Parisii (Gaul)


The Parisii were a Gaulish tribe, dwelling on the banks of the river Seine during the Iron Age, from the middle of the 3rd century BC until the Roman era.''

Name

They are mentioned as Parisii by Caesar, as Parísioi by Strabo and Ptolemy, as Parisi by Pliny, and as Parisius and Parisios in the Notitia Dignitatum.
The meaning of the Gaulish name 'Parisii' is debated. According to Delamarre, it may derive from the root pario-. Holder interpreted 'Parisii' as 'the makers' or 'the commanders', by comparing the name to the Welsh peryff, from paraf - peri. Another tribe name Parisi is also mentioned in Britain.
The city of Paris, attested as Civitas Parisiorum ca. 400 AD is named after the Gallic tribe.

History

The Parisii colonized their chief city about 250 BC, as first mentioned in Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico.
According to the Commentarii de Bello Gallico, when the Romans under Caesar entered this territory, the Parisii started burning down their own towns for they were willing to give up these possessions rather than have them taken by the Romans.
In 52 BC, in concert with the Suessiones, the Parisii participated in the general rising of Vercingetorix against Julius Caesar. Before the Roman period, the Parisii had their own gold coinage.
Once part of the Roman Empire the Parisii oppidum later became the site of Lutetia, an important city in the Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis, and ultimately the modern city of Paris, whose name is derived from the name of the tribe. An ancient trade route between Germania and Hispania existed at the area, by way of the meeting of the Oise and Marne rivers with the Seine.