The Roman empire in the time ofHadrian (ruled 117–138 AD), showing, on the upperDanube river, theimperial province ofRaetia (Switzerland/Tyrol/Germany south of the Danube), with nolegions deployed there in 125.Province of Raetia highlighted.
Little is known of the origin or history of theRaetians, who appear in the records as one of the most powerful and warlike of theAlpine tribes.Livy states distinctly[1][2] that they were ofEtruscan origin (a belief that was favored byNiebuhr andMommsen). A tradition reported byJustin[3] andPliny the Elder[1][4] affirmed that they were a portion of that people who had settled in the plains of thePo and were driven into the mountains by the invadingGauls, when they assumed the name of "Raetians" from aneponymous leader Raetus. Even if their Etruscan origin be accepted, at the time when the land became known to the Romans,Celtic tribes were already in possession of much of it and had amalgamated so completely with the original inhabitants that, generally speaking, the Raetians of later times may be regarded as a Celtic people, although non-Celtic tribes (es.Euganei) were settled among them.[1]
The Raetians are first mentioned (but only incidentally) byPolybius,[1][5] and little is heard of them till after the end of theRepublic. There is little doubt, however, that they retained their independence until their subjugation in 15 BC byTiberius andDrusus.[1][6]
At first Raetia formed a distinct province, but towards the end of the 1st century AD Vindelicia was added to it; hence,Tacitus (Germania, 41) could speak ofAugusta Vindelicorum (Augsburg) as "acolony of the province of Raetia". The whole province (including Vindelicia) was at first under a militaryprefect, then under aprocurator; it had no standing army quartered in it but relied on its own native troops andmilitia for protection until the 2nd century AD.[1]
During the reign ofMarcus Aurelius, Raetia was governed by the commander of theLegio IIIItalica, which was based in Castra Regina (Regensburg) by 179 AD. UnderDiocletian, Raetia formed part of thediocese of thevicarius Italiae, and was subdivided intoRaetia prima, with apraeses at Curia Raetorum (Chur) andRaetia secunda, with apraeses at Augusta Vindelicorum (Augsburg), the former corresponding to the old Raetia, the latter to Vindelicia. The boundary between them is not clearly defined, but may be stated generally as a line drawn eastwards from thelacus Brigantinus (Lake Constance) to theOenus (River Inn).[1]
During the last years of theWestern Roman Empire, the land was in a desolate condition, but its occupation by theOstrogoths in the time ofTheodoric the Great, who placed it under adux, to some extent revived its prosperity.[1] Much ofRaetia prima remained as a separate political unit,Raetia Curiensis, for several centuries, until it was attached to theDuchy of Swabia in AD 917.
The land was very mountainous, and the inhabitants, when not engaged in predatory expeditions, chiefly supported themselves by breeding cattle and cutting timber, little attention being paid to agriculture. Some of the valleys, however, were rich and fertile, and produced wine, which was considered equal to any inItalia.Augustus preferred Raetian wine to any other. Considerable trade inpitch,honey,wax, andcheese occurred.[1]
The chief towns of Raetia (excluding Vindelicia) were Tridentum (Trento) and Curia (Coire orChur). It was traversed by two great lines of Roman roads: theVia Claudia Augusta leading fromVerona and Tridentum across theReschen Pass to theFern Pass and thence to Augusta Vindelicorum (Augsburg),[7][1] the other from Brigantium (Bregenz) on Lake Constance by Chur andChiavenna toComo andMilan.[1]
TheRätikon mountain range derives its name from Raetia.
Bagnall, R.; J. Drinkwater; A. Esmonde-Cleary; W. Harris; R. Knapp; S. Mitchell; S. Parker; C. Wells; J. Wilkes; R. Talbert; M. E. Downs; M. Joann McDaniel; B. Z. Lund; T. Elliott; S. Gillies (18 January 2018)."Places: 991348 (Raetia)". Pleiades. RetrievedMarch 8, 2012.
A. Baruffi,Spirit of Rhaetia: The Call of the Holy Mountains (LiteraryJoint, Philadelphia, 2020),ISBN978-1-716-30027-1
Julius Jung,Römer und Romanen in den Donauländern (Innsbruck, 1877)
Joachim Marquardt,Römische Staatsverwaltung, 1. (2nd ed., 1881) p. 288
Mommsen, T. inCorpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, iii. p. 706
Mommsen, T.The Roman Provinces (English translation, 1886), i. pp. 16, 161, 196
Smith, William.Smith'sDictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1873)
Peaks, Mary B.The General Civil and Military Administration of Noricum and Raetia (Chicago, 1907).
Ludwig Steub,Ueber die Urbewohner Rätiens und ihren Zusammenhang mit den Etruskern (Munich, 1843)
As found in theNotitia Dignitatum. Provincial administration reformed anddioceses established byDiocletian,c. 293. Permanentpraetorian prefectures established after the death ofConstantine I. Empire permanently partitioned after 395. Exarchates ofRavenna andAfrica established after 584. After massive territorial losses in the 7th century, the remaining provinces were superseded by thetheme system in c. 640–660, although inAsia Minor and parts of Greece they survived under the themes until the early 9th century.
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