The Deciates (Δεκιήταις) were a Ligurian tribe dwelling near on the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

coast, around present-day

Antibes Antibes (, also , ; oc, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal, Antíbol) is a coastal city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department of southeastern France, on the French Riviera, Côte d'Azur between Cannes and Nice. The town of ...

, during the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

and the

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

. According to historian

Guy Barruol Guy Barruol (born 10 June 1934) is a French historian and archaeologist. He is director of research emeritus at the CNRS. Biography Guy Barruol was born on 10 June 1934 in Mazan, Vaucluse, the son of Jean Barruol (1898–1982), a local histori ...

, they were part of the Saluvian confederation.

Name

They are mentioned as ''Dekiḗtais'' (Δεκιήταις) by

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

(2nd c. BC), and as ''Dekiatíōn'' (Δεκιατίων) by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

(2nd c. AD)., s.v. ''Deciates''. A ''regio Deciatium'' is also attested by Pliny (1st c. AD), and an ''

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...

Deciatum'' is documented by

Pomponius Mela Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest Roman geographer. He was born in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died AD 45. His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nearly to the year 1500. It occupies less ...

(mid-1st c. AD). The meaning of the name ''Deciates'' remains obscure. According to

Javier de Hoz Jesús Javier de Hoz Bravo (29 July 1940 – 12 January 2019), was a Spanish Philology, philologist and Catedrático (University Professor). His main areas of research were Paleohispanic languages, historical linguistics, ancient Celtic language ...

, an

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch ...

etymology, from the root *''dek̑''-, is possible, and the suffix -''ates'' may be evidence of a Celtic transmission, "but the whole name does not seem to be Celtic. In this case I would accept a classification as 'restricted Ligurian' because of the people's geographical location."

Geography

The Deciates dwelled on the Mediterranean coast, west of the river Loup, around the

Massaliote Massalia (Greek: Μασσαλία; Latin: Massilia; modern Marseille) was an ancient Greek colony founded ca. 600 BC on the Mediterranean coast of present-day France, east of the river Rhône, by Ionian Greek settlers from Phocaea, in Western An ...

colony of Antipolis (modern

). Their territory was located south of the Nerusii, southeast of the

Ligauni The Ligauni were a Celto-Ligurian tribe dwelling near the Mediterranean coast during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Ligaunorumque'' by Pliny (1st c. AD).Pliny. ''Naturalis Historia'', 3:35., s.v. ''Ligauni''. A ...

, and either east or west of the

Oxybii The Oxybii or Oxubii (Ancient Greek: ) were a Celto-Ligurian tribe dwelling on the Mediterranean coast during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Oxubíōn'' (Ὀξυβίων) by Polybius (2nd c. BC) and Strabo (ear ...

., Map 16: Col. Forum Iulii-Albingaunum. The exact location of the ''

'' ''Deciatum'' (or ''Dekieton'') remains uncertain. It is possible that it was not a separate place between Nicaea and Antipolis, but simply a name for Antipolis itself. The coastal Greek colony of Antipolis (modern

), founded in their territory in the mid-3rd century BC, was probably a Graecization of the original name given by the Ligurians to the place, despite the literal Greek meaning of 'city opposite'. This does not necessarily imply that it had been the main centre of the Deciates, and Barruol has proposed to identify the site of

Grasse Grasse (; Provençal dialect, Provençal oc, Grassa in classical norm or in Mistralian norm ; traditional it, Grassa) is the only Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in the Provence- ...

as their chief town.

History

In 154 BC, the Ligurians besieged the Massaliote colonies of Nicaea (

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

) and Antipolis. Upon a request from

Massalia Massalia (Greek: Μασσαλία; Latin: Massilia; modern Marseille) was an ancient Greek colony founded ca. 600 BC on the Mediterranean coast of present-day France, east of the river Rhône, by Ionian Greek settlers from Phocaea, in Western An ...

, and after a Roman legate Flaminius had been injured by the

, the Roman Senate sent the consul

Quintus Opimius Quintus is a male given name derived from ''Quintus'', a common Latin forename (''praenomen'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Quintus derives from Latin word ''quintus'', meaning "fifth". Quintus is an English masculine given name and a ...

to pacify the region. The latter defeated the Deciates and the Oxybii at Aegitna, then handed over a great part of their territory to Massalia.

References

Primary sources

Bibliography