chiefdom · France and the Low Countries

Elisyces

500 BCE – 200 BCE (approx.) · capital Naro

Iberian-influenced people of the coastal plain around Narbonne, among the first inhabitants of Gaul named in Greek writing.

Origins

Known only from a handful of Greek sources. Hecataeus of Miletus names them around 500 BCE, and Herodotus lists Elisyces among the mercenaries hired by Carthage for the Battle of Himera in Sicily in 480 BCE. They held the Languedoc coast between the Pyrenees and the Hérault, with Naro, the oppidum of Montlaurès beside Narbonne, as their main centre.

Rule and society

Archaeology suggests a mixed culture with strong Iberian features: Iberian script on pottery and lead tablets, fortified hilltop settlements such as Ensérune, and busy exchange with Greek Massalia and Emporion in wine, painted pottery and metals.

Decline and legacy

The name fades from the record by the 3rd century BCE, when Celtic Volcae dominated the region. In 118 BCE Rome founded the colony of Narbo Martius next to Montlaurès, which became the capital of Gallia Narbonensis.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Elisyces. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/elisyces
MLA
“Elisyces.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/elisyces. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Elisyces.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/elisyces.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Elisyces’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/elisyces (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻