Camunni

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Rock paintings in Valcamonica : Camunian rose two human figures (one in "Martellina", the other in "Graffiti")

The Camunni formed the ancient Iron Age population in Val Camonica (today's Lombardy ) of the 1st millennium BC. Chr . The Latin name Camunni was ascribed to them by the 1st century authors . They are also known as the "ancient Camuni" to distinguish them from the current inhabitants of the valley, the Camuni . The Camunni have left a large number of rock carvings , their name is associated with the famous rock art in Valcamonica .

The origin of the Camunni is unclear. The Val Camonica is characterized by a millennia-old cultural tradition that goes back at least to the early Neolithic . The Camunni (ancient Greek Καμοῦνοι after Strabon or Καμούννιοι after Cassius Dio ) are used in the classical historiographical sources from the 1st century BC. Mentioned.

Conquered by Rome in the Augustan Alpine campaigns at the beginning of the 1st century AD, the Camunni were gradually integrated into the political and social structures of the Roman Empire. A certain self-government as Res Publica Camunnorum and the Roman citizenship since the second half of the 1st century speak for a quick process of Romanization .

history

The Camunni in the classical sources

The Greek historian Strabo (around 58 BC – 25 AD) claimed that the Camunni were part of the Rhaetian peoples and related to the Leponti , who were counted among the Celts :

"Ἑξῆς δὲ τὰ πρὸς ἕω μέρη τῶν ὀρῶν καὶ τὰ ἐπιστρέφοντα πρὸς νότον Ῥαιτοὶ καὶ Ὀυινδολικοὶ κατέχουσι, συνάπτοντες Ἐλουηττίοις καὶ Βοίοις · ἐπίκεινται γὰρ τοῖς ἐκείνων πεδίοις. Οἱ μὲν οὖν Ῥαιτοὶ μέχρι τῆς Ἰταλίας καθήκουσι τῆς ὑπὲρ Οὐήρωνος καὶ Κώμου. Καὶ ὅ γε Ῥαιτικὸς οἶνος, τῶν ἐν τοῖς Ἰταλικοῖς ἐπαινουμένων οὐκ ἀπολείπεσθαι δοκῶν, ἐν ταῖς τούτων ὑπωρείαις γίνεται · διατείνουσι δὲ καὶ μέχρι τῶν χωρίων, δι 'ὧν ὁ Ῥῆνος φέρεται · τούτου δ' εἰσὶ τοῦ φύλου καὶ Ληπόντιοι καὶ Καμοῦνοι. Οἱ δὲ Ὀυινδολικοὶ καὶ Νωρικοὶ τὴν ἐκτὸς παρώρειαν κατέχοσι τὸ πλέον · μετὰ Βρεύνων κλλαὶ Γεναύνω τν, ἤρτντναύνω ν, ἤτντντνωινω Ἅπαντες δ 'οὗτοι καὶ τῆς Ἰταλίας τὰ γειτονεύοντα μέρη κατέτρεχον ἀεὶ καὶ τῆς Ἐλουητῶαίων κα Σκὶω ρνανεν κὶῶ Σκὶκο. Ἰταμώτατοι δὲ τῶν μὲν Ὀυινδολικῶν ἐξητάζοντο Λικάττιοι καὶ Κλαυτηνάτιοι καὶ Ὀυέννωνες, τῶν δὲ Ῥαιτῶν Ῥουκάντιοι καὶ Κωτουάντιοι. "

- Strabo , Geography IV, 6.8

The Roman historian Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD), referring to the Origines of Cato the Elder (234–139 ​​BC ), spoke of the Camunni as one of several Euganean tribes :

“Verso deinde in Italiam pectore alpium Latini iuris Euganeae gentes, quarum oppida XXXIIII enumerat Cato. ex iis Trumplini, venalis cum agris suis populus, your Camunni conpluresque similes finitimis adtributi municipis ex iis Trumplini, agris venalis cum suis populus, your Camunni conpluresque parables finitimis adtributi municipis ”

- Pliny the Elder , Naturalis Historia, III.133-134.
Cernunnos on rock carvings in the Naquane National Park ( Capo di Ponte )

Contacts with the Etruscans and Celts

Around the fifth century BC The Etruscans , who had already settled large parts of the Po Valley, came into contact with the Alpine peoples.

There are traces of the influence of this culture in the Camunian alphabet, which contains over two hundred entries and is similar to the North Etruscan alphabet , and at the same time in rock paintings . Around the third century BC The Celtic Gauls came from Gaul north of the Alps , settled in the Po Valley and came into contact with the Camunnian population: Figures of the Celtic deity Cernunnos testify to their contact with these Celts .

The Roman Conquest

Northern Italy, according to the "Historical Atlas", the Camunni are in the northwest sector of the Venetia

The Valcamonica was subject to Rome as part of the conquest campaigns by Augustus under the operational direction of his generals Drusus and Tiberius (the later emperor) in the years 16 and 15 BC. Chr.

“Καὶ γὰρ Καμούννιοι καὶ Ὁέννιοι αλπικα γένη, όπλα τε αντηραντο καὶ νικηθέντες aπο Ποιβλιο Σιλίοώ θεχερννησινν.

- Cassius Dio , Historia romana , liv XX

On the Tropaeum Alpium , a victory monument of Augustus, erected in the years 7-6 BC. Near the city of La Turbie , the names of the peoples defeated in the Alpine campaigns can be read, including the Camunni in second place after the neighboring Trumpilini and before the Venostes . It should be a chronological order of the campaigns:

“· GENTES ALPINAE DEVICTAE TRVMPILINI · CAMVNNI · VENOSTES · ...”

- Tropaeum Alpium , La Turbie
Signs from Roman times found in Cividate Camuno , with the terms: QUIR (ina), CAMUNNIS and RE P (ublica) CAMUNNOR (um)

After the submission, the Camunni were initially allowed to maintain their own tribal constitution. The tribal community appears as Res Publica Camunnorum. The members of the Camunni initially received the status of peregrinus , and later Roman citizenship. The administrative city assigned to the Camunni under normal Roman practice was likely Brixia .

The Romanization came from Civitas Camunnorum, a city that was founded by the Romans around 23 BC. Was founded during the reign of Tiberius . From the first century onwards there are numerous testimonies of legionaries, craftsmen and even gladiators of Camunnian origin in different parts of the Roman Empire. Religion too went through the mechanism of interpretatio Romana in order to create an image of faith that was consistent with the syncretism of the Romans.

religion

The Sanctuary of Minerva in Spinera , which is finely decorated with mosaics and found by Breno in 1986, dates from the Roman period .

The region was Christianized in late antiquity . From the 4th to the 5th century old places of worship were destroyed; so the statues of Ossimo and Cemmo were removed and the temple of Minerva burned down.

language

The evidence of the language spoken by the Camunni is scarce and unsatisfactory to decipher. The interpretations have so far concentrated on the development of individual morphemes , for example the ending - au was identified as a presumed marker for the masculine nominative singular, while - au should mark patronymic formations. Among the rock carvings in Val Camonica there are some inscriptions in the Camunnian language, in a northern variant of the Etruscan alphabet . Knowledge of the Camunni is still too uncertain to determine which language family they belonged to; However, it is obvious that they spoke a Celtic language , but possibly also a Rhaetian- North Etruscan language or a hybrid between Celtic and North Etruscan.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Riserva Naturale Incisioni Rupestri di Ceto Cimbergo Paspardo ( Italian ) Retrieved on August 27, 2012.
  2. ↑ Val Camonica as stone carvings. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde , Volume 22, Page 36. Restricted preview in the Google book search
  3. ↑ CIL , 5, 4957
  4. ↑ L'adtributio e la Tabula clesiana su "Le Alpi on line. Storia e archeologia della Alpi" (Università di Trento) ( italian ). Retrieved March 20, 2009.
  5. ↑ Guida turistica a Cividate Camuno - La romanizzazione ( italian ) Retrieved on March 21, 2009.
  6. ↑ a b Serena Solano, Il santuario di Minerva su "Itinera" ( Italian ). Retrieved March 13, 2009.
  7. ^ A. Zavaroni: "Il passaggio dall'alfabeto epicorico all'alfabeto latino in Valcamonica", in: Aevum 79, Fasc. 1 (2005), p. 37.

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literature

Web links

Commons : Camunni  - collection of images, videos and audio files