Segovellauni
The Segovellauni (
Little is known about the early history of the Segovellauni. After 121 BC, their territory was annexed to the province of
Name
They are mentioned as Sengalaunoì (Σεγγαλαυνοὶ; var. σεταλλανοι) by Ptolemy (2nd c. AD).[1] A regio segovellaunorum is also attested by Pliny (1st c. AD).[2][3]
The
Geography
Territory
The Segovellauni dwelled in the valley of the
... [Hannibal] reached a place called the 'Island', a populous district producing abundance of corn and deriving its name from its situation; for the Rhone and Isère running along each side of it meet at its point. It is similar in size and shape to the Egyptian Delta; only in that case the sea forms the base line uniting the two branches of the Nile, while here the base line is formed by a range of mountains difficult to climb or penetrate, and, one may say, almost inaccessible.
— Polybius 2010. Historíai, 3:49.
On the fourth day’s march, he reached the Island. There, in the middle of the plains, is the confluence of the Isère and Rhone rivers, which run down from different Alpine ranges, enclosing a considerable amount of land; and the name given to it is “the Island.” The Allobroges live close by, a tribe that in those days was already second to none of the Gallic tribes in wealth or reputation.
They lived south of the
Settlements
The location of the pre-Roman chief town of the Segovellauni has been debated in scholarship, but it is traditionally ascribed to the oppidum of Malpas (Soyons), on the west bank of the Rhône.[10][6] During the Allobrogian revolt of 62 BC, the Roman legate Manlius Lentinus stationed troops in the territory of the Segovellauni, near an oppidum named Ventia. Although its location remains obscure, some scholars have proposed to identify Ventia with Malpas, which would explain why the Roman legates Lucius Marius and Servius Galba "crossed the Rhone" towards the territory of the Allobroges, itself located between the Rhône and the Alps, in Cassius Dio's account of the events.[11]
In the second part of the 1st century BC, the Segovellauni were absorbed into the civitas Valentinorum (or colonia Valentia), founded under
History
Origin
Little is known about the early history of the Segovellauni. Since the 'Island' mentioned by ancient authors corresponds to their territory, some scholars have proposed that Brancus (or Braneus), the Gallic chieftain who allied with Hannibal and provided him with supplies and diplomatic protection in 218 BC, was actually Segovellaunian.[14][15] In this view, Braneus may have found an agreement with the Allobroges of the plain to let the Carthaginians move across their territory. Possibly acting as a rearguard, Segovellaunian troops then escorted them until the Alps, where the Carthaginians were eventually left alone with the hostile Allobroges of the mountains, who were not part of the agreement.[15] In his account, however, Livy specifically states that the two chieftains were Allobrogian.[16]
Early Roman period
When the Allobroges were defeated by Rome in 121 BC, their territory was annexed to the Roman Republic, and the Segovellauni certainly knew the same fate. In 62 BC, they were associated with an unsuccessful revolt against Rome led by the Allobroges, for the troops of Manlius Lentinus were stationed in their territory, near a small oppidum named Ventia.[17] According to Cassius Dio, the Roman army "so terrified the inhabitants that the majority ran away and the rest sent ambassadors regarding peace. Just then the country population coming to their aid suddenly fell upon him; and he was repulsed from the wall, but ravaged the land with impunity" until Catugnatus, the leader of the Allobroges, came to their aid with some troops stationed along the Isère.[18] Lentinus was nearly captured by Catugnatus, but a violent storm prevented the Gauls from pursuing the attack. The Roman legate then overran the Segovellaunian territory again and eventually destroyed Ventia.[17]
References
- ^ Ptolemy. Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis, 2:10:7.
- ^ Pliny 1938. Naturalis Historia, 3:34.
- ^ Falileyev 2010, s.v. Segovellauni.
- ^ Delamarre 2003, p. 311.
- ^ a b c d Will 1999, pp. 92–94.
- ^ a b c Silvino et al. 2011, p. 110.
- ^ Talbert 2000, Map 17: Lugdunum.
- ^ a b Dyson 1985, p. 139.
- ^ Rivet 1988, p. 300.
- ^ Will 1999, p. 101.
- ^ Will 1999, pp. 101–102.
- ^ Spickermann 2006.
- ^ Dyson 1985, p. 155.
- ^ Will 1999, pp. 92–93.
- ^ a b Bocquet 2009, pp. 102–104.
- ^ Rivet 1988, p. 31.
- ^ a b Will 1999, pp. 92–95.
- ^ Cassius Dio 1914. Rhōmaïkḕ Historía, 37:47–48.
Primary sources
- ISBN 978-0-674-99041-8.
- ISBN 978-0674992566.
- ISBN 9780674993648.
- ISBN 978-0-674-99637-3.
Bibliography
- Bocquet, Aimé (2009). Hannibal chez les Allobroges: 218 avant Jésus-Christ : la grande traversée des Alpes. La Fontaine de Siloë. ISBN 978-2-84206-419-8.
- ISBN 9782877723695.
- Dyson, Stephen L. (1985). The Creation of the Roman Frontier (2014 ed.). Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-5489-9.
- 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.
- ISBN 978-0-7134-5860-2.
- Spickermann, Wolfgang (2006). "Segovellauni". Brill's New Pauly. .
- Silvino, Tony; Maza, Guillaume; Faure, Patrice; Tran, Nicolas; Argant, Thierry (2011). "Les origines de la colonie romaine de Valence (Drôme)". Gallia. 68 (2): 109–154. JSTOR 43616895.
- ISBN 978-0691031699.
- Will, Ernest (1999). "Les origines de la colonie romaine de Valence". Bulletin de la Société nationale des Antiquaires de France. 1996 (1): 92–102. .