From: Francesco Brighenti
Message: 64571
Date: 2009-08-03
--- In indo_iranian@yahoogroups.com, "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@...> wrote:
> Does anyone here have a good etymology for these two ethnonyms
> (Iranian, presumably?)
>
> http://impearls.blogspot.com/2003_12_28_impearls_archive.html
>
> Who were these peoples?
> It seems Wolfram has the information from Ammianus Marcellinus.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/nscg6s
The two names have been etymologized as, respectively, *Ardarag-Antes (the correct form of the name according to J. Harmatta) and *Limig-Antes. The former may have been the rulers, the latter the subjects within the mixed Slavo-Alanic people body, the Antes, who inhabited the Ukrainian steppe in the early centuries CE. The two classes of Antes may have distinguished from each other by means of prefixes:
1) for ardarag- (the manuscripts give also the variants argarag-, arcarag-), cp. Ossetic ældar- 'prince, ruler' > (?) Magyar Ossetian aladar 'centurion' --> whence *Ardarag-Antes 'Royal Antes' = Sarmatae liberi of Latin sources (the equivalent of the 'Royal Sarmatians' of the classical sources);
2) for limig-, cp. Ossetic læmæg- 'weak' --> whence *Limig-Antes 'Weak Antes' = Sarmatae servi of Latin sources (with the adjectivation designating the low social status of this class of people).
Of course, the etymology of the ethnonym Antes is, in turn, unclear.
Regards,
Francesco
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--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Berzovan Alexandru <prince_of_sarmizegetusa@...> wrote:
>
> In a recent paper which will be published in Romania, it is said that these names are in fact corrupted latin.
> Arcaragantes, likely corrupted form from "arcera gentis" (people with carriages, "arcera", that is what these nomads used to travel)
> Limigantes, likely from "limitis gentis", "people of the border", if considering the fact that the place in which these "limigantis" are mentioned (and archeologically identified as a mixed local dacian/sedentarized iazigii) are exactly on some great earth walls which cover much of eastern Hungary and Western Romania...
>
> About iranian elements, if one reads carefully Ammianus Marcellinus, there is one place it is mentioned a shouting "arha! Marha!", that likely means "Death! Death!" in the language of the iazigii. Also, iranian toponymes survived to the present day in western Romania : Zarand, Tamand, Zerind, Carand, Bihor, possibly even the name Arad...
>
> There is much more to say upon this subject,
> Alexandru B
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: tgpedersen <tgpedersen@...>
> To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Friday, July 10, 2009 1:35:12 PM
> Subject: [tied] Agaragantes, Limigantes
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Does anyone have a good etymology for these two ethnonyms (Iranian, presumably?)
> http://impearls. blogspot. com/2003_ 12_28_impearls_ archive.html
> It seems Wolfram has the information from Ammianus Marcellinus.
> http://tinyurl. com/nscg6s
>
> Torsten
>