The Alpes Cottiae (; English: 'Cottian Alps') were a small

province A province is almost always an administrative division Administrative division, administrative unitArticle 3(1). , country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, first-level subdivision, as well as many similar terms, are g ...

of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Rōmānum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of governme ...

founded in 63 AD by

Nero Nero ( ; full name: Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was the fifth emperor of Rome. He was Adoption in Ancient Rome, adopted by the Roman emperor Claudius at the age of 13 and s ...

Nero

. It was one of the three provinces straddling the

Alps The Alps ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps; sl, Alpe ) are the highest and most extensive mountain range A mountain range is a series of mountains ranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt ...

Alps

between modern

France France (), officially the French Republic (french: link=no, République française), is a transcontinental country This is a list of countries located on more than one continent A continent is one of several large landmasses ...

France

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic ( it, Repubblica Italiana, links=no ), is a country consisting of a peninsula delimited by the Alps The Alps ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps; sl, Alpe ) are the highest ...

Italy

, along with

Alpes Graiae et Poeninae The Alpes Graiae et Vallis Poeninae, later known as Alpes Atrectianae et Vallis Poenina, were a small Alpine province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' ...

and

Alpes Maritimae The Alpes Maritimae (; English: 'Maritime Alps') were a small province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial ...

. The capital of the province was Segusio (modern

Susa, Piedmont Susa ( lat, Segusio, french: Suse, frp, Suisa) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont, Italy. In the middle of Susa Valley, it is situated on at the confluence of the Cenischia with the Dora Riparia ...

). Other important settlements were located at Eburodunum and Brigantio (

Briançon Briançon ( is a commune A commune is an intentional community of people sharing living spaces, interests, values, beliefs, and often property Property (''latin: Res Privata'') in the Abstract and concrete, abstract is what belongs to ...

). Named after the 1st-century BC ruler of the region, Marcus Julius Cottius, the

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics (from grc, τόπος / , 'place', and / , 'name') is the study of ''toponyms Toponymy, also toponymics or toponomastics (from grc, τόπος / , 'place', and / , 'name') is the study of ''wikt: ...

survives today in the

Cottian Alps; it, Alpi Cozie , photo=Monviso_Cottian_Alps.jpg , photo_caption=Monte Viso in the Cottian Alps, seen from the Rocciamelone , country_type= Countries , country= , subdivision1_type= Provinces , subdivision1= , parent= Alps , borders_on= ...

History

The province had its origin in a local chiefdom controlled by the enfranchised king Marcus Julius Donnus, who rules over Ligurian tribes of the region by the middle of the 1st century BC. He was succeeded by his son, Marcus Julius Cottius, who offered no opposition to the integration of his realm into the Roman imperial system under

Augustus Caesar Augustus (23 September 63 BC19 August AD 14) was the first Roman emperor The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman Empire during the imperial period (starting in 27 BC). The emperors used a variety of different titles through ...

in 15/14 BC, then kept on ruling on native tribes as ''praefectus civitatium'' of a ''Regnum Cotti''. After the death of his son

Cottius II Marcus Julius Cottius was king of the Celtic The words Celt and Celtic (also Keltic) may refer to: Ethno-linguistics *Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation of ''Celt'' for different usages) are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: ...

in 63 AD, the region was annexed by

and made into a procuratorial province of the Empire known as ''provincia Alpium Cottiarum''. During the reign of

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus; born Diocles; 22 December c. 244 – 3 December 311) was from 284 to 305. Born to a family of low status in , Diocletian rose through the ranks of the military to become a commander of ...

(284–305), the western part of the province was transferred to the

, and the eastern part allocated under a ''

praeses Map of the Roman Empire 400 CE. ''Praeses'' (Latin ''praesides'') is a Latin word meaning "placed before" or "at the head". In antiquity, notably under the Dominate, Roman Dominate, it was used to refer to Roman Roman governor, governors ...

'' to the Diocese of Italy.

Settlements

Settlements in Alpes Cottiae included: * ''Ad Fines'' ( Malano) ("mansio", customs post) * ''Ocelum'' (

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle (district), Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller (Germany), Aller, a tributary ...

Celle

) ("oppidum", Celtic village) * ''Ad Duodecimum'' ( Saint-Didier) ("mutatio") * ''Segusio'' (

Susa Susa (; Cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system, script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the ...

) (capital) * ''Venausio'' (

Venaus Venaus is a ' (municipality) in () in the region , located about 50 km west of , on the border with France. Venaus borders the following municipalities: (France), , (France), , , and . File:Spadonaro di Venaus scorta la statua del patro ...

) (oppidum) * ''Scingomagus / Excingomagus'' (

Exilles Exilles (Occitan: Exilhas, local Occitan: Isiya, Piedmontese: Isiles, Latin: Scingomagus, Italianization under Italian Fascism: Esille) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italy, Italian region Piedmont, located ...

) (oppidum, possibly Donnus's capital) * ''Caesao / Goesao'' (

Cesana Torinese Cesana Torinese (French ''Césanne'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italy, Italian region Piedmont, located about west of Turin, on the border with France. Geography Cesana Torinese covers 12,130 hectare, ...

) ("castrum") * ''Ad Martes Ultor'' (late imperial "Ulcense") (

Oulx Oulx ( oc, label=Occitan Occitan (; oc, occitan, link=no ,), also known as ''lenga d'òc'' (; french: langue d'oc) by its native speakers, is a Romance language The Romance languages, less commonly Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the ...

Oulx

) ("castrum") * ''Brigantium'' (

) (mansio) * ''Mons Matronae'' ( Mont Genèvre)

References

Bibliography

* * *

History

Settlements

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading