The Alpes Graiae et Poeninae, later known as Alpes Atrectianae et Poeninae (officially Alpes Atrectianae et Vallis Poenina), was a small Alpine

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

created after the merging of the ''Alpes Poeninae'' (or ''Vallis Poenina'') and the ''Alpes Graiae'' (or ''Alpes Atrectianae''), during the reign of

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...

(193-196 AD). Comprising the modern

Canton of Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...

(Switzerland), the Tarantaise Valley, Beaufortain, Haut-Faucigny (France) and the Aosta Valley (Italy), it was one of the three provinces straddling the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

between modern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, along with the Alpes Maritimae and Alpes Cottiae. The Procurator of the province resided in the capital of this province: ''Forum Claudii Ceutronum Axima'' ( Aime-la-Plagne) or ''Darentasia'' ( Moûtiers), former capitals of the Alpes Graiae. He was seconded by a ''

Praefectus ''Praefectus'', often with a further qualification, was the formal title of many, fairly low to high-ranking, military or civil officials in the Roman Empire, whose authority was not embodied in their person (as it was with elected Magistrates) b ...

'' in ''Forum Claudii Vallensium'' (

Martigny Martigny (; , ; ) is the capital city of the district of Martigny (district), Martigny, cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Valais, Valais, Switzerland. It lies at an elevation of , and its population is approximately 20,000 inhabitants ( ...

) for the Alpes Poeninae.

Name

The province was commonly called ''Alpes Graiae'', ''Alpes Atrectianae'', ''Alpes Graiae et Poeninae'', or ''Alpes Atrectianae et Poeninae'', as a shortened form of its full name. In some documents, the province is also named ''Alpes Poeninae et Graiae'', or ''Alpes Poeninae''. It may have been known as the ''Alpes Graiae et Vallis Poenina'' at the time of its creation, which could have been the official form of the shortened name ''Alpes Graiae et Poeninae''. From the 2nd century AD until the reign of

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

(284–305), it was officially known as ''Alpes Atrectianae et Vallis Poenina'', which is attested on an inscription from the Severian period (193–235). According to

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

, the name ''Alpes Poeninae'' derives from an indigenous deity named ''Poeninus'', who is attested as ''Poininos'' on local inscriptions and in the name ''Jupiter Poeninus''. It survives in the modern form '' Pennine Alps'', as does ''Vallis Poenina'' in the name '' Valais''. Xavier Delamarre has proposed to similarly see a theonym *''Graios'' (found in ''Herculi''/''Herculeio Graio'') in the name ''Alpes Graiae''. The name ''Alpes Atrectianae'' may derive from a local kinglet called ''Atrectius'', just like the ''Alpes Cottiae'' are named after '' Cottius''. While his existence is not attested, the

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; : ''cognomina''; from ''co-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditar ...

appears in the name of four governors of the province from the 2nd and 3nd centuries AD.

History

The region of Vallis Poenina, corresponding to the modern

between the Lake Geneva and the Great St. Bernard Pass, was inhabited at the time of the Roman conquest by Celtic tribes known as the ''Vallenses'', namely the Nantuates, Veragri, Seduni, and Uberi. After the Roman invasion led by

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

in 16–15 BC, the area was initially placed under military control ''(praefectus Raetis'', ''Vindolicis'', ''vallis Poeninae'') and incorporated into the province of Raetia et Vindelicia, which stretched between the central Alps and the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

. The Vallensian tribes were granted Latin Rights and grouped together into a single ''civitas Vallensium'' during the reign of

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

(41–54 AD). According to most scholars, Vallis Poenina was separated from Raetia et Vindelicia and united with the newly created Alpes Graiae, located west of the Little St Bernard Pass and inhabited by the Ceutrones, during the same period. They formed together the province of Alpes Graiae et Poeninae, with one chief town for each division: ''Forum Claudii Ceutronum'' or ''Axima'' (modern Aime-la-Plagne) for the Alpes Graiae, and ''Forum Claudii Vallensium'' or ''Octodorus'' (modern

) for the Alpes Poeninae. During the reign of Diocletian (284–305), the province was integrated into the '' praeses'' of the Diocese of Gaul. Some scholars date the unification of the Alpes Graiae and Alpes Poeninae to this period rather than the reign of Claudius. In 381, the first

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the region, Theodul, was mentioned. After the

Fall of the Western Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire, also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome, was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vast ...

, the region was invaded by the

Burgundians The Burgundians were an early Germanic peoples, Germanic tribe or group of tribes. They appeared east in the middle Rhine region in the third century AD, and were later moved west into the Roman Empire, in Roman Gaul, Gaul. In the first and seco ...

and incorporated into their kingdom. After its fall, it was integrated into the Frankish Kingdom in 534, then briefly invaded by the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

in 574.

Gallery

File:Martigny, ville romaine et moderne, amphithéâtre.jpg, Amphitheater in Martigny File:Martigny roman street northbound 01.JPG, Roman road in Martigny

References

Primary sources

* *

Bibliography

* * * * {{Authority control Provinces of the Roman Empire Tres Alpes States and territories established in the 1st century BC Ancient Switzerland History of Aosta Valley Praetorian prefecture of Gaul 476 disestablishments 470s disestablishments in the Roman Empire