Ceutrones
TheCeutrones(orCentrones) were aGallictribe dwelling in theTarantaise Valley,in modernSavoie,during theIron AgeandRoman period.
Name
[edit]They are mentioned asCeutronesbyCaesar(mid-1st c. BC),[1]Keútrōnes(Κεύτρωνες;var.Κέντ-) byStrabo(early 1st c. AD),[2]CeutronesbyPliny(1st c. AD),[3]and asKeutrónōn(Κευτρόνων) byPtolemy(2nd c. AD).[4][5]
The hamlet of Centron, located in the village ofMontgirod,may be named after the Gallic tribe.[6]
They had a homonym tribe inGallia Belgica,documented in 54 BC, which was probably apagusof the Nervii.[7][8]
Geography
[edit]
Note:Lake Genevais shown at the top
The Ceutrones dwelled in theTarantaise Valley,along the upperIsèreriver, near theLittle St Bernard Pass(Alpis Graia) on the route stretching from theRhône Valleyto the north of theItalian Peninsula.[9][7]Their territory was located north of theGraioceliandMedulli,southeast of theAllobroges,southwest of theVeragri,and west of theSalassi,on the other side of the Alps.[10]
Among the passes which lead over from Italy to the outer—or northerly—Celtica, is the one that leads through the country of the Salassi, to Lugdunum; it is a double pass, one branch, that through the Ceutrones, being practicable for wagons through the greater part of its length, while the other, that through the Poeninus, is steep and narrow, but a short cut.
— Strabo 1923,Geōgraphiká,4:11.
Their chief town was known as Axima (modernAime-la-Plagne). Renamed to Forum Claudii Ceutronum underClaudius(41–54 AD), probably when the Ceutrones were grantedLatin Rights,it became the chief town of Alpes Graiae, one of the two divisions of the province ofAlpes Graiae et Poeninae.Theprocuratorof the province had an occasional residence in the Ceutronian chief town.[9]InLate Antiquity,the city lost its position to Darentasia (Moûtiers), which became the capital of theDiocese of Tarentaisein 426.[9]
History
[edit]In the mid-1st century BC, the Ceutrones are mentioned byJulius Caesaras a tribe hostile to Rome. In what appears to be a concerted attack, they attempted to prevent his passage through the upperDurancealong with theCaturigesandGraioceliin 58 BC.[11][12]
There [Titus Labienus] enrolled two legions, and brought out of winter quarters three that were wintering about Aquileia; and with these five legions made speed to march by the shortest route to Further Gaul, over the Alps. In that region the Ceutrones, the Graioceli, and the Caturiges, seizing points on the higher ground, essayed to stop the march of his army. They were repulsed in several actions; and on the seventh day he moved from Ocelum, the last station of Hither Gaul, into the borders of the Vocontii in Further Gaul.
— Caesar 1917,Commentarii de Bello Gallico,1:10:4.
Culture
[edit]The Ceutrones were possibly ofCelto-Ligurianorigin.[13]
Economy
[edit]The Ceutrones were known for copper mining. They also produced a renowned cheese namedvatusicus.[8][13]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Caesar.Commentarii de Bello Gallico,1:10:4.
- ^Strabo.Geōgraphiká,4:6,4:7,4:11.
- ^Pliny.Naturalis Historia,3:135.
- ^Ptolemy.Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis,3:1:33.
- ^Falileyev 2010,s.v.Ceutrones,Forum Claudii CeutronumandAxima.
- ^Rostaing, Charles(1949). "La" Sainte "Baume".Revue internationale d'onomastique.1(3): 213–215.doi:10.3406/rio.1949.1111.
- ^abKruta 2000,p. 535.
- ^abLafond & Graßl 2006.
- ^abcBérard 1995,p. 344.
- ^Talbert 2000,Map 17:Lugdunum,Map 18: Augustonemetum-Vindonissa.
- ^Barruol 1969,p. 43.
- ^Rivet 1988,p. 335.
- ^abWiblé 2003.
Primary sources
[edit]- Caesar(1917).The Gallic War.Loeb Classical Library. Translated by Edwards, H. J. Harvard University Press.ISBN978-0-674-99080-7.
- Pliny(1938).Natural History.Loeb Classical Library. Translated by Rackham, H. Harvard University Press.ISBN9780674993648.
- Strabo(1923).Geography.Loeb Classical Library. Translated by Jones, Horace L. Harvard University Press.ISBN978-0674990562.
References
[edit]- Barruol, Guy(1969).Les Peuples préromains du Sud-Est de la Gaule: étude de géographie historique.E. de Boccard.OCLC3279201.
- Bérard, François (1995)."Un nouveau procurateur à Aime en Tarentaise: Savoie"(PDF).Gallia.52:343–358.doi:10.3406/galia.1995.3157.ISSN0016-4119.JSTOR43599248.S2CID159689965.
- Falileyev, Alexander (2010).Dictionary of Continental Celtic Place-names: A Celtic Companion to the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World.CMCS.ISBN978-0955718236.
- Kruta, Venceslas(2000).Les Celtes, histoire et dictionnaire: des origines à la romanisation et au christianisme.Robert Laffont.ISBN2-221-05690-6.
- Lafond, Yves; Graßl, Herbert (2006). "Ceutrones".Brill's New Pauly.doi:10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e230790.
- Rivet, A. L. F.(1988).Gallia Narbonensis: With a Chapter on Alpes Maritimae: Southern France in Roman Times.Batsford.ISBN978-0-7134-5860-2.
- Talbert, Richard J. A.(2000).Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World.Princeton University Press.ISBN978-0691031699.
- Wiblé, François (2003). "Ceutrons".Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz..024602/2003-09-05.
