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The Boii (Latin language plural, singular Boius; ) were a Celts tribe of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul (present-day Northern Italy), Pannonia (present-day Austria and Hungary), present-day Bavaria, in and around present-day Bohemia (after whom the region is named in most languages; comprising the bulk of today's Czech Republic), parts of present-day Slovakia and Poland, and Gallia Narbonensis (located in modern Languedoc and Provence).
In addition, the archaeological evidence indicates that in the 2nd century BC Celts expanded from Bohemia through the Kłodzko Valley into Silesia, now part of Poland and the Czech Republic.
They first appear in history in connection with the Gallic invasion of northern Italy, 390 BC, when they made the Etruscan city of Felsina their new capital, Bologna.
After a series of wars, they were decisively beaten by the Romans in the Battle of Mutina (193 BC) and their territory became part of the Roman province of Cisalpine Gaul. According to Strabo, writing two centuries after the events, rather than being destroyed by the Romans like their Celtic neighbours,
Around 60 BC, a group of Boii joined the ill-fated attempt of the Helvetii to conquer land in western Gaul and were defeated by Julius Caesar, along with their allies, in the Battle of Bibracte.
Caesar settled the remnants of that group in Gorgobina, from where they sent 2,000 warriors to Vercingetorix's aid at the Battle of Alesia six years later. The eastern Boii on the Danube were incorporated into the Roman Empire in 8 AD.
There are two major derivations of this segment, both presupposing that it belongs to the family of Indo-European languages: from 'cow' and from 'warrior.' The Boii would thus be either 'the herding people' or 'the warrior people'.
The 'cow' derivation depends most immediately on the Old Irish legal term for 'outsider': ambue, from Proto-Celtic *ambouios (< *an-bouios), 'not a cattle owner'.
In a reference to the first known historical Boii, Polybius relates that their wealth consisted of cattle and gold, that they depended on agriculture and war, and that a man's status depended on the number of associates and assistants he had. The latter were presumably the *ambouii, as opposed to the man of status, who was *bouios, a cattle owner, and the *bouii were originally a class, 'the cattle owners'.
The 'warrior' derivation was adopted by the linguist Julius Pokorny, who presented it as being from Indo-European , , 'hit'; however, not finding any Celtic names close to it (except for the Boii), he adduces examples somewhat more widely from originals further back in time: phohiio-s-, a Venetic language personal name; Boioi, an tribe; Boiōtoi, a Greek tribal name (the ); and a few others.
The same wider connections can be hypothesized for the 'cow' derivation: the Boeotians have been known for well over a century as a people of kine, which might have been parallel to the meaning of Italy as 'land of calves'. Indo-European reconstructions can be made using *gʷou- 'cow' as a basis, such as gʷowjeh³s; the root may itself be an imitation of the sound a cow makes.
Other ancient names which appear to be derived from the name of the Boii include Boiorix ('king of the Boii', one of the chieftains of the Cimbri) and Boiodurum ('gate/fort of the Boii', modern Passau) in Germany. Their memory also survives in the modern regional names of Bohemia ( Boiohaemum), a mixed-language form from boio- and Proto-Germanic *haimaz, 'home': 'home of the Boii'. Bavaria, Bayern, is derived from the name of the Baiovarii tribe. The first component is most plausibly explained as a Germanic version of Boii, while the second part is a common formational morpheme of Germanic tribal names, meaning 'dwellers', as in Old English -ware.
Polybius relates that the Celts were close neighbors of the Etruscan civilization and "cast covetous eyes on their beautiful country".Polybius, Histories, II.17.
Invading the Po Valley with a large army, they drove out the Etruscans and resettled it, the Boii taking the right bank in the center of the valley. Strabo confirms that the Boii emigrated from their lands across the AlpsStrabo, Grographica, IV.4.1. and were one of the largest tribes of the Celts.Strabo, Grographica, V.1.6. The Boii occupied the old Etruscan settlement of Felsina, which they named Bononia (modern Bologna). Polybius describes the Celtic way of life in Cisalpine Gaul as follows:
The archaeological evidence from Bologna and its vicinity contradicts the testimony of Polybius and Livy on some points, who say the Boii expelled the Etruscans and perhaps some were forced to leave.
It indicates the Boii neither destroyed nor depopulated Felsinum, but simply moved in and became part of the population by intermarriage.
The cemeteries of the period in Bologna contain La Tène weapons and other artifacts, as well as Etruscan items such as bronze mirrors. At Pianoro not far away one grave contained La Tène weapons and a pot with an Etruscan female name scratched on it.
A short time earlier, they had been defeated at the Battle of Telamon in 225 BC, and were again at Placentia in 194 BC (modern Piacenza) and Mutina in 193 BC (modern Modena). Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica completed the Roman conquest of the Boii in 191 BC, celebrating a Roman triumph for it.Livy, After their losses, according to Strabo, a large portion of the Boii left Italy.
The burial rites of the Italian Boii show many similarities with contemporary Bohemia, such as inhumation, which was uncommon with the other Cisalpine Gauls, or the absence of the typically western Celtic .Cunliffe, Barry (1999). The Ancient Celts, Penguin Books, pp. 72f.
This makes it much more likely that the Cisalpine Boii had actually originated from Bohemia rather than the other way round.
Having migrated to Italy from north of the Alps, some of the defeated Celts simply moved back to their kinsfolk.Other tribes of whom divisions are attested both in the 'Celtic homeland' and at the periphery include the Senones (Umbria and the Marne region), Lingones (Aemilia and the Langres plateau), Cenomani (Venetia and Maine), Tectosages (Galatia and Provence).
The Pannonian Boii are mentioned again in the late 2nd century BC when they repelled the Cimbri and Teutones (Strabo VII, 2, 2). Later on, they attacked the city of Noreia (in modern Austria) shortly before a group of Boii (32,000 according to Julius Caesar) joined the Helvetii in their attempt to settle in western Gaul.Howorth, Henry H., "The Germans of Caesar", The English Historical Review, vol. 27, no. 91, pp. 417-433, July 1908.
After the Helvetian defeat at Bibracte, the influential Aedui tribe allowed the Boii survivors to settle on their territory, where they occupied the oppidum of Gorgobina. Although attacked by Vercingetorix during one phase of the war, they supported him with two thousand troops at the battle of Alesia (Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico, VII, 75).
Again, other parts of the Boii had remained closer to their traditional home, and settled in the Slovak and Hungary by the Danube and the Mur River, with a centre at Bratislava. In July 2025 it was published that Czech archaeologists have uncovered a Celtic nations settlement near Hradec Králové in the Czech Republic, dating back to the La Tène period. The site is around 65 acres, larger ten times larger than typical settlements in the region and is thought to have served as a major economic and administrative center for the Celtic Boii tribe, whose name gave rise to “Bohemia.” Excavations revealed over 13,000 artifacts, including gold and silver coins, amber, ceramics, pottery kilns, glass workshops, and coin molds. This is evidence of sophisticated craftsmanship and trade along the ancient Amber Road. A rare ceramic shard engraved with a horse was also found. The settlement appears to have gradually declined without signs of conflict. The finds are currently being studied and will be featured in an upcoming museum exhibition.
Once the Boii were defeated or weakened, the Dacians would have annexed their territory, incorporating it into their expanding kingdom. If the early dating of the clash with Burebista is accepted, the migration of the Boii to Gaul and other parts of Europe may have been a consequence of their defeat and the Dacian occupation of their lands, as they sought new territories and opportunities elsewhere. However, specific details of this conquest and migration are often scarce in historical records, leaving much open to interpretation.
When the Romans finally conquered Pannonia in 8 AD, the Boii seem not to have opposed them. Their former territory was now called deserta Boiorum (deserta meaning 'empty or sparsely populated lands').
However, the Boii had not been exterminated: There was a civitas Boiorum et Azaliorum (the Azalii being a neighbouring tribe) which was under the jurisdiction of a prefect of the Danube shore ( praefectus ripae Danuvii).CIL IX 5363 This civitas, a common Roman administrative term designating both a city and the tribal district around it, was later adjoined to the city of Carnuntum.
There is a play on words: Boia means 'woman of the Boii', also 'convicted criminal's restraint collar'.
History
Settlement in north Italy
According to the ancient authors, the Boii arrived in northern Italy by crossing the Alps. While of the other tribes who had come to Italy along with the Boii, the Senones, Lingones and Cenomani are also attested in Gaul at the time of the Roman conquest. It remains therefore unclear where exactly the Central Europe origins of the Boii lay, if somewhere in Gaul, Southern Germany or in Bohemia.
War against Rome
In the second half of the 3rd century BC, the Boii allied with the other Cisalpine Gauls and the Etruscans against Rome. They also fought alongside Hannibal, killing the Roman general Lucius Postumius Albinus in 216 BC, whose skull was then turned into a sacrificial bowl.Livy, History of Rome, XXIII, 24.
Boii on the Danube
Contrary to the interpretation of the classical writers, the Pannonian Boii attested in later sources are not simply the remnants of those who had fled from Italy, but rather another division of the tribe, which had settled there much earlier.
Dacian Conquest
In the middle of the 1st century BC, the Boii tried to expand eastwards into modern-day Hungary, but clashed with the rising power of the Dacians under their king Burebista and were defeated. This war is often dated to the 60s or 50s BC or even precisely to 60/59 BC, but cannot be dated with that certainty. The numismatic material suggests that the clash may in fact have only happened by 41/40 BC. The Dacians under Burebista likely used a combination of military force and political strategies to conquer the Boii and compel some of them to migrate.
The Boii in ancient sources
Plautus
Plautus refers to the Boii in Captivi:
Livy
In volume 21 of his History of Rome, Livy (59 BC – 17 AD) claims that it was a Boio man that offered to show Hannibal the way across the Alps.
Inscriptions
In the first century BC, the Boii living in an oppidum of Bratislava minted , high-quality coins with inscriptions (probably the names of kings) in Latin letters. At the oppidum of Manching there was a ceramic found bearing the labeling "Boius" or "Baius" which is being displayed at the local Celts and Romans museum.
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