Santoni (tribe)

The Santoni or Santones were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the later region of Saintonge during the Iron Age and the Roman period.

Name

These people are noted as Santonum, Santonos and Santonis by Caesar, Santónōn by Strabo, Santoni by Pliny, Santonis by Pomponius Mela and Tacitus, as Sántones by Ptolemy.
The city of Saintes, attested in the 1st c. AD as Mediolanum Santonum and the region of Saintonge, attested in the 4th c. AD as Santonica tellus, are named after the Gallic tribe.

Geography

The Santoni lived in the north of the Garonne estuary, in the modern Saintonge region.
During the Roman period, their chief town was Mediolanum Santonum.

History

Their territory was the destination of the failed migration of the Helvetii circa 58 BC, which they opposed along with the Pictones. Initially, they cooperated with Julius Caesar's navy and traded goods. Later, Caesar's plans for conquest of the Gallic tribes divided them.
They provided 12,000 men to the Gallic coalition against Rome at the Battle of Alesia in 52 BC.