- Pictones
The Pictones (or Pictavi) were a tribe inhabiting a region along the
Bay of Biscay in what is now western France. Their region extended north past the Liger (Loire), east to the region of the Turones (Touraine ), and south to the border with theLemovices (Limousin) and the Guirande River in the region of theSantones . During the reign ofAugustus (27 BC – 14 AD), the Pictones were included in the larger province ofGallia Aquitania , along with most of westernGaul .Prior to Roman rule
The Pictones inhabited the region during the first half of the first-century BC, before the Roman conquest. Their chief town Lemonum, the
Celt ic name of modern-dayPoitiers (Poitou), is located on the south bank of the Liger. Other tribes neighboring and among the Pictones were the Ambiliates, Agesinates, and the Agnutes.The political organization of the region was modeled on the royal Celtic system. Duratios was king of Pictones during the Roman conquest, but his power waned thanks to the poor skill of his generals. However, the Pictones frequently aided C. Julius Caesar in naval battles, particularly with the naval victor of Veneti on the
Armorica n peninsula.During and after Roman rule
The Pictones had felt threatened by the migration of the Helvetians toward the territory of Santones and supported the intervention of Caesar in
58 BC . Though fiercely independent, they collaborated with Caesar, who noted them as one of the more civilized tribes. Nevertheless, 8000 men were sent to aidVercingetorix , the chieftain who led the Gaulish rebellion in52 BC . This act divided the Pictones and the region was location of a later uprising, especially around Lemonum. This was later quelled by legateGaius Caninius Rebilus and finally by Caesar himself.The Pictones benefited from Roman peace, notably through many urban constructions such as aqueducts and temples. A thick wall built in the second century AD encircles the city of Lemonum and is one of the distinguishing architectural forms of Gaulish antiquity. However, the Pictones were not Romanized in depth. Lemonum quickly adopted
Christianity in the first two centuries AD.The region was known for its timber resources and occasionally traded with the Roman province of Transalpine Gaul. Additionally, the Pictones traded with the
British Isles from the harbor of Ratiatum (todayRezé ), serving as an important port between Gaul and Britain.ee also
*
Gaul
*Poitevin (language)
*Roman Republic References
* cite encyclopedia
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