat at the Battle of Noreia 113 BC. Over longer time already had to be paid tribute to the Romans.

Together with the Boii Noricum was repeatedly threatened and attacked Noreia. The Taurisci then likely already have been subordinated to the Boii. Mid-first century BC were subject to the allies the Dacians under Burebista. Then they had other Celtic tribes, who were called Latobiker allow the establishment on their territory in the later Carniola.

The western tribal region came under the influence of the Kingdom of Noricum, the eastern areas since about 35 BC as a function of Rome. After the Roman conquest under Octavian by Publius Silius Nerva and Drusus 16-15 BC, the Taurisci were no longer mentioned in the wake of Norian tribes.

Taurisci and Noric in the research

In ancient Roman sources Taurisci and Noric are often unclear and their names mentioned often used interchangeably. Therefore, it was in archeology different theories about the relationship of the two strains:

• Older views Noriker saw in Tauris and core two terms for the same Celtic people.
• The Taurisci were occasionally not considered as a separate people, but as a general designation of any Celtic mountaineer. In support of this theory, the Taurini were led in Piedmont.
• Another theory saw in the Noriker the pre-Celtic population of Noricum and in Tauris core Celtic newcomers.
• After Géza Alföldy the Noric one of Tauriskerstämme were. Therefore would Taurisci been the collective name for the Celtic peoples of the Eastern Alps and keltisierten space. Due to the increased authority of the Noric have the Taurisci and their names suppressed. Also for Richard Heuberger the term Taurisci is a generic term, which also includes the Noric.
• For Peter Petru the Noric and Taurisci were two peoples who settled in separate areas: the Noric in the kingdom of Noricum, which had Taurisci, since the 2nd century BC as Celtic newcomers, their southeastern neighbors. This is also largely the current state of research, according to the Lexicon of Germanic archeology. The name Taurisci was therefore originally used as an undifferentiated collective term for the population of the Eastern Alps. At the same time is based on the regional name traditions. The Noric be regarded today as northern neighbors of the tribal community of Taurisci, in the west lived the Iapoden.