Novempopulania
Aquitania novempopulana Akitania bederatzi lagun (Basque) | |||||||||
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Province of Western Roman Empire | |||||||||
3rd century–626 | |||||||||
Novempopulania around 600 | |||||||||
Capital | Elusa (Eauze) | ||||||||
Historical era | Antiquity | ||||||||
• Established | 3rd century | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 626 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Today part of | France |
Novempopulania (Latin for "country of the nine peoples") was one of the provinces created by Diocletian (Roman emperor from 284 to 305) out of Gallia Aquitania, which was also called Aquitania Tertia.
Early Roman period
The area of Novempopulania was first named
Late antiquity
The name Novempopulania stands for the nine peoples making up the original territory (Aquitania Tertia). It seems clear that at the time of the lower empire (2nd to 4th century),
The newly acquired status may have affected not only the tax system but the conscription and military order too, since two separate bodies were created within Aquitania, i.e. the "Cohortes Aquitanorum" for old Aquitanians and "Cohortes Aquitanorum Biturigum" for those of proper Gaulish origin.[3]
The number of peoples went on to be twelve later, the tribes being identified with a corresponding capital town or civitas, namely Civitas Ausciorum, Civ. Aquensium, Civ. Lactoratium, Civ. Convenarum, Civ. Consorannorum, Civ. Boatium, Civ. Benarnensium, Civ. Aturensium, Civ. Vasatica, Civ. Turba, Civ. Illoronensium and Civ. Elusatium. These civitas are in turn identifiable with present-day towns and cities as follows:
) remained the capital city of Novempopulania throughout most of its existence.Wide evidence of stone inscriptions have been found scattered all over the area which constitutes Novempopulania. These recordings feature names of deities, persons and places with easily identifiable similarities to present-day Basque, a fact that provides, along with current and ancient place-names north of the
In 418, in the stir of the crumbling rule of the Roman Empire and its territories overrun by Germanic tribes, emperor
Accounts of events taking place at that time on the territory of Novempopulania are confusing and blurred, and so are the names of the peoples and their geographical locations, who are as of now dubbed Vascones, Wasconia, Guasconia (as opposed to the Spanoguasconia, according to the Ravenna Cosmography) with no clear boundaries. At that point, Vascones had taken on an extended meaning arguably encompassing all Basque-language tribes, different from the more restricted definition provided at the time of Augustus.
The crisis of Late antiquity brought about much unrest and turmoil in Novempopulania, where the
See also
- Aquitani
- Duchy of Vasconia
- Gascony
- Northern Basque Country
- Basque language
References
- ISBN 84-7148-136-7.
- ^ "La Pierre Romaine / Erromatar Harria". Ville d'Hasparren. Retrieved 2010-10-11. Article in French and Basque
- ISBN 84-7148-136-7.
- ISBN 84-7148-136-7.
- ISBN 84-7148-136-7.