Aquitani

The Aquitani (Latin for Aquitanians) were a people living in what is now Aquitaine, France, in the region between the Pyrenees, the Atlantic ocean and the Garonne. Julius Cæsar, who defeated them in his campaign in Gaul, describes them as making up a distinct part of Gaul:



Despite apparent cultural connections to Iberia, the area of Aquitania, as a part of Gaul ended at the Pyrenees according to Cæsar:



The presence of what seem to be names of deities or people in late Romano-Aquitanian funerary slabs similar to modern Basque have led many philologists and linguists to conclude that Aquitanian was closely related to an older form of Basque.Trask, L. The History of Basque Routledge: 1997 ISBN 0-415-13116-2 The fact that the region was known as Vasconia in the Early Middle Ages, a name that evolved into the better known form of Gascony, along with other toponymic evidence, seems to corroborate that assumption.

Although the country where the original Aquitanians lived came to be named Novempopulania (nine peoples) in the late years of the Roman Empire and Early Middle Ages (up to the 6th century), the number of tribes varied (about 20 for Strabo); among them:

• Tarbelli in the coastal side of Landes, with Dax (Aquis Tarbellicis)
• Cocosates in the west of Landes département
• Boiates probably around Arcachon Bay and norwest of Landes département
• Vasates in the north around Bazas (south of Gironde department)
• Sotiates in the north around...... ...
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