Caristii

The Caristii were a pre-Roman tribe settled in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, in what today are known as the historical territories of Biscay and Álava, in the Basque Country, northern Spain.

[1] The Caristii are first mentioned by Roman sources; Pliny the Elder names them Carietes and places them in the Basque interior territories, what today is the southernmost regions of the Basque Country, while Ptolemy places them between the river Deba and Nervión, present-day provinces of Biscay and Gipuzkoa, with a territory triangle-shaped, reaching the city of Vitoria by the south.

Their main cities were Tullica, probably Tuyo, Erriberagoitia in the banks of the river Zadorra; Suessatio, which could be present-day Arkaia; and Veleia or Velegia, the last two were located near the Roman road from Bordeaux to Astorga.

As it happens with their neighbors, the Varduli, not a single toponym related to the Aquitanian-Basque languages has been found, further proving the theories about their possible Celt origin and possible late Basquisation.

The union, whichever the causes, between Varduli, Caristii and Autrigones on a unique territory would later create the County of Bardulia, part of the Crown of Castile.