The Sentii (

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switzerl ...

: ''Sentioi'') were a small Gallic tribe dwelling around present-day

Senez Senez is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France. Ecclesiastical history Marcellus I, the first known bishop of Senez, attended the Council of Agde in 506 CE; nevertheless, Senez must have been an episcopal ...

, in southeastern France, during 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 B ...

Name

They are mentioned as Σέντιοι (var. Σένποι) 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 import ...

(2nd c. AD)., s.v. ''Sentii''. The ethnic name ''Sentii'' is a latinized form of

''Sentioi''. It derives from the stem ''sentu''- ('pathway') and can be interpreted as 'the people who live near the path', 'those who know the path', or as 'those who control the road'.

Geography

The Sentii dwelled around their chief town, Sanitium (modern

). The settlement is not mentioned in ancient sources until the '' Notitia Galliarum'' (4th–6th centuries AD). Their territory was located west of the Vergunni, north of the Suetrii, east of the

Reii The Reii were a Celto-Ligurian tribe dwelling in the modern department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name The ethnonym ''Reii'' has been interpreted as meaning 'the free ones', stemming from an earlier *' ...

and

Vocontii The Vocontii (Gaulish: *''Uocontioi''; Greek: Οὐοκόντιοι, Οὐοκοντίων) were a Gallic people dwelling on the western foothills of the Alps during the Iron Age and the Roman period. The Vocontii settled in the region in the 3r ...

, and south of the

Bodiontici The Bodiontici or Brodiontii were a Gallic tribe dwelling around present-day Digne (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence) during the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Bodionticos'' by Pliny (1st c. AD).Pliny. ''Naturalis Historia'', 3:37. Possible ...

., Map 16: Col. Forum Iulii-Albingaunum. The area of their

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 law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities () o ...

corresponded mainly to the upper basin of the river Asse; it may have also included parts of the valley of the Verdon, further east.

Economy

The economy of the area must have been rather poor in ancient times. The Sentii probably relied principally on pastoral activity, although the road crossing through Sanitium and

Barrême Barrême (; oc, Barrema) is a commune in the southeastern French department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. The inhabitants of this commune are known as ''Barrêmois'' or ''Barrêmoises''. Geography Barrême is located at an altitude of 722 m som ...

may have helped trade.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Gallic peoples Historical Celtic peoples Gauls Tribes of pre-Roman Gaul