Tarbelli


The Tarbelli were an Aquitani pre-Roman tribe settled in what today is southwestern France, between the river Adour and the Pyrenees. The capital of the Tarbelli people was Aquae Tarbellicae, present-day Dax. They lived in Labourd, in the Northern Basque Country, in the present-day French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Orthez was also an important Tarbelli city.

Name

The Tarbelli are mentioned as Tarbelli by Caesar, as Tárbelloi by Strabo, and as Tarbelli Quattuorsignani by Pliny.

Language

The historical territory of the Tarbelli has been found to correspond very well with what has been learned of the extension of the Lapurdian dialect of the Basque language. Like all other Aquitanians the people spoke an archaic form of the Basque language known as Aquitanian language. Its dialects are unknown.

History

The Tarbelli are mentioned by Roman authors; Julius Caesar names them Tarbelli quatuorsignani, "Tarbelli of the four banners"; this means that the Tarbelli were a confederacy of four different tribes. They lived in a small territory in what today is the southwest of France, between the river Adour and the Pyrenees. This region was known as the traditional province of Labourd, of the Northern Basque Country. Their capital city was Aquae Tarbellicae, present-day Dax, and They are presumably related to other Aquitani tribes, including the Vascones, among others. During the Roman times, the Tarbelli territory was part of a greater region the occupiers called Novempopulania.