The Velaunii or Velauni ( Gaulish: *Uelaunoi) were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the western Alps during the Iron Age.
They are mentioned as Velauni by Pliny (1st c. AD), [1] and probably as Οὐελαυνίους on an inscription. [2] [3]
The ethnonym Velaunī is a latinized form of Gaulish *Uelaunoi (sing. *Uelaunos). It may mean the 'chiefs, commandants', [4] or else be derived from the Indo-European root *wel- ('to see') attached to the suffix -auni (< *āmn-ī), also found in Ingauni and Ligauni. [5]
The Velaunii dwelled in the western Alps, [6] possibly in the valley of the Estéron, a tributary of the Var. [3] Their chief town may have been Brigantio (modern Briançonnet). Although no pre-Roman occupation has been found in archaeological records, the development of the Roman city suggests the presence of preexisting communities in the valley of the Estéron. [7]
They are mentioned by Pliny the Elder as one of the Alpine tribes conquered by Rome in 16–15 BC, and whose name was engraved on the Tropaeum Alpium. [6] [1]
A treaty of hospitality with a Greek city, possibly Massalia, was recorded by an inscription on a bronze hand dated to the 2nd–1st century BC. [6] [3] According to Guy Barruol, it may have been a laissez-passer for Greek caravan merchants on the Velaunian territory. [2]