Rhaetians

Rhaetians

 

(also Raetians), ancient Alpine tribes conquered by the Romans in 15 B.C. The origin of the Rhaetians has not been positively established. Classical tradition associates them with the Etruscans; most modern linguists who have attempted to decipher Rhaetian inscriptions conclude that the inscriptions are written in a variant of the Etruscan alphabet. However, many scholars regard the Rhaetians as Illyrian tribes. The Rhaetians are considered to be the ancestors of the Rhaeto-Romance-speaking peoples.

REFERENCE

Krasnovskaia, N. A. “K voprosu ob etnogeneze retoromantsev.” Sovetskaia etnografiia, 1964, no. 1, pp. 89–101.