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TheCenomani (Greek:Κενομάνοι,Strabo,Ptol.;Γονομάνοι,Polyb.), was an ancient tribe of theCisalpine Gauls, who occupied the tract north of the Padus (modernPo River), between theInsubres on the west and theVeneti on the east. Their territory appears to have extended from the riverAddua (or perhaps the Ollius, the modernOglio) to the Athesis (modernAdige).
Whether these Cenomani are the same people as theCenomani in Gallia Celtica encountered byJulius Caesar is a subject of debate (seeCenomani).
BothPolybius andLivy expressly mention them among the tribes of Gauls which had crossed the Alps within historical memory, and had expelled theEtruscans from the territory in which they established themselves and subsequently continued to occupy. (Pol. ii. 17; Liv. v. 35.)
Livy writes that about 400 BC, under the leadership ofElitovius (Livy V.35), a large number of the Cenomani crossed intoItaly, drove the Etruscans southwards, and occupied their territory.
The route taken by them may be indicated byCato's statement (inPlinyNat. Hist. III.130), that some of them settled nearMassilia in the territory of theVolcae.
It is remarkable that they are almost uniformly described in historical documents as being friendly to theRomans, and as refusing to take part with their kindred tribes against Rome. During the great Gaulish war in 225 BC, when theBoii and Insubres took up arms against Rome, the Cenomani and their neighbours, the Veneti, concluded an alliance with theRoman Republic, and the two nations together furnished a force of 20,000 men, with which they threatened the frontier of the Insubres. (Pol. ii. 23, 24, 32; Strab. v. p. 216.)
Even whenHannibal invaded Cisalpine Gaul, they continued to be faithful to the Romans, and even furnished them with a body of auxiliaries, who fought with them at theBattle of the Trebia. (Liv. xxi. 55.) After theSecond Punic War, however, they took part in the revolt of the Gauls underHamilcar (200 BC), and a few years later joined their arms with those of the Insubres, but even then the defection seems to have been only partial: after their defeat by the consulGaius Cornelius Cethegus (197 BC), they quickly submitted to them and continued to be faithful allies of the Romans. (Liv. xxxi. 10, xxxii. 30, xxxix. 3.)
After this time they disappear from the historical record, having gradually merged into the mass of Roman subjects; in 49 BC, along with the rest of the Transpadane Gauls, they acquired the full rights of Roman citizens. (Dion Cass. xli. 36.)
The limits of the territory occupied by them are not clearly defined. Strabo omits all mention of them in the geographical description of Gallia Cisalpina, and assigns their cities to the Insubres. Livy describes Brixia (modernBrescia) andVerona as the chief cities in their territory.
Pliny assignsCremona and Brixia to them, but Ptolemy attributes a much wider extent to them, writing that their territory comprised not only Bergamum (modernBergamo) andMantua, but alsoTridentum, which was certainly aRhaetian city. (Strab. v. p. 213; Liv. v. 35; Plin. iii. 19. s. 23; Ptol. iii. 1. § 31.)
Polybius, in one passage (ii. 32), appears to describe the river Clusius (modernChiese) as separating them from the Insubres, but this is probably a mistake. The boundaries attributed to them above (the Addua on the west, the Athesis on the east, and the Padus on the south) may be regarded as approximately correct.
The Alpine tribes of theCamunni and theTriumpilini, which bordered them to their north, are described by Pliny as consisting of members of theEuganean race, and therefore not connected nationally with the Cenomani—-though in his time they were at a minimum united with them for administrative purposes.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854). "Cenomani".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. Vol. 1. London: John Murray. p. 584–585.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cenomani".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 661.