TheVocontii (Gaulish: *Uocontioi;Greek: Οὐοκόντιοι, Οὐοκοντίων) were aGallic people dwelling on the western foothills of the Alps during theIron Age and theRoman period.
The Vocontii settled in the region in the 3rd century BC at the latest.Pompeius Trogus, aGallo-Romanhistorian and citizen ofVasio during the 1st century BC, was a member of the Vocontii.[1] During the Roman period, they were probably at the head of a confederation that included theSogiontii,Avantici,Sebaginni andVertamocorii.[2][3]
They are mentioned asVocontii (in the genitive pluralVocontiorum) byCaesar (mid-1st c. BC),Livy (late 1st c. BC),Pliny (1st c. AD) andPomponius Mela (mid-1st c. AD),[4] asOuokóntioi (Οὐοκόντιοι, gen. pl.Ouokontíōn [Οὐοκοντίων]) byStrabo (early 1st c. AD),[5]Ou̓okóntioi (Οὐοκόντιοι) byPtolemy (2nd c. AD),[6] and asBocontii on theTabula Peutingeriana.[7][8]
TheethnonymVocontiī is a latinized form ofGaulish *Uocontioi. It is generally understood to mean 'twenty' (cf. Gaul.tricontis 'thirty'), that is to say the 'twenty clans' or 'twenty tribes', or alternatively 'the two hundred' (cf. Gaul.conto- 'one hundred'), after a Gallic custom of including numbers in tribal names (e.g.Vo-corii,Tri-corii,Petru-corii,Suess-iones).[9][10]
The territory of the Vocontii was bordered in the north by theIsère river, in the west by the valley of theRhône river, in the south by theMont Ventoux and the lower reaches of theDurance river, and in the east by the upper reaches of the Durance.[11][1] They lived south of theAllobroges, east of theSegovellauni and theCavares, and north of theSalluvii.[11][1]
During the Roman period, the Vocontii became acivitas foederata and had two capitals: Vasio (Vaison-la-Romaine) and Lucus Augusti (Luc-en-Diois), both benefiting from aius Latii.[1]
The Roman town of Noviomagus was probablyNyons. This town and Vasio (Vaison-la-Romaine) were not on the mountains. They were at the foot of the first prealpine ridges, at the edge of the plain of the Rhône (the Dentelles de Montmirail were just to the south of Vasio; the Éssaillon, Garde-Grosse, Saint Jaumes and Vaux formed a half crescent by Noviomagus).[citation needed]
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During the 4th century BCE, the Celtic Vocontii became settled there, with anoppidum south of modernVaison;[12] this seems to have been used to control trade between theRhône andDurance rivers (Meffre).
The earliest historical mention of the Vocontii is from 218 BCE during the crossing of the Alps byHannibal, as recounted inLivy:
The Vocontii were defeated byMarcus Fulvius Flaccus, aRoman consul, in 125 BCE and byGaius Sextius Calvinus, a Romanproconsul, in 123 BCE during military campaigns against theLigurians andSalluvii who lived to their south.[14][15] In 121 BCQuintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus andGnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus defeated theAllobroges, who lived to the north of the Vocontii, and theAverni, who lived to the west of the River Rhône.[16][17][18] In 118 BC Gnaeus Domitius founded aRoman colony atNarbo, nearHispania.[19] Southern Gaul came under Roman control and was known asGallia Transalpina. Over time it came to be organised as a province of the Roman Empire.[20] With the reorganisation of the provinces of the Roman Empire under Augustus, Gallia Transalpina was renamedGallia Narbonensis. It was named after Narbo, which became its capital.
Pliny the Elder, who wrote in the 70s AD, referred to the Vocontii as allies.[21] This means that they were not turned into Roman subjects. They remained autonomous. They were allowed to continue to observe their own laws and did not have to pay a tribute. However, they had to supplyauxiliary soldiers to Rome. The date of the grant of an alliance treaty (foedus) is unknown. Goudineau had speculated that it may have been made by Gaius Pomptinus after he suppressed the last rebellion of the Allobroges in 61 BCE when he was the governor of Gallia Transalpina[22] However, this is not certain. Pliny also named the town of Vasio in his record of people and places which hadLatin rights.
When Marcus Fonteius, was governor of Gallia Transalpina, either in 76-74 or 74-72 BC, he was attacked by the Vocontii. He defeated them.[23]Cicero did not say why they rebelled. Presumably this was connected to the heavy indebtedness with was incurred by the Gauls in the region which was due to taxes which were levied by Fonteius to raise money for the Roman troops which were fighting in theSertorian War (80-72 BCE) inHispania. Pompey, one of the commanders in that war, had crossed Gaul to go to Hispania and subdued some (unspecified) rebellious tribes there. Pompey used Gallia Transalpina, which was on the road to Hispania and, therefore, his line of communications, as a base for his operations in the Iberian Peninsula. He wintered in Gaul in 75/74 BCE. Fonteius also raised corn for the Roman troops and a Gallic cavalry to support them.[24][25]
The Vocontii were mentioned by Julius Caesar (note that Further Province and Hither Province stand for Gallia Transalpina andGallia Cisalpina; the latter was in northern Italy) :
Caesar was marching fromItaly to the vicinity ofLake Geneva to confront theHelvetii.
The historianPompeius Trogus was a Vocontian. His grandfather served in the army ofPompey inHispania during theSertorian War .[27]
The Vocontii are later mentioned byTacitus (Histories, in relation to the Revolt of Vitellius, which took place in69 CE:
The administrative reforms of Diocletian (reigned 284-305) abolished the old provinces and created new, smaller ones. The number of provinces was doubled. The Roman towns built on the site of or near Vocontian settlements close to the Rhône, Vasio and Noviomagus, and those on the RiverDrôme, Dia Augusta and Lucius Augustii, came under theProvincia Viennensis. Segusturo, and the area in theAlpes-de-Haute-Provence department came under theProvincia Narbonensis II
Rivet gives an account of the archaeological finds in Roman towns in Vocontian territory.[29]
Dea Auguta and Lucus Augustii were in the north, on the RiverDrôme. Vasio and Noviomagus were on the southwestern edge of Vocontian territory. Segusturo was in the southeast, on the RiverDurance.
One finds a praetor and a senate leading the city of Vaison, assisted by praefecti sent to the surrounding districts (pagi), which were advised by local assemblies (vigintiviri). Public municipal officials and slaves supplemented this administrative system.[30]
After the 1st century AD, the Vocontii went though an intense process of Romanization and began to honour their nativeGaulish deities (Albarinus,Andarta,Belisama,Alaunius, Baginus,Vasio, Allobrox, Dullovius, Vintur, Alambrima,Bormanus) along with Graeco-Roman (Minerva,Mercurius,Vulcanus,Luna,Victoria,Jupiter,Fortuna,Apollo,Neptunus,Silvanus,Cybele), Eastern Mediterranean (Isis) or Gallo-Roman ones, such as MarsRudianus or Mars Belado. The nativeMatrebo ('Mothers') were latinized asMatrae orMatres.[31] From the 2nd century AD onward, the cult of Mercurus lost its importance within the religion of the Vocontii, contrary to Mars who grew in popularity. Jupiter was worshipped as a wheel-god, depicted asimperator and associated with an eagle and a snake. Dedications to Silvanus were also widespread during this period. By the 3rd century, the number of deities had considerably declined and the pantheon was mostly Romanized, with Mars, syncretized with native gods, being the most popular deity.[32]
From the early 1st century until the late 4th century AD, a solar cult was held near theoppidum of Le Chastellard de Lardiers, at the border between Vocontian andAlbician territories. A sky-god appears to have been worshipped at the Chastellard's temple.[33] At the temple of Lachau, situated 20km north ofLardiers, a sanctuary existed from the late 1st century BC until the 4th century AD. Weapons and miniature reproductions of farming tools like billhooks, sickles and swing ploughs were found at the site, suggesting that a deity-protector of farming was worshipped there.[33]
A 500-strong auxiliary cavalry unit, theAla Augusta Vocontiorum civium Romanorum, was raised among the Vocontii. The troopers were Roman citizens. From 122, after service in Germania Inferior, it served atTrimontium, a mixed cavalry and infantry fort nearNewstead, Scottish Borders. The unit is known by an inscription, (RIB 2121):
(To the sacred Goddesses of the Parade-Ground, Aelius Marcius, decurion¹ of the Vocontian Wing, willingly, gladly and deservedly fulfilled his vow.)
This is also attested in two military diplomas, dated 122 and 126; the former fromBrigetio inPannonia (CIL XVI, 65) and the latter fromBritannia (AE 1997.1779a).
