Cotini

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Territory of the Cotini according to Ptolemy

In Latin Cotini mentioned Kotiner (also gotini and Gothini ; Greek  Κότινοι ( Kótinoi ) or Greek  Κῶγνοι ( Kougnoi )) were an ancient tribe with residences in southeastern Germania magna , which is narrated by several ancient authors. They settled in close proximity to the Osi on the sheath between the Quadisch-Bastarnischen area and the Dacian empire in the northwestern Hungarian mountains. The inscription of Vicinius is the earliest evidence of the Cotini. Cassius Dio then reported in its Roman history again by the Cotini since it during the Marcomanni wars the Emperor Marcus Aurelius promised the military service.

Ancient sources

This tribal name has a few variations. In Tacitus ' Germania and in inscriptions , including above all the Vinicius inscription and CIL 3, 2831 , also CIL 6, 8805 , there is Cotini , the Vinicius inscription has an i longa in the second syllable . The other Tacitus manuscripts begin with G , that is, the Cotini appear there as Gotini . The Roman story of Cassius Dio includes kotinoi . The manuscripts of Ptolemy offer Kougnoi (Koognoi) what Kótinoi or Kótnoi is to be read, but it is very likely a tradition errors.

etymology

Tacitus makes a clear statement about the language of the Cotini: Cotinos Gallica (…) lingua coarguit non esse Germanos. For the common name, too, one will most likely look for an etymology in Celtic . It has not yet been found, but it makes sense to recall the personal names and place names with an element cot- which are common in Gaulish .

On the other hand, Ernst Schwarz wanted to assign the common name to the “Venetian” language , for which research currently speaks of “an otherwise unconfirmed West Indo-European language”. In the Venetian northern Italy, the actual Venetian, Cotini has not yet found any connection. Related linguistic relationships that Cotini connect with the Venetian cannot be reconstructed either from the linguistic remnants of the pre-population, pre-Germanic or pre-Indo-European or a superstrate language or language influences during the migration .

Localization

Ptolemy noted in his Geographike the Cotini as a tribe in the Germania magna. According to Ptolemaios , the Cotini, the Quadi , sat in the southeast of the Germania magna above the sources of the Vistula near the settlements of the Visburgians in an area that Tacitus in Germania ascribed to the Gothini . Tacitus reports on the area of ​​the Cotini "in the back of the marcomanni and quadrupeds". He also reports that the Cotini area is adjacent to those of the Marsigners, Osen and Boers. Ptolemy reports of their area that it was between that of the Sidons and that of the Visburgians. Today researchers generally assume the upper valley of the Gran as their settlement area .

history

The Roman counter-offensive

After the war events of 170 in the first Marcomann War, Emperor Markus Aurelius prepared the Roman counter-offensive. The first battles of the Romans on Germanic territory ended in defeat. Encouraged by this success, Germanic tribes invaded the Danube provinces and northern Italy, the Kostoboks advanced via the provinces of Moesia and Thrace to the province of Achaea .

In the course of 171 the invaders were driven from the provinces. Marcus Aurelius crossed the Danube at Carnuntum and initially subjugated the Quads in Moravia . Towards the end of the year extensive diplomatic negotiations followed in Carnuntum in preparation for the campaign. The Quads committed themselves to neutrality. The Romans tried to persuade Germanic tribes to fight the Marcomanni. The Vandal Asdingen under Rhaus and Rhaptus came to the Roman governor Cornelius Clemens in Dacia, who negotiated with them that they move as Roman allies into the territory of the Kostoboken and subjugate them.

The Cotini, who had hitherto been the vassals of the Quadi who had already been subjugated by the emperor, also sent their envoys to the emperor and offered to go into battle against the enemies of the Romans. Under Publius Taruttienus Paternus , who had to take care of the Latin correspondence for the emperor, they took the field against the Marcomanni. However, they did not keep their promise, but remained very hostile towards their Roman leader and a short time later became apostate again, but afterwards they were completely worn out. Bruno Bleckmann assumes that the so-called Púchov culture is more likely to be attributed to the Cotini than to the Buri - the archaeological culture disappeared completely and the area remained uninhabited for almost two centuries.

Iron smelting

Reconstruction of a racing furnace for iron extraction

Since Tacitus noticed that the Cotini had driven iron mining, the research determined their settlement area at the iron mines on the upper Gran (the old Granua). The iron mines that Ptolemy names south of the Quadi are probably those of the Cotini.

For the Roman Empire, numerous traces of iron metallurgy were found on a small scale in the settlement areas within Germania magna. There are also finds of racing furnaces from this period in the settlements of Bohemia and Moravia . For the simple, widespread iron smelting technology of the Celts and Teutons, hundreds of iron melts with thousands of furnace remains were uncovered. These furnace finds are smelting furnaces with sunken hearths, furnace fields and civil engineering on iron ore (in Rudki). Even large smelting areas with thousands of cinder blocks processing the local turf iron ore were found.

Iron smelting, according to Radomir Pleiner, was primarily a farm business that - although specialized - supplied its products to small groups of consumers. This iron economy must have seemed primitive to the Romans. But the archaeological findings show that there were also ironworks centers in Germania magna that had to supply wider circles beyond the court boundaries. Such ironworks centers as in Góry Šwiętokrzyske and Mazovia differ fundamentally from such areas. The production in these centers was obviously so extensive that significant exports must be expected.

Remarks

  1. There is no doubt that in line 6 after Cotinos the name of the Osos people, who are closely associated with them in Tacitus, should be added. Tacitus reports on both in Germania 43: cf. Anton von Premerstein : An Elogium of M Vinicius Cos 19 BC. In: Annual books of the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Vienna. Volume 7, 1904, p. 228.
  2. ^ Cassius Dio , Roman History 71, 12.
  3. a b Maximilian Ihm : Cotini . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume IV, Stuttgart 1893ff., Sp. 1676.
  4. ^ Tacitus, Germania c. 43 (Manuscripts C, c. Editio Teuberiana Önnerfors p. 28.)
  5. Cf. Anton von Premerstein: An Elogium of M Vinicius Cos 19 BC. In: Annual books of the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Vienna. Volume 7, 1904, p. 228.
  6. Cives Cotini ex provincia M .... on the urban Roman inscription CIL 3, 2831
  7. Alexander Sitzmann, Friedrich E. Grünzweig: Old Germanic ethnonyms. A handbook on its etymology using a bibliography by Robert Nedoma. Published by Hermann Reichert. (= Philologica Germanica , 29) Fassbaender, Vienna 2008, ISBN 978-3-902575-07-4 , p. 105.
  8. ^ Anton von Premerstein: An Elogium of M Vinicius Cos 19 BC. In: Annual books of the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Vienna. Volume 7, 1904, p. 217.
  9. ^ Cassius Dio : Roman History 71, pp. 11-12.
  10. a b c d Ptolemy , Geographike , 2, 11, 10 : Πάλιν ὑπὸ μὲν τοὺς Σέμνονας οἰκοῦσι Σιλίγγαι, ὑπὸ δὲ τοὺς Βουργούντας Αοῦγοι οἱ Ὀμανοὶ, ὑφ οὓς Λοῦγοι οἱ Διδοῦνοι μέχρι τοῦ Ἀσκιβουργίου ὂρους ; ὑπὸ δὲ τοὺς Σιλίγγας Καλούκωνες ἐφ ἑκάτερα τοῦ Ἅλβιος ποταμοῦ , ὑφ οὓς Χαιρουσκοὶ καὶ Καμαυοὶ μέχρι τοῦ Μηλιβόκου ὄρους , ὧν πρὸς ἀνατολὰς περὶ τὸν Ἄλβιν ποταμὸν Βαινοχαῖμαι, ὑπὲρ οὓς Βατεινοὶ, καὶ ἔτι ὑπὲρ τούτουσς ὑπὸ τῷ ἀσκιβουργίῳ ὄπει Κορκοντοὶ καὶ Λοῦγοι οἱ Βοῦποι μέχρι τῆς κεφαλῆς τοῦ Οὐιστούλα ποταμοῦ · ὑπὸ δὲ τούτους πρῶτοι Σίδωνες, εὶτα Κῶγνοι , εὶτα Οὐισβούγόποι ὸπὲσβούγγποι ὑπὲσβοργ.
  11. Maximilian Ihm : Cotini . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume IV, Stuttgart 1893ff., Sp. 1676.
  12. ^ A b c Günter NeumannCotini. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 5, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1984, ISBN 3-11-009635-8 , p. 100. ( books.google.de ).
  13. a b c Tacitus, Germania 43.
  14. See Alfred Holder: Old Celtic vocabulary. Volume 1, 1896, Col. 1142. (Reprinted 1961). Personal names : Cotinius CIL 3, 5625 , Cotus CIL 3, 4366 ; Place name: Cotinacum .
  15. See Ernst Schwarz : Deutsche Namenforschung. Volume 2. 1950, p. 101.
  16. Johann Kaspar Zeuss : The Germans and the neighboring tribes. Munich 1837, p. 123 ( books.google.co.uk ).
  17. a b c Gerhard Langmann : The Markomannenkriege 166/167 to 180 (= Military History Series 43). Österreichischer Bundesverlag, Vienna 1981, ISBN 3-215-04086-7 .
  18. Bruno Bleckmann : The Teutons. From Ariovistus to the Vikings. Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-406-58476-3 , pp. 165-166.
  19. ^ A b Anton von Premerstein: An Elogium of M Vinicius Cos 19 BC. In: Annual books of the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Vienna. Volume 7, 1904, pp. 215-243.
  20. Radomlr Pleiner:  iron smelting. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 7, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1989, ISBN 3-11-011445-3 , pp. 61-66.
  21. ^ Tacitus, Germania 43: cotinin (...) ferrum effodiunt
  22. ^ Above all Eduard Suess : Cf. Anton von Premerstein: An Elogium of M Vinicius Cos 19 BC. In: Annual books of the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Vienna. Volume 7, 1904, p. 228.
  23. a b c Cf. Radomir Pleiner:  Eisenverhüttung. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 7, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1989, ISBN 3-11-011445-3 , pp. 63-64.
  24. Attempts have also been made to attribute the ironworks center to the Cotini.

literature