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The Picentes or Piceni or Picentini were an ancient
Italic people The concept of Italic peoples is widely used in linguistics and historiography of ancient Italy. In a strict sense, commonly used in linguistics, it refers to the Osco-Umbrians and Latino-Faliscans, speakers of the Italic languages, a subgroup of ...
who lived from the 9th to the 3rd century BC in the area between the Foglia and Aterno rivers, bordered to the west by the Apennines and to the east by the Adriatic coast. Their territory, known as ''
Picenum Picenum was a region of ancient Italy. The name was assigned by the Romans, who conquered and incorporated it into the Roman Republic. Picenum became ''Regio V'' in the Augustan territorial organisation of Roman Italy. It is now in Marche ...
'', therefore included all of today's
Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...
and the northern part of
Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...
. Piceni derived their culture and genetic ancestry from the Early Bronze Age
Cetina culture The Cetina culture is the name for the culture of the inhabitants of the Middle Dalmatian coast, and especially its hinterland, during the early Bronze Age (c. 1900-1600 BC), or, according to Paul Reineck's chronology (c. 2200–1500 BC). It is ...
at the other side of the
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
, and Late Bronze Age
Hallstatt culture The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western Europe, Western and Central European archaeological culture of the Late Bronze Age Europe, Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe (Hallst ...
along the Danube River, as a 2024 study confirms. The limits of Picenum depend on the era; during the early
classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...
the region between the
Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains ( ; or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; or – a singular with plural meaning; )Latin ''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which would be segmented ''Apenn-inus'', often used with nouns s ...
and the Adriatic Sea south of
Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...
was Picenum (South Picenians), while between Ancona and
Rimini Rimini ( , ; or ; ) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. Sprawling along the Adriatic Sea, Rimini is situated at a strategically-important north-south passage along the coast at the southern tip of the Po Valley. It is ...
to the north the population was multi-ethnic (North Picenians) because after 390 BC the Senoni Gauls had combined with or supplanted earlier populations. In the
Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...
the coastal part of northern Picenum was called the '' ager Gallicus''.


History

Picentes may have been
Sabine The Sabines (, , , ;  ) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains (see Sabina) of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divided int ...
colonists, although this is doubted by more recent scholars, who see the South Picenes more closely related to the
Sabellians Sabellians is a collective ethnonym for a group of Italic peoples or tribes inhabiting central and southern Italy at the time of the rise of Rome. The name was first applied by Niebuhr and encompassed the Sabines, Marsi, Marrucini and Vest ...
, as Steppe ancestry and Bell Beaker culture materials have been found in central Italy since c. 1600 BC. ''Picentini'' date from the 9th c. BC as shown by archaeology. The Piceni did not have a state-type organisation, had no predominant inhabited centre and therefore had no need for a capital. In 390 BC the Senoni Gauls invaded Italy from the north and occupied Picenum north of the Esino river and the centuries-old balance in Picenum underwent drastic changes. The archaeological evidence shows groups of Senones settled much further south of this river, in the
Macerata Macerata () is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564. History The historical city centre is on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza (ri ...
area and even in the Ascoli area, in sites such as Filottrano, San Genesio,
Matelica Matelica is a (municipality) of the Province of Macerata in the Italian region of Marche. Located about southwest of Ancona and west of Macerata, it extends over an area of . Geography Matelica lies in an ample valley where the Braccano ...
, and Offida.


Roman Era

When in 299 BC the Romans captured Nequinum, they also concluded a treaty with the Picentes. In 297 BC the Picentes warned the Roman Senate that they had been approached by the
Samnites The Samnites () were an ancient Italic peoples, Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy. An Oscan language, Oscan-speaking Osci, people, who originated as an offsh ...
asking for alliance in renewed hostilities with Rome for which the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
thanked them.


Picentine war

The Romans in about 290 BC had absorbed the territory of the Pretuzi, south of Picenum and after a series of victories with the help of the Piceni themselves, the Senones were expelled from the coastal region in 283 BC and the Romans annexed it down to Ancona when it became part of the ''
Ager publicus The ''ager publicus'' (; ) is the Latin name for the state land of ancient Rome. It was usually acquired via the means of expropriation from enemies of Rome. History In the earliest periods of Roman expansion in central Italy, the ''ager pub ...
'' (Roman state land). The Romans had made
Senigallia Senigallia (or Sinigaglia in Old Italian; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and port town on Italy's Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coast. It is situated in the province of Ancona, in the Italian region of Marche, and lies approximately 30 kilometres nor ...
a colony and were planning another colony a little further north. Following this progressive and unstoppable expansion of Rome around their territory the Piceni realised that they had supported a great power by which they were surrounded, and hence they broke the alliance and in 269 BC revolted and started the "Picentine war". The consuls Appius Claudius Russus and Titus Sempronius Sophus were sent by the Roman Senate to Picenum. Sempronius arrived through the Tronto valley, while Appius passed through Umbria, descended into the
Potenza Potenza (, ; ; , Potentino dialect: ''Putenz'') is a ''comune'' in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata (former Lucania). Capital of the Province of Potenza and the Basilicata region, the city is the highest regional capital and one of ...
valley through the
Pioraco Pioraco 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 The territory of Pioraco was settled in the Neolithic Age, as show ...
straits and took the fortified city of
Camerino Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about from Ancona. Camerino is home to the University of Ca ...
. To reunite the armies, the consuls conducted the military campaign by first invading the territories of the Agro Palmense (Fermo), so as to wedge themselves between the northern and southern Piceno territories. Sempronius led his troops into the Aso valley, avoiding a frontal attack on the city of Ascoli Piceno, which would have greatly delayed the campaign. After defeating the Picene troops at Interamnia, he arrived in what is now Ortezzano; following a new clash with the Picene resistance, the same city was devastated. Meanwhile, the Piceni forces had gathered at Truento, with a strong army; thus, Sempronius had to go back, in the valley of the Tronto, slowing down the advance. Before the battle started, a massive earthquake shook the earth, throwing men on both sides into panic; the first to awake from fear were the Romans, since the consul stated that the seismic event was a favourable omen for Rome and that, after the battle, he would erected a temple in Tellure. Once the initial fear was overcome, calm returned even among the ranks of the Piceni. The ensuing clash was so violent that few survived the battle, on either side. The negative outcome of the battle reduced the Piceni to sue for peace. For Rome, the victory against the Piceni was so important that, in addition to being given a triumph to the consuls, the Senate decided to mint memorial silver coins for the first time.
Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...
retained the statute of ''civitas foederata'' or ally of Rome and Asculum received the same status but the rest of Picenum was annexed and partially Romanised, their cities being made first ''civitas sine suffragio'' (268 BC) and then ''civitas optimo iure'' (241 BC). The Romans made two more colonies to hold it: Ariminum in 268 and Firmum in 264. Between these years part of the Piceno population was deported: the inhabitants of
Ortona Ortona ( Abruzzese: '; ) is a coastal town and municipality of the Province of Chieti in the Italian region of Abruzzo, with some 23,000 inhabitants. In 1943 Ortona was the site of the bloody Battle of Ortona, known as "Western Stalingrad". ...
to
Lake Fucino The Fucine Lake ( or ) was a large endorheic karst lake between above sea level and surrounded by the Monte Sirente-Monte Velino mountain ranges to the north-northeast, Mount Salviano to the west, Vallelonga to the south, and the Valle del Giove ...
, some colonies founded in
Marsica Marsica is a geographical and historical region in Abruzzo, central Italy, including 37 ''comuni'' in the province of L'Aquila. It is located between the plain of the former Fucine Lake, the Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise, National Par ...
,
Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...
, giving them land at
Paestum Paestum ( , , ) was a major Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, in Magna Graecia. The ruins of Paestum are famous for their three ancient Greek temples in the Doric order dating from about 550 to 450 BCE that ...
and on the river Silarus and assisted them to build a city, Picentia. They also placed a garrison at
Salernum Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...
to monitor them. Strabo reports that in his time (64 BC – c. 24 AD) they had depopulated the city in favour of villages scattered about the Salerno region. In
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...
's time (2nd century AD) a population named by him the Picentini were still at
Salernum Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...
and Surentum.


Social War

Following the expansion of the Roman Republic in the 2nd century BC to which the Italians had contributed, they asked that Roman citizenship be extended to them but continued to be legally discriminated against. It came to a head when the
Social War (91–87 BC) The Social War (from Latin , "war of the allies"), also called the Italian War or the Marsic War, was fought largely from 91 to 88 BC between the Roman Republic and several of its autonomous allies () in Roman Italy, Italy. Some of the ...
broke out following an insurrection in the city of Asculum: after having killed the Roman proconsul Quintus Servilius and the legate Fonteius, the people of Asculum massacred the entire Roman population of the city. Subsequently, the Piceni and the other Italic peoples (except the
Etruscans The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...
and the
Umbrians The Umbri were an Italic people of ancient Italy. A region called Umbria still exists and is now occupied by Italian speakers. It is somewhat smaller than the ancient Umbria. Most ancient Umbrian cities were settled in the 9th-4th centuries BC ...
) joined together and made their own capital,
Corfinium Corfinium (Greek: ) was an ancient city now near modern Corfinio, in the province of L'Aquila (Abruzzo region). During the Social War (91-87 BC), Corfinium served as the headquarters of the Italic socii who fought for the extension of Rom ...
. The Piceni were therefore the main inspirers, with
Peligni The Paeligni or Peligni were an Italic tribe who lived in the Valle Peligna, in what is now Abruzzo, central Italy. History The Paeligni are first mentioned as a member of a confederacy that included the Marsi, Marrucini, and Vestini, with whic ...
and
Marsi The Marsi were an Italic people of ancient Italy, whose chief centre was Marruvium, on the eastern shore of Lake Fucinus (which was drained in the time of Claudius). The area in which they lived is now called Marsica. They originally spoke a l ...
, of the whole coalition; the Italian army, divided into two branches, one Sabellic led by
Quintus Poppaedius Silo Quintus Poppaedius Silo (sometimes seen as ''Pompaedius'') (died 88 BC) was a leader of the Italian tribe of the Marsi and one of the leaders of the Italian rebels during the Social War against Rome. Poppaedius was called the 'heart and soul' of t ...
, the other Samnite led by
Gaius Papius Mutilus Gaius Papius Mutilus was a Samnium, Samnite noble who is best known for being the leader of the southern rebels who fought against the army of Ancient Rome, Rome in the Social War (91–87 BC), Social War (also known as the Italian War); was a mem ...
, had contingents of numerous peoples while the Piceni were led by Gaius Vidacilius and Publius Ventidius Bassus. The initial phases of the conflict took place in Picenum, between Asculum and Firmum; the Picene commanders defeated
Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo ( – 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 geograp ...
near Falerone (90 BC), forcing him to retreat and find refuge in Firmum, which was besieged. Meanwhile in the summer of the same year the commander Vidacilius rushed to support the Peligni in battle and Ventidius Bassus was sent on a diplomatic mission to the Etruscans and Umbrians to induce them to support the Italian cause; parallel to this, Pompeius Strabo received the support of a Roman contingent, sent to break the siege of the Piceni. The latter thus found themselves having to contend with the Romans on two fronts: the threat was in fact brought both by the besieged inside the city, who could make sorties, and by the troops that had just arrived in Fermo; they were thus defeated, also suffering the loss of the general left to lead the siege, the Marsian Titus Lafrenius. Picentes were however divided during the War, with some fighting against Rome for the Roman citizenship and others remaining loyal. With the troops left after the battle of Firmum, Pompeius Strabo moved towards Asculum, besieging it. Shortly after, the commander Vidacilius went north with the intention of freeing the besieged; however, while managing to break through the enemy lines and enter the city, upon his arrival he did not find his fellow citizens willing to oppose the siege as he had requested; disappointed and indignant by this attitude, Vidacilius took his own life. In 89 BC an army of Marsi tried to undermine the Roman encirclement of the Piceni capital, but failed; the city finally fell on that year, was razed to the ground and its citizens deprived of all property. The fall of Asculum marked the definitive defeat of the Italians. At the end of the conflict, the Piceni were ascribed to the Fabia tribe, obtaining Roman citizenship and completing the Romanisation process of the Piceno population, which began in the 3rd century BC.


Empire

In 27 BC Augustus established a colony at Asculum. The territory inhabited by the Piceni during the Augustan age was divided between Regio V (Picenum) and Regio VI (''Umbria et ager gallicus picenus''). It was reunified during the empire 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 ...
in the ''Flaminia et Picenum'' region.


Periods

The long period of development of the Picenum civilisation has led to several periods (Picenum I to VI) being used to subdivide the period from the 9th to the 3rd c. BC. The objects left by the Piceni are rich and strongly characteristic: in sculpture, in figurative art (which shows a remarkable imagination in figures and a tendency towards abstraction), in the originality of the forms of ceramics, in the abundant use of amber, in the great variety of weapons and in eye-catching female adornments.


Phase "Picenum I" (9th century BC)

The birth and spread of the Picene civilisation mark the transition from the
Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
to the
Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
in the Marche region. In the first phase, the Piceni necropolises and settlements show a gradual passage between these two ages, given the close archaeological links with the previous Bronze Age civilisations widespread in the Marche: the
Apennine culture The Apennine culture is a technology complex in central and southern Italy from the Italian Middle Bronze Age (15th–14th centuries BC). In the mid-20th century the Apennine was divided into Proto-, Early, Middle and Late , but now archaeolog ...
and the
Proto-Villanovan culture The Proto-Villanovan culture was a late Bronze Age culture that appeared in Italy in the first half of the 12th century BC and lasted until the 10th century BC, part of the central European Urnfield culture system (1300–750 BCE). History T ...
. From the point of view of funeral customs, the Picenes are distinguished from previous civilisations by the use of the burial ritual (curled up and on a bed of gravel), but among the elements of continuity with the cultures of the Bronze Age there is the continuation, although in small numbers only, of incineration tombs. The archaeological evidence of this first phase shows a concentration of the population in the coastal area and in particular in the area of the Conero promontory (
Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...
,
Numana Numana is a coastal town and ''comune'' of the province of Ancona in the Marche region of Italy. History Most scholars see Numana as having been founded by people of Sabine origin, but Pliny the Elder attributed its foundation to the Siculi, but ...
,
Camerano Camerano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ancona in the Italy, Italian region Marche, located about southeast of Ancona. Camerano borders the following municipalities: Ancona, Castelfidardo, Osimo, Sirolo. Camerano is most notab ...
, Osimo) and the short stretch of high coast of Porto Sant'Elpidio; inside, the settlements of Monte Roberto and Moie di Pollenza are known. The guiding exhibit is the kothon, a small typically Picene
terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...
vase, with a flattened globular shape, with a narrow mouth and a single handle.


Phase "Picenum II" (8th century BC)

The archaeological evidence bears witness to a diffusion of the Picene civilisation towards the north, up to the northern part of the Marche, where the very rich
necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...
of Novilara was found, up to now the only one fully excavated and which has been able to enjoy a complete publication of the results of the excavation. The phase is characterised by a great development of
metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...
, also testified by typical Picene objects, such as the spiral armlets in laminate and the solar boat pectorals with wild duck protomes on the bow and stern, rich in symbolic meanings. In this phase, among other things, the first
iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
objects appear: short swords and cutlass. Despite this, bronze swords of the "antenna" type are still produced and used. Some metal objects bear witness to relations with the opposite
Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
shore; among these the fibulae with spectacles, subsequently accompanied by a vast range of typologies of fibulae of all sizes, which appear as a characterising element of Picene female ornaments.


Phase "Picenum III" (7th century BC and part of the 6th, up to 580 BC)

The diffusion area of the phase coincides with that of the previous phase: all the Marche; however, a concentration of testimonies can be observed in the area close to the Apennines, characterised by an orientalising culture, that is influenced by 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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
East:
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
, Syria, Asia Minor. In fact, objects from these countries were imported into Picenum through the Greek emporiums of Ankón (Ancona) and Numana. Also characteristic of this phase are the imports of Etruscan objects made in a style similar to the oriental one. Even the Etruscan civilisation, in fact, goes through a similar phase, also called "orientalising".
Tumulus A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...
tombs and circle burials are typical of this phase, typologies that are influenced by oriental customs; in these tombs the buried are often accompanied by their war chariot. The best known centres of the orientalising Picenum area are located near the Apennine passes and are therefore linked to trade with the Etruscans: Fabriano, Pitino di San Severino, Taverne di Serravalle. The best known finds are the
oinochoe An oenochoe, also spelled ''oinochoe'' (; from , ''oînos'', "wine", and , ''khéō'', , sense "wine pourer"; : ''oinochoai''; Neo-Latin: ''oenochoë'', : ''oenochoae''; English : oenochoes or oinochoes), is a wine jug and a key form of ancient G ...
made using an
ostrich egg The egg of the ostrich (genus ''Struthio'') is the largest of any living bird (being exceeded in size by those of the extinct elephant bird genus '' Aepyornis''). The shell has a long history of use by humans as a container and for decorative ...
, the lid with the dance around the totem, the war chariots. In the Picenum the orientalising period begins around the middle of the 7th century. Despite the external influences, local art is still flourishing and is characterised by the tendency to synthesise human and animal figures to the point of making them almost abstract; typical examples are the armour-discs decorated with human figures juxtaposed with fantastic animals. Furthermore, in this phase the production of extraordinary ceramics for variety and formal imagination begins. Metallurgy also produces objects of great originality, such as breastplates decorated with human figures linked together by rings or by holding hands; the best known example is the one from Numana. The fibulae are also produced in the most varied typologies, such as those with a winding bow, a
dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...
with antennas, a ship; another very typical item of women's clothing is the "disc-stole", made with solar symbols. The Novilara inscriptions and the absorption of the Villanovan culture of Fermo within the Picene culture date back to this period.


Phase "Picenum IV" (from 580 to 470 BC)

The phase is divided by archaeologists into "Picenum IV A" and "Picenum IV B", which are considered here together. The territory saw a rarefaction of the testimonies to the north of the Esino and a flowering of testimonies in the south of the Marche and in the north of Abruzzo. Some of the most typical and well-known elements of the Picene civilisation date to this period. In particular they are: the South Picene inscriptions, the monumental statuary of Numana and Capestrano, the extraordinary richness and variety of the female ornamentation of the fibulae, even more than in the previous phase and the enigmatic six-knot rings, which appeared in the early twentieth century as a symbol of the entire Picene civilisation. The typical material of this period can be considered amber, already attested previously, but with which the best-known objects, coming from Belmonte Picenum, were made in this phase. An amber route has been identified which from the Baltic reached the coasts of Picenum, where the fossil resin was much appreciated, also due to the characteristics that put it in relation with the solar symbology. In the last century, the Piceni were also called "people of amber" because of their love for this material, and their very name was related to the Latin term pix, picis, i.e. amber. Weapons are now all made of iron, and present a great variety and continuous updating, a rare thing in Italic peoples of the same period; among the offensive weapons of the period we remember the scimitar broadsword of the machaira type and, among those of defense, the typical helmets with reliefs in the shape of animal horns, which however coexist with other helmets of the Greek-Corinthian type. The production of armor-discs continues, but they too are strongly influenced by Greek art in their ornamentation. The inhumation is now fully extended.


Phase "Picenum V" (from 470 BC until the beginning of the 4th century)

From a territorial point of view we note a revitalisation of the Picenum centres north of the
Esino The Esino (; ) is a river in the Marche region of central Italy. Geography The source of the river is east of Monte Penna, in the province of Macerata, near the border with the province of Ancona. The river flows east past Esanatoglia and curve ...
; south of this river all the centres already vital in the previous phase continue their activities. The dominant archaeological feature of this phase is the massive importation of Greek
red-figure pottery Red-figure pottery () is a style of Pottery of ancient Greece, ancient Greek pottery in which the background of the pottery is painted black while the figures and details are left in the natural red or orange color of the clay. It developed in A ...
, which then spread throughout the Picenum territory through the ports of Numana and Ancona. In particular, the complex of vases from Numana is exceptionally rich, with specimens also monumental and with rich mythological representations. This abundance can be explained by thinking of the fact that, after the naval battle of Alalia (540 BC), the Etruscans and the Carthaginians managed to prevent the Greeks from trading freely in the
Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (, ; or ) , , , , is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenians, Tyrrhenian people identified with the Etruscans of Italy. Geography The sea is bounded by the islands of C ...
. Thus the Adriatic cities of
Numana Numana is a coastal town and ''comune'' of the province of Ancona in the Marche region of Italy. History Most scholars see Numana as having been founded by people of Sabine origin, but Pliny the Elder attributed its foundation to the Siculi, but ...
,
Spina Spina was an Etruscan port city, established by the end of the 6th century BCE, on the Adriatic at the ancient mouth of the Po. Discovery The site of Spina was lost until modern times, when drainage schemes in the delta of the Po River in 19 ...
and
Adria Adria is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of northern Italy, situated between the mouths of the rivers Adige and Po River, Po. The remains of the Etruria, Etruscan city of Atria or Hatria are to be found below ...
flourished, which in any case allowed a commercial outlet for the rich Greek vase production. Interestingly, a form of Attic pottery was produced by the Greeks specifically for the Piceni; it is the "plate with a high foot", which some archaeologists think was used to serve a typical Picenum product during banquets:
olives The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...
.


Phase "Picenum VI" (4th and a small part of the 3rd century BC, up to the Battle of Sentinum)

The Battle of Sentinum conventionally marks, according to archaeology, the dissolution of the Picene culture, which from then was gradually absorbed within the Roman one. Naturally, even after this date, the history of the Piceni continues, even if its vitality is no longer expressed so much on a cultural (and therefore archaeological) level, as in the important role they played during the Romanisation of the Adriatic coast. This explains the fact that, despite the Picenum phase VI is the last described by the archaeologists, the history of the Picenes continues even after this phase, and is the subject of the following paragraphs. A fundamental event of the period is the arrival of the Senoni Gauls, who occupied the northern part of the Picenum territory, reaching as far as the Esino river, with temporary or limited expansions even further south. The Senones partially merged with the Piceni of the occupied areas, but profoundly influencing their culture. After the Gallic invasion, the control by the Piceni of the Adriatic coastal area is approximately included between the Castellano torrent, Numana and the Conero. The Picenum territory occupied by the Gauls was later called by the Romans Ager Gallicus or specifically the Ager Gallicus Picenus. Another event that contributed to modifying the ethnic balance of the Picenum territory was the arrival of Greeks, coming from Syracuse, who founded the colony of Ankón (Ancona) which absorbed the previous Picenum village. Despite these factors, the Picene culture precisely in this period produced a highly original type of vase, defined by archaeologists as "upper Adriatic ceramics", characterised by female figures seen in profile, so stylised as to recall some forms of modern art.


Myth

There is a legend that a
woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family (biology), family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme ...
() led the way to Picenum for the people who became the Picentini and a
folk etymology Folk etymology – also known as (generative) popular etymology, analogical reformation, (morphological) reanalysis and etymological reinterpretation – is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a mo ...
of their ethnonym was "those of the woodpecker." For this reason the green woodpecker is the modern emblem of the Marche region.


Culture

Excavations in Picenum have given much 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 were buried with a helmet, weapons and vessels for food and drinks. Buried beads, bone, fibulae and
amber Amber is fossilized tree resin. Examples of it have been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since the Neolithic times, and worked as a gemstone since antiquity."Amber" (2004). In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen (eds.) ''Encyclopedia ...
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 The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
.


Genetics

A 2017 analysis of maternal haplogroups from ancient and modern samples indicated a substantial genetic similarity among the modern inhabitants of Central Italy and the area's ancient pre-Roman inhabitants of settlement of Novilara in the province of
Pesaro Pesaro (; ) is a (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, capital of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the ...
, and evidence of substantial genetic continuity in the region from pre-Roman times to the present with regard to
mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...
. In a 2024 study of Iron Age ancient samples, the two main Y haplogroups in Picene were R1-M269/L23 (58% of the total) and J2-M172/M12 (25% of the total), which respectively indicate the direct relationship with Central Europe and the Balkan peninsula. Particularly, the R1-M269/L23 haplogroup was related to the
Yamnaya The Yamnaya ( ) or Yamna culture ( ), also known as the Pit Grave culture or Ochre Grave culture, is a late Copper Age to early Bronze Age archaeological culture of the region between the Southern Bug, Dniester, and Ural rivers (the Pontic–C ...
ancestry and was present at high frequency in Central European populations since the Bronze Age onwards.


Language

From Ancona southward a language of the
Umbri The Umbri were an Italic peoples, Italic people of ancient Italy. A region called Umbria still exists and is now occupied by Italian speakers. It is somewhat smaller than the Regio VI Umbria, ancient Umbria. Most ancient Umbrian cities were sett ...
an group was originally spoken, today called South Picene, attested mainly in inscriptions. North of Ancona around
Pesaro Pesaro (; ) is a (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, capital of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the ...
a non-Italic language termed North Picene, written in a version of the
Old Italic script The Old Italic scripts are a family of 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 was the i ...
, is attested by four inscriptions (three of which are very brief). Both the meaning of the inscriptions and the relationship of North Picene to other languages remain unknown. There is
phonological Phonology (formerly also phonemics or phonematics: "phonemics ''n.'' 'obsolescent''1. Any procedure for identifying the phonemes of a language from a corpus of data. 2. (formerly also phonematics) A former synonym for phonology, often prefer ...
evidence that it was linked more closely to the
Indo-European language family The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...
(than to, for example,
Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *Etruscan civilization (1st millennium BC) and related things: **Etruscan language ** Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan coins **Etruscan history **Etruscan myt ...
). Philip Baldi, 1999, ''The Foundations of Latin'', The Hague, Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 134–6, 152–3.


Ethnonym

One
endonym An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...
of the Picentes, or at least the South Picenes, may be ''Pupeneis'' or, according to Edward Togo Salmon "something similar", as this apparently ethnic name is used in four South Picenian language inscriptions found near
Ascoli Piceno Ascoli Piceno (; ; ) is a (municipality) and capital of the province of Ascoli Piceno, in the Italy, Italian region of Marche. Geography The town lies at the confluence of the Tronto, River Tronto and the small Castellano (river), River Castell ...
. Later refinements of the argument connected it to the Latin name ''Poponius'', as in inscription TE 1 found near
Teramo Teramo (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Abruzzo, the capital of the province of Teramo. The city, from Rome, is situated between the highest mountains of the Apennines ( Gran Sasso d'Italia) and the Adriatic coast. Th ...
: :''apaes ...púpúnis nir'' :"Appaes ... a Poponian man" The connection between Poponian and Picentes, if any, remains obscure. There is no mention in ancient sources of the endonym used by the North Picenes. The first document to mention the Latin exonym Picentes is the ''
Fasti triumphales The ''Acta Triumphorum'' or ''Triumphalia'', better known as the ''Fasti Triumphales'', or Triumphal Fasti, is a calendar of Roman magistrates honoured with a celebratory procession known as a ''triumphus'', or triumph, in recognition of an impo ...
'', which record for 268/267 BC a triumph given to Publius Sempronius Sophus for a victory ''de Peicentibus'', "over the Picentes," where the -ei- is an
Old Latin Old Latin, also known as Early, Archaic or Priscan Latin (Classical ), was the Latin language in the period roughly before 75 BC, i.e. before the age of Classical Latin. A member of the Italic languages, it descends from a common Proto-Italic ...
form. The entire group of Latin Picene words delivered subsequently appear to follow the standard rules for Latin word formation. The root is Pīc-, provenience and meaning yet unknown. The extended Pīc-ēn- is used to form a second-declension adjective, appearing in such phrases as ''Pīcēnus ager'', "Picene country," ''Pīcēnae olivae'', "Picene olives", and the neuter used as a noun, ''Pīcēnum''. These are not references to any people, *Pīcēni, but to the country. Pīcēnus used alone implies ''Pīcēnus ager'', the "Picene (country)" and does not mean one resident of Picenum. This adjective is never used of the people. For the people, a third-declension adjective stem is formed: Pīc-ent-, used in ''Pīcens'' and ''Pīcentes'', "a Picentine" and "the Picentines," which are nouns formed from the adjective. This adjective can be used of people or of other words, as well as in a second formation of the name of the country, ''Pīcentum''. From it comes a final name of the people, Pīcentini. The historical order in which these words appeared or whether they came from each other remains unknown.


Prominent Picentes


Gentes of Picentine origin

* Afrania gens *
Annia gens The gens Annia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Livy mentions a Lucius Annius, praetor of the Roman colony of Setia, in 340 BC, and other Annii are mentioned at Rome during this period. Members of this gens held various positions of auth ...
* Nasidiena (gens) * Pasidiena gens * Pilia (gens) * Saturia gens


See also

*
Picenum Picenum was a region of ancient Italy. The name was assigned by the Romans, who conquered and incorporated it into the Roman Republic. Picenum became ''Regio V'' in the Augustan territorial organisation of Roman Italy. It is now in Marche ...
* North Picene language * South Picene language *
Ancient peoples of Italy This list of ancient peoples living in Italy summarises the many different Italian populations that existed in antiquity. Among them, the Romans succeeded in Romanizing the entire Italian peninsula following the Roman expansion in Italy, which ...
* Coinage of Picenum


References


Bibliography

* {{Authority control Italic peoples Socii Ancient Abruzzo History of le Marche