Taurini

Peoples of Cisalpine Gaul 391-192 BC.

The Taurini were an ancient Gallo-Ligurian^[1] people, who occupied the upper valley of the river Po, in the centre of modern Piedmont.

History

As a people they are rarely mentioned in history. Both Livy (v. 34) and Strabo (iv. p. 209) speak of the country of the Taurini as including one of the passes of the Alps. According to Pliny the Elder, they were mostly farmers and collectors of pine nuts.

In 218 BC, they were attacked by Hannibal, who had allied with their long-standing enemies, the Insubres. Their chief town (Taurasia, perhaps located in Turin's modern borough of Vanchiglietta), was captured by Hannibal's forces after a three-day siege.^[2]

A Roman colony was established in 27 BC in their territory, at first with the name Castra Taurinorum and afterwards Julia Augusta Taurinorum (modern Turin).

See also

• Ancient peoples of Italy

References

Sources

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "^{article name needed}". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.