Ambarri


The Ambarri were a Gallic people, dwelling in the modern Ain region.

Name

They are mentioned as Ambarri and Ambarros by Caesar, and as Ambarros by Livy,
The name Ambarri could mean 'on both sides of the Saône river', stemming from the Gaulish suffix amb- attached to the pre-Celtic name Arar, designating the Saône river. It has also been interpreted as a contraction of Ambi-barii, formed with the intensifying Gaulish suffix ambi- attached to baro-.
The cities of Ambérieu-en-Bugey, attested as Ambariacus ca. 853, Ambérieux-en-Dombes, attested as Ambariaco in 501, and Ambérieux, attested as Ambariacum in 892, are probably named after the Gallic tribe, originally stemming from Ambarria attached to the suffix -acos.

Geography

They occupied a tract in the valley of the Rhône, probably in the angle between the Saône and the Rhône; and their neighbors on the east were the Allobroges. They are mentioned by Livy with the Aedui among those Galli who were said to have crossed the Alps into Italy in the time of Tarquinius Priscus. They are not mentioned among the clientes of the Aedui.

History

According to Roman historian Titus Livius, the Ambarri joined Bellovesus' migrations in 391 BC towards Italy:
Julius Caesar calls them close allies and kinsmen of the Aedui:
They are also mentioned by Caesar along the Aedui and the Allobroges: