Lugii

The Lugii, '''Lygii''', '''Ligii''' or '''Lugiones''' (also Lygians, Lugians, Lougoi) were a tribe of , Noricum and Raetia .

TRIBAL DIVISION

According to mentions the Lugi Omani, the Lugi Diduni and the Lugi Buri located on or near the upper Vistula in what is now south Poland (Book 2, Chapter 10, 4th map of Europe). The forms of the names imply that the Lugii of that time were divided into the Omani, the Diduni and the Buri. In Tacitus the Buri are a separate tribe, so it's possible that they entered the Lugian federation a bit later.

HISTORY

The Lugian federation was probably formed long before it was first recorded, in the works of Strabo ('' Geographika ''). The first Celts entered south Poland ca. 400 BC from Bohemia and Moravia and settled along the Odra river in Upper Silesia near Głubczyce and in Lower Silesia between Wrocław , Legnica and the Mount Ślęża , which was their holy centre. There are still some ancient Celtic-type stone sculptures preserved to this day in the Mt. Ślęża vicinity. Another group of Celts from Moravia settled ca. 200 BC in the area of Kraków and another small group in Kuyavia . All these Celts brought with them the dicoveries of La Tene Culture and mixing with the local populations played a decisive role in formation of the Przeworsk Culture .

According to Strabo the Lugians were 'a great people' and—together with other peoples like Semnones and the otherwise unknown Zumi, Butones, Mugilones and Sibini—were part of a federation subjected to the rule of Marbod , ruler of the Marcomanni with their centre in modern Bohemia 9 BC – 19 AD . The next mention of Lugii are the times of the Roman emperor Claudius ( 41 – 54 ). According to the Tacitus's Annales, in 50 'a great multitude' of Lugians allied with Romans took part in the fall of the Wannius state of Quadi , located in present Moravia – Slovakia .

The next information about the Lugians comes from Cassius Dio 's work ''Roman History'', in which he mentions events of 91 – 92 during the reign of emperor Domitian . The Lugii allied themselves with the Romans and asked them for help against their western neighbours, the Germanic Suebi tribe. Domitian sent 100 horsemen to support the Lugians. It is not known if these horsemen really arrived at their destination; if they did, it would be the first recorded presence of Roman soldiers on Polish soil.

The Buri, who according to Ptolemy were part of the Lugians, took an important role during the made a political alliance with them.

The later history of the Lugians is incertain, but some historians assume that the Lugians can be indentified with the 'Longiones' tribe mentioned in Zosimus 's ''New History'' (''Historia Nova''), as being defeated by the Emperor Probus in year 279 in the province of Raetia near the Lygis river (usually identified with Lech River in modern Austria and Bavaria ). Another mention might be a great people of 'Lupiones-Sarmatae' shown on a Latin map Tabula Peutingeriana generally dated to 2nd-4th century AD.

ETHNIC BACKGROUND DISPUTED

Some recent authors connect the Lugii with Slavs, some with Germans, and still others claim that they were a compound tribe, or confederation of tribes of different ethnicity. Most scholars though agree that it was a mixture between the two groups.

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Lugii