Laietani, Caretani, Ceretani, Authetani, Ilergeti, Indigeti, Edetani, Cossitani, Haketani, Varduli, Lobetani, Bassitani, Bastitani, Bastuli, Turduli, Turdetani, Lusitani, Oretani.
Since the suffix -an is a suffix of adjectives both in IE and Kartvelian languages, no one would argue that the roots of those names would be Laieti, Careti, Autheti, Edeti, Cosseti, Xaketi, Lobeti, Basseti, Basteti, Turdeti, Luseti, Oreti. These were the regions that ancient Iberia consisted of. Now compare them to the regions that the Georgian Iberia consists of today: Kakheti, Svaneti, Imereti, Tusheti, Hevsureti, Mtiuleti, Javakheti, Aphazeti. Please note, that at least two roots are common for both countries: there are two Oreti, and besides there is a village in Georgia named Haki, that coincides with the root in Haketi.
Now, a closer look at each of them. Please, remember that all the nouns ending with -eti are translated as 'land of <root>':
Authetani (adj.) - Autheti (toponymic noun) - Authi (root). Sometimes it's called Ausetani, that we already talked about. May be 'ausi' which is 'Alan' in Kartvelian. If we interpret 'au' as [o] (the way it actually is in most European languages) we'll end up exactly with Oseti which is totally identical to Caucasian Ossetia, or Alania.
Laietani (adj.) - Laieti (toponymic noun) - Laa (root). In Megrelian 'laa' means 'bog'. Interestingly, the land around Barcelona (where Laietani lived) is quite boggy. This tribe seems to be tightly connected with Italian Lazio (see the corresponding entry). Today one of the main streets in Barcelona is still called Laietana:
Via Laietana. Photo of Kartvelian History & Language Research Center
Caretani (adj.) - Careti (toponymic noun) - Cari (root), The word 'cari' means 'wind' in Kartvelian. Quite a toponymic root.Ilergeti (toponymic noun) - Ilergi (root). The Kartvelian dictionaries give no answer to this word, but suddenly the hand is given from the Basque side: ilergi means bold (hairless) in Basque. So, Ilergeti with the capital in Lleida is 'land of the bold':
Lleida. Photo of Kartvelian History & Language Research Center
Ceretani (adj.) - Cereti (toponymic noun) - Ceri (root). Cereti is a historical region of Cerdanya, a plain within Pyrenees. Given that in Latin language the letter 'C' is pronounced as [ts], the word's root should be [tseri]. In Kartvelian language it means 'stack of hay' and is the root in famous Georgian surname of Tsereteli (also coming from a toponym Tsereti). Even before coming to Cerdanya I assumed there should be stacks of hay. Indeed, right after crossing the Cerdanya border (after the Cadí tunnel) the modernized stacks of hay start to appear on both sides of the road. It's no wonder since the status of a plain enables Cerdanya to be an agricultural region as it used to be thousands years ago.
Cerdanya. Photo of Kartvelian History & Language Research Center
Indigeti (toponymic noun) - Indigo (root). The word 'indigo' may mean either 'blue color' or 'autochtonous people'. For now that's all that can be said about this land.Edetani (adj.) - Edeti (toponymic noun) - Edi (root). Amusingly, one of the online Polish-Georgian dictionaries interpretes the root ედი [edi] as 'wir' - 'whirl':
http://www.eudict.com/?lang=polgeo&word=wir
...while we remember that in English 'whirl' has a synonym of exactly 'eddy'. Either the Poles mismatched Georgian and English 'eddies' because of the similariy of Eddy and eddy, or 'edi' indeed meant 'whirl'. The latter possibility seems exciting since the Edetani people lived on the Ebro river, where a little off Zaragoza we find a city of Remolinos, which translates exactly 'whirpools'. Sadly, so far neither of my Georgian friends was able to confirm that 'edi' might mean 'whirl' in any of Georgian dialects.
Haketani (adj.) - Haketi (toponymic noun) - Haki (root). The capital of the land still bears the name of that ancient nation - Jaca. What 'Haki' means we all should better ask the inhabitants of the Georgian village Haki in Ahaltsihe municipality.
Cossitani (adj.) - Cosseti (toponymic noun) - Cossi (root). The Kartvelian dictionaries offer two possible interpretations: cosa - a man with no facial hair; and cosi - a tambourine. Could be 'land of either of the two'.
Lobetani (adj.) - Lobeti (toponymic noun) - Lobi (root). This land, still in Aragón (Albarracín) is one of the most amazing since is a part of world´s ´Lubi´ map. See a more detailed story in corresponding entry.
Bastetani (adj.) - Basteti (toponymic noun) - Basti (root). In search for 'basti' we stumble upon an interesting definition: in Iran 'basti' is a shelter where anyone could find protecion. Who could be that anyone? For example, the Phoceans, the friends of Tartess' king Arganthonios, as we were told by Herodotus. Here it's clearly said that the Southern coast of Spain could provide shelter for the fugitives from Phocea after it was conquered by the Persians:
http://www.gtp.gr/LocInfo.asp?IncludeWide=0&InfoId=49&PrimeCode=QES&Level=2&PrimeLevel=2&LocId=14181&Entity=787
Don't forget that Basteti's capital is Málaga, and make sure to throw in the Corsican Bastia just in case.
Málaga. Photo of Kartvelian History & Language Research Center
Turdetani (adj.) - Turdeti (toponymic noun) - Turdi (root). A complete story on Tartessos can be found in a separate entry. For now it seems reasonable to identify 'turdi' with 'tarti' (sturgeon).
Sanlucar de Barrameda, Tartessos. Photo of Kartvelian History & Language Research Center
Oretani (adj.) - Oreti (toponymic noun) - Ori (root). 'Ori' means 'two', so 'Oreti' is 'land of two'. The 'two' may be the hills the photos of which are posted in a corresponding entry.
Oreto excavation site. Granátula de Calatrava. Photo of Kartvelian History & Language Research Center
Lusitani (adj.) - Luseti (toponymic noun) - Lusi (root). No suggestions as to the root's meaning.And finally, a small group of tribes with another Kartvelian suffix of adjectives - -ul: Turduli, Bastuli, Varduli. From the examples of Turduli and Bastuli that also have more complete toponyms of Turdetani and Bastetani, we see that those are not separate tribes, but adjectives. Compare to Kartvelian Imeruli, Kakhuli, Guruli, etc. As to Varduli, the root 'vardi' in Kartvelian language means 'rose'.
Beriain, Navarra, habitat of Varduli tribe. Photo of Kartvelian History & Language Research Center
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