The Savincates were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the

Ubaye The Ubaye (; ) is a river of southeastern France. It is long and flows through the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department. Its drainage basin is .

Faucon-de-Barcelonnette Faucon-de-Barcelonnette (, literally ''Faucon of Barcelonnette''; ) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France. Population See also * Ubaye Valley *Communes of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department The ...

in the

Alpes Maritimae The Alpes Maritimae (; English: 'Maritime Alps') was a small province of the Roman Empire founded in 63 AD by Nero. It was one of the three provinces straddling the Alps between modern France and Italy, along with the Alpes Graiae et Poeninae an ...

, during 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 ...

Name

They are mentioned as ''Savincatium'' on two inscriptions., s.v. ''Savincates''. The meaning of the

ethnonym An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and used ...

remains obscure. The toponym ''Savines'' has been traditionally compared with ''Savincates'' and associated with their chief town, although this has been criticized by

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 ...

Geography

The Savincates dwelled south of the

Guil The Guil () is a long river in the Hautes-Alpes '' département'', southeastern France. Its drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows ...

valley, in the

Ubaye The Ubaye (; ) is a river of southeastern France. It is long and flows through the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department. Its drainage basin is .

valley, around the town of Rigomagus (modern

). Their territory was located west of the Veneni, Soti, and Tyrii, south of the

Caturiges The Caturiges (Gaulish: ''Caturīges'', 'kings of combat') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper Durance valley, around present-day towns of Chorges and Embrun, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Catu ...

, east of the Avantici and Adanates, and north of the Gallitae, Eguiturii, and Nemeturii., Map 17: Lugdunum. The ''

civitas In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by Roman law, law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilitie ...

Rigomagensis'', mentioned in 400 AD in the ''

Notitia Galliarum The ''Notitia Galliarum'' (or ''Notitia provinciarum et civitatum Galliae'') is a Roman register of cities dating to the 4th–6th centuries AD., contains the text of the ''Notitia'' with a map. The Latin register is divided into two headings. ...

'', extended to all the Ubaye valley. In the 8th–9th centuries, it designated a ''pagus (Rigomagensis)'' or a ''vallis (Reumagensis)'', which corresponded to the middle Ubaye valley.

History

They appear on the Arch of Susa, erected by

Cottius Marcus Julius Cottius was King of the Celtic and Ligurian inhabitants of the mountainous Roman province then known as '' Alpes Taurinae'' and now as the Cottian Alps early in the 1st century BC. Son and successor to King Donnus, he negotiated a ...

in 9–8 BC.

References

Bibliography

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Name

Geography

History

References

Bibliography

Further reading