The Ucennii, Ucenni or Iconii were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the Romanche valley, in the Alps, during the Iron Age.
Name
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They are mentioned as Ucenni (var. uceni, ucermi) by Pliny (1st c. AD) and on the Tropaeum Alpium,[3] as Ucennos (var. cennos, sennos, scennos) by Florus.[4][5] The form Ikónioi (Ἰκόνιοι) given by Strabo (early 1st c. AD) is most likely a variant of the ethnic name.[6][5]
The meaning of the name remains obscure, although it is most likely of Celtic origin. It can be compared with the toponym Ucena in Galatia.[5]
Geography
editThe Ucenni lived in the Romanche valley, in the region of Oisans.[1][2] The Barrington Atlas locates their territory south of the Graioceli, west of the Belaci, Segovii and Brigianii, north of the Tricorii, and west of the Vertamocorii and Allobroges.[7]
Settlements are known at Catorissium (Le Bourg-d'Oisans), Mellosedum (Mont-de-Lans), and Durotincum (near La Grave and Villar-d'Arêne).[8]
History
editThey are mentioned by Pliny the Elder as one of the Alpine tribes conquered by Rome in 16–15 BC, and whose name was engraved on the Tropaeum Alpium.[9]
References
edit- 1 2 Barruol 1969, pp. 320–323.
- 1 2 Graßl 2006.
- ↑ Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 3:20; CIL 5:7817.
- ↑ Florus. Epitome, 2:22:4.
- 1 2 3 Falileyev 2010, s.v. Ucennii.
- ↑ Barruol 1969, p. 41.
- ↑ Talbert 2000, Map 17: Lugdunum.
- ↑ Barruol 1969, p. 322.
- ↑ Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 3:20.
Primary sources
edit- Pliny (1938). Natural History. Loeb Classical Library. Translated by Rackham, H. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674993648.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - Strabo (1923). Geography. Loeb Classical Library. Translated by Jones, Horace L. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674990562.
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Bibliography
edit- Barruol, Guy (1969). Les Peuples préromains du Sud-Est de la Gaule: étude de géographie historique. E. de Boccard. OCLC 3279201.
- 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.
- Graßl, Herbert (2006). "Ucenni". Brill's New Pauly. doi:10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e1223950.
- Talbert, Richard J. A. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691031699.