Pictones
The Pictones were a
Name
They are mentioned as Pictonibus and Pictones by Julius Caesar (mid-1st c. BC),[1] Piktónōn (Πικτόνων) by Strabo (early 1st c. AD),[2] Pictones by Pliny the Elder (1st c. AD),[3] Píktones (Πίκτονες; var. πήκτωνες, πήκτονες, πίκτωνες) by Ptolemy (2nd c. AD),[4] and as Pictonici by Ausonius (4th c. AD).[5][6] They were also known as Pictavi in an inscription (2nd c. AD), the Notitia Galliarum (4th c. AD) and by Ammianus Marcellinus (4th c. AD).[7][8]
The city of Poitiers, attested ca. 356 AD as urbis Pictavorum (Pictavis in 400–410, Peitieus [*Pectievs] in 1071–1127), and the region of Poitou, are named after the Gallic tribe.[9]
Geography
The Pictones dwelled south-east of the
History
La Tène period
The Pictones minted coins from the end of the 2nd century BC. The tribe was first noted in written sources when encountered by
The political organization of the region was modeled on the royal Celtic system. Duratios was king of the Pictones during the Roman conquest, but his power waned thanks to the poor skill of his generals. However, the Pictones frequently aided Julius Caesar in naval battles, particularly with the naval victory over the Veneti on the Armorican peninsula.
Roman rule
The Pictones had felt threatened by the migration of the
The Pictones benefited from Roman peace, notably through many urban constructions such as
The region was known for its timber resources and occasionally traded with the Roman province of Transalpine Gaul. Additionally, the Pictones traded with the British Isles from the harbor of Ratiatum (Rezé), which served as an important port linking Gaul and Roman Britain.
See also
- Gaul
- Poitevin (language)
- Roman Republic
- Goffar the Pict, pseudo-historical king of the Pictones
References
- ^ Caesar. Commentarii de Bello Gallico, 3:11:5, 7:4:6.
- ^ Strabo. Geōgraphiká, 4:2:1.
- ^ Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 4:108.
- ^ Ptolemy. Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis, 2:7:5.
- ^ Ausonius. epist., 3:36
- ^ Falileyev 2010, s.v. Pictones.
- ^ CIL 13:7297; Notitia Galliarum, 13:6; Ammianus Marcellinus Res Gestae, 15:11:13.
- ^ a b Lafond 2006.
- ^ Nègre 1990, p. 156.
- ^ Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico iii.11.
- ^ The c, in Poictou and Poictevin, was often retained into early modern times.
- ^ Ptolemy, Geography ii.6.
- ^ European Kingdoms; Celtic Tribes; Pictones / Pictavii (Gauls): The History Files
- ^ 'A history of ancient geography among the Greeks and Romans', Sir Edward Herbert Bunbury, p.117, Oxford Press, 1879
Bibliography
- Falileyev, Alexander (2010). Dictionary of Continental Celtic Place-names: A Celtic Companion to the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. CMCS. ISBN 978-0955718236.
- Lafond, Yves (2006). "Pictones". Brill's New Pauly. .
- ISBN 978-2-600-02883-7.
Further reading
- Cancik, Hubert; Schneider, Helmuth, eds. (2003), "Aquitania", Brill's New Pauly Encyclopedia of the Ancient World, vol. II, Leiden: Brill Academic Publisher, ISBN 90-04-12259-1.
- Caesar, G. Julius (1990), "Gallic War I", in Lewis, Naphtali; Reinhold, Meyer (eds.), Roman Civilization: The Republic and the Augustan Age, vol. I (3rd ed.), New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 216–219, ISBN 0-231-07131-0
- Crook, J.A.; Lintott, A.; ISBN 0-521-85073-8
- Hornblower, Simon; Spawforth, Antony, eds. (2003), Oxford Classical Dictionary (3rd ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-866172-X
- Osgood, Josiah (April 2007), "Caesar in Gaul and Rome: War in Words", American Historical Review, 112 (2): 559–560, .