Ucennii

The Ucennii, Ucenni or Iconii were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the Romanche valley, in the Alps, during the Iron Age.

Name

They are mentioned as Ucenni (var. uceni, ucermi) by Pliny (1st c. AD) and on the Tropaeum Alpium,[1] as Ucennos (var. cennos, sennos, scennos) by Florus.[2][3] The form Ikónioi (Ἰκόνιοι) given by Strabo (early 1st c. AD) is most likely a variant of the ethnic name.[4][3]

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.[3]

Geography

The Ucenni lived in the Romanche valley, in the region of Oisans.[5][6] Their territory was located 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

They 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
  1. Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 3:20; CIL 5:7817.
  2. Florus. Epitome, 2:22:4.
  3. Falileyev 2010, s.v. Ucennii.
  4. Barruol 1969, p. 41.
  5. Barruol 1969, pp. 320–323.
  6. Graßl 2006.
  7. Talbert 2000, Map 17: Lugdunum.
  8. Barruol 1969, p. 322.
  9. Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 3:20.

Primary sources
  • Pliny (1938). Natural History. Loeb Classical Library. Translated by Rackham, H. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674993648.
  • Strabo (1923). Geography. Loeb Classical Library. Translated by Jones, Horace L. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674990562.

Bibliography
  • 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.
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