Costoboci - Origin and Tribal Identity

Origin and Tribal Identity

The origin of the Costoboci is uncertain. The mainstream view is that they were a Dacian tribe, among the so-called "Free Dacians" not subjected to Roman rule. However some scholars suggested they were Sarmatian, Slavic, Germanic, Celtic, or Dacian with a Celtic superstratum.

  1. Onomastics: The royal family of the Costoboci at the time of King Pieporus (2nd c) had Dacian or Thracian names.
  2. The rubric Dacpetoporiani on the Tabula Peutingeriana has been interpreted by some scholars as an elision of "Daci Petoporiani" referring to the Dacians of King Petoporus. Schütte argued Petoporus is one and the same with Pieporus, the king of the Costoboci.
  3. Archaeology: The Costoboci have been linked, on the basis of their geographical location, with the Lipiţa culture. This culture's features, especially its pottery styles and burial customs, have been identified as Dacian by scholars, leading to the conclusion that the Costoboci were an ethnic-Dacian tribe. According to Jazdewski, in the early Roman period, on the Upper Dniestr, the features of the Lipita culture indicate ethnic Thracians under strong Celtic cultural influence, or who had simply absorbed Celtic ethnic components.
  4. Name analogies: According to Schütte, the Dacian element -bokoi is also occurring in the name of another Dacian tribe, the Sabokoi.

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