ThePictones were aGallic tribe dwelling south of theLoire river, in the moderndepartments ofVendée,Deux-Sèvres andVienne, during theIron Age andRoman period.
They are mentioned asPictonibus andPictones byJulius Caesar (mid-1st c. BC),[1]Piktónōn (Πικτόνων) byStrabo (early 1st c. AD),[2]Pictones byPliny the Elder (1st c. AD),[3]Píktones (Πίκτονες;var. πήκτωνες, πήκτονες, πίκτωνες) byPtolemy (2nd c. AD),[4] and asPictonici byAusonius (4th c. AD).[5][6] They were also known asPictavi in an inscription (2nd c. AD), theNotitia Galliarum (4th c. AD) and byAmmianus Marcellinus (4th c. AD).[7][8]
The city ofPoitiers, attested ca. 356 AD asurbis Pictavorum (Pictavis in 400–410,Peitieus[*Pectievs] in 1071–1127), and the region ofPoitou, are named after the Gallic tribe.[9]
The Pictones dwelled south-east of theNamnetes, west of theBituriges Cubi, north-west of theLemovices, and north of theSantones. Initially included inGallia Celtica, their territory was later integrated into the province ofAquitania.[8]
The Pictones minted coins from the end of the 2nd century BC. The tribe was first noted in written sources when encountered byJulius Caesar. Caesar depended on their shipbuilding skills for his fleet on the Loire.[10] Their chief town Lemonum, theCeltic name of modern-dayPoitiers (Poitou),[11] is located on the south bank of the Liger. Ptolemy mentions a second town, Ratiatum (modernRezé).[12]
The political organization of the region was modeled on the royal Celtic system.Duratios was king of the Pictones during the Roman conquest, but his power waned thanks to the poor skill of his generals. However, the Pictones frequently aidedJulius Caesar in naval battles, particularly with the naval victory over theVeneti on theArmorican peninsula.
The Pictones had felt threatened by the migration of theHelvetians toward the territory of theSantones[13] and supported theintervention of Caesar in 58 BC. Though fiercely independent, they and the Santones collaborated with Caesar, especially on the coasts and seas, as late as 55 BC.,[14] who noted them as one of the more civilized tribes. Nevertheless, 8000 men were sent to aidVercingetorix, the chieftain who led the Gaulish rebellion in 52 BC. This act divided the Pictones and the region was the 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 asaqueducts and temples. A thick wall built in the 2nd 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 adoptedChristianity in the first two centuries AD.
The region was known for its timber resources and occasionally traded with the Roman province ofTransalpine Gaul. Additionally, the Pictones traded with theBritish Isles from the harbor of Ratiatum (Rezé), which served as an important port linking Gaul andRoman Britain.
