![Ancient Picenum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Ancient_Picenum.png)
Picenum was a
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
of ancient
Italy. The name is an
exonym
An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
assigned by the Romans, who conquered and incorporated it into the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...
. Picenum was ''Regio V'' in the
Augustan territorial organization of
Roman Italy
Roman Italy (called in both the Latin and Italian languages referring to the Italian Peninsula) was the homeland of the ancient Romans and of the Roman empire. According to Roman mythology, Italy was the ancestral home promised by Jupiter to A ...
. Picenum was also the birthplace of such Roman notables as
Pompey the Great
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...
and his father,
Pompeius Strabo
Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo (c. 135 – 87 BC) was a Roman general and politician, who served as consul in 89 BC. He is often referred to in English as Pompey Strabo, to distinguish him from his son, the famous Pompey the Great, or from Strabo the g ...
. It was in what is now
Marche
Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...
and the northern part of
Abruzzo
Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...
. The Piceni or
Picentes
The name Picentes or Picentini refers to the population of Picenum, on the northern Adriatic coastal plain of ancient Italy. Their endonym, if any, is not known for certain. There is linguistic evidence that the Picentini comprised two different ...
were the native population of Picenum, but they were not of uniform ethnicity. They maintained a religious centre in
Cupra Marittima
Cupra Marittima ( la, Cupra Maritima) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ascoli Piceno in the Italian region Marche, located about southeast of Ancona and about northeast of Ascoli Piceno. As of 1 January 2008, it had a populatio ...
, in honor of the goddess
Cupra
Cupra Racing, formerly known as SEAT Sport, is the high-performance motorsport subsidiary of the Spanish automobile manufacturer SEAT, founded in 1985, succeeding the "SEAT Special Vehicles department" which had been formed in 1971 with the miss ...
.
Historical geography
Picenum and the Picentes were described in some detail by the Roman geographers.
Strabo
Strabo places Picenum between the
Apennines and the
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...
from the mouth of the
Aesis River southward to Castrum at the mouth of the
Truentinus River, some 800
stadia
Stadia may refer to:
* One of the plurals of stadium, along with "stadiums"
* The plural of stadion, an ancient Greek unit of distance, which equals to 600 Greek feet (''podes'').
* Stadia (Caria), a town of ancient Caria, now in Turkey
* Stadi ...
, which is using 185 m/stadion. For cities he includes from north to south
Ancona
Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...
, Auxumum,
Septempeda
Septempeda was a Roman town in Picenum, now in the Italian region Marche. It became today's San Severino Marche after the fall of the Roman Empire.
Geography
The original Roman town Septempeda is located in the province of Macerata. The town was ...
(
San Severino Marche
San Severino Marche is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about southwest of Ancona and about southwest of Macerata.
History
From prehistory to Roman age
The oldest remains of human pre ...
), Pneuentia,
Potentia
Potenza (, also , ; , Potentino dialect: ''Putenz'') is a ''comune'' in the Southern Italy, Italian region of Basilicata (former Lucania).
Capital of the Province of Potenza and the Basilicata region, the city is the highest regional capital an ...
, Firmum Picenum with port at Castellum (Porto di
Fermo
Fermo (ancient: Firmum Picenum) is a town and ''comune'' of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo.
Fermo is on a hill, the Sabulo, elevation , on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway.
History
The oldest hum ...
), Cupra Maritima (
Cupra Marittima
Cupra Marittima ( la, Cupra Maritima) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ascoli Piceno in the Italian region Marche, located about southeast of Ancona and about northeast of Ascoli Piceno. As of 1 January 2008, it had a populatio ...
and
Grottammare
Grottammare is a town and ''comune'' on Italy's Adriatic coast, in the province of Ascoli Piceno, Marche region.
The town is crossed by the 43rd parallel north. Economy is mostly based on summer tourism; other sectors include food and vegetab ...
), Truentum on the Truentinus (
Tronto
The Tronto ( la, Truentus) is a long Italian river that arises at Monti della Laga and ends in the Adriatic Sea at Porto d'Ascoli, San Benedetto del Tronto. It traverses the Lazio, Marche, and Abruzzo regions of Italy.
The source of the Tront ...
) and finally Castrum Novum and Matrinum on the Matrinus (
Piomba
The Piomba is an Italian river in Abruzzo. The source of the river is near Cermignano in the province of Teramo. The river flows southeast past Cellino Attanasio before entering the province of Pescara. The river flows close to the border with ...
), south of
Silvi in
Abruzzo
Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...
. This is a list of coastal communities. Strabo also mentions Adria (
Atri, Italy) and Asculum Picenum (
Ascoli Piceno) in the interior. The width of Picenum inland varies irregularly, he says.
History
First settled at the beginning of the Iron Age (1200BC400AD), Picenum later became one of the eleven districts of Italy. The three interior towns of the region possessed an urban layout and appeared to be economically successful, so it is unknown what caused this region to decline in later years. The
Liburnians
The Liburnians or Liburni ( grc, Λιβυρνοὶ) were an ancient tribe inhabiting the district called Liburnia, a coastal region of the northeastern Adriatic between the rivers ''Arsia'' ( Raša) and ''Titius'' ( Krka) in what is now Croatia ...
had colonies at the western Adriatic coast, especially in region of Picenum, from the beginning of the Iron Age. From the 9th to the 6th century there was certain koine - cultural unity in the Adriatic, with the general Liburninan seal, whose naval supremacy meant both political and economical authority in the Adriatic Sea through several centuries.
In 268 BC the consuls Appius Claudius Russus and Publius Sempronius Sophus conducted a pincer operation against Picenum. The Picentes, who were then Roman allies, had rebelled. Part of the population was deported and those who were not were given Roman citizenship without the right to vote. Thus, Picenum was annexed, except for the city of Ausculum, which was considered an allied city. To keep it under control, the colony of Firmum was established nearby in 264 BC.
According to
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 ...
(''Histories'' 2:21), during the consulship of
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (232BC), "the Romans divided among their citizens the territory in Gaul known as Picenum, from which they had ejected the
Senones
The Senones or Senonii (Gaulish: "the ancient ones") were an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling in the Seine basin, around present-day Sens, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
Part of the Senones settled in the Italian peninsula, where they ...
when they conquered them".
Picenum is best known for siding with Rome against
Hannibal
Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...
during the
Punic Wars
The Punic Wars were a series of wars between 264 and 146BC fought between Roman Republic, Rome and Ancient Carthage, Carthage. Three conflicts between these states took place on both land and sea across the western Mediterranean region and i ...
. It also became a Roman base during the
Social War. Some Picentes remained loyal to Rome in the war, while others fought against them for the right of Roman citizenship. All Picentes were granted full Roman citizenship after the war.
In the
Edict of Diocletian
The Edict on Maximum Prices (Latin: ''Edictum de Pretiis Rerum Venalium'', "Edict Concerning the Sale Price of Goods"; also known as the Edict on Prices or the Edict of Diocletian) was issued in 301 AD by Diocletian. The document denounces mon ...
, it was mentioned that the wine from Picenum was considered the most expensive wine, together with Falerno. Vinum Hadrianum was produced in Picenum, in the city of
''Hatria'' or ''Hadria'', the old name of
Atri
Atri ( sa, अत्रि) or Attri is a Vedic sage, who is credited with composing numerous hymns to Agni, Indra, and other Vedic deities of Hinduism. Atri is one of the Saptarishi (seven great Vedic sages) in the Hindu tradition, and the on ...
. This is also the same wine that
Pliny
Pliny may refer to:
People
* Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'')
* Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...
considered one of the highly-rated wines, along with a few others.
Culture
Excavations performed in the late 19th century in Picenum give some insight into the region during the Iron Age. Excavated tombs in Novilara of the Molaroni and Servici cemeteries show that the Piceni laid bodies in the ground wrapped in garments they had worn in life.
Warriors would be buried in the ground with a helmet, weapons and vessels for food and drinks. Buried beads, bone, fibulae and amber seem to demonstrate that there was an active trade in the ninth and perhaps tenth centuries on the Adriatic coast, especially in the fields of amber and beads of glass paste. In women’s graves there is a large abundance of ornaments made of bronze and iron.
Origins of these items may also show that the Piceni may have looked to the south and east for development.
The warrior tombs seem to show that the Piceni were a war-like people. Every man’s grave contained more or less a complete outfit of a warrior, with the most frequent weapon being a spear. Piceni swords appear to be imported from the Balkans.
Languages
South Picene, written in an unusual version of the
Italic alphabet
The Old Italic scripts are a family of similar ancient writing systems used in the Italian Peninsula between about 700 and 100 BC, for various languages spoken in that time and place. The most notable member is the Etruscan alphabet, which ...
, has been identified as a
Sabellic language that is neither
Oscan
Oscan is an extinct Indo-European language of southern Italy. The language is in the Osco-Umbrian or Sabellic branch of the Italic languages. Oscan is therefore a close relative of Umbrian.
Oscan was spoken by a number of tribes, including th ...
nor
Umbrian
Umbrian is an extinct Italic language formerly spoken by the Umbri in the ancient Italian region of Umbria. Within the Italic languages it is closely related to the Oscan group and is therefore associated with it in the group of Osco-Umbrian ...
.
The undeciphered North Picene, also written in a form of the
Old Italic alphabet, is probably not closely unrelated to South Picene. At present, it is generally assumed not to be an
Italic language
The Italic languages form a branch of the Indo-European language family, whose earliest known members were spoken on the Italian Peninsula in the first millennium BC. The most important of the ancient languages was Latin, the official languag ...
(although it may have belonged to another branch of the
Indo-European languages
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, Dutc ...
).
Cities of the ''Regio V''
As reported by
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...
in his
Naturalis Historia
The ''Natural History'' ( la, Naturalis historia) is a work by Pliny the Elder. The largest single work to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day, the ''Natural History'' compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors. ...
, 24 cities were placed in ''Regio V'':
[Archeologia nelle Marche, Mario Luni, 2003, p. 136, .]
See also
*
Ancient peoples of Italy
This list of ancient peoples living in Italy summarises groupings existing before and during the Roman expansion and conquest of Italy. Many of the names are either scholarly inventions or exonyms assigned by the ancient writers of works in anc ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
Ancient Abruzzo
History of le Marche