The Picenes occupied, at their greatest extent, the present-day region of Marche in east-central Italy, an area between the Apeninnes and the Adriatic coast. The Picene culture and language were heavily influenced by Latin and Roman culture before they were absorbed into the Roman Republic in the third century b. c.e. The Picenes are said to have taken their name from the word for “woodpecker,” picus, which was their sacred animal and guide for their migration.
Origins
Archaeological excavations suggest the Picenes emerged as a distinct culture around 900 b. c.e.; from then until 700 b. c.e. their material remains diverge substantially from those of the neighboring Villanovans. The diversity of the cultures within the region that was defined as Picenum by the Romans has led some scholars to differentiate a northern and a southern population of Picenes, which seem to have had a linguistic divide. The northern group were possibly a non-Indo-European population, subject to influences from the Etruscans, Illyrians, and Ligurians (some scholars even consider them Illyrian migrants from across the Adriatic); the southern have been identified as descendants of the Italics and are known by the tribal names Adriani, Praetutii, and Palmiensi. Archaeological evidence does little to solve this question. The historians strabo and Pliny of the first centuries b. c.e. and C. E. viewed all the peoples of this region as one.
LANGUAGE
The language of the Picenes is unknown. By 100 B. C.E. it had been entirely obliterated by Roman influence, and even before that time there are records of Latin comedies being played in Asculum (modern Ascoli Picento) to Romans and Picenes together. During the Social War of 90-88 b. c.e. records of items plundered by Romans in Asculum include Greek and Latin books. Fragmentary inscriptions do little to help, suggesting similarities with the language of illyrians, and variously with that of the Umbrians, who spoke an Italic language.
Picenes time line
PICENES
Location:
Picenum; east-central Italy, between Apennines and Adriatic coast; centered around present-day Marche region of Italy
Time period:
C. 900 to 87 B. C.E.
Ancestry:
Unknown, probably Osco-Umbrian (Italic)
Language:
Picenian (affiliations unknown)
B. C.E.
C. 900-700 Picenes develop and differentiate from Villanovan culture.
Seventh-fourth century Flourishing of Picenes in Marche region
Fourth century Picenes enter into conflict with Praetutii.
298 Outbreak of Third Samnite War; Picenes ally themselves with Romans, then revolt.
290 Picenes granted civitas sine suffragio, citizenship without vote.
232 Romans divide Picenum among Latin-speaking settlers.
207 Latinization of region begins in earnest.
100 Picene language disappears completely.
90 Outbreak of Social War in Asculum, principal city of Picenes 87 Picenes granted full citizenship.
From their emergence around 900 b. c.e. until their first encounters with Rome in the third century b. c.e. the Picenes left no clear historical records. It is known that they traded with the Greeks around 700 b. c.e. They seem to have settled along the coast and in river valleys, slowly spreading through the central region until conflict with their southern neighbors and chief rivals, the Praetutii, probably in the fourth century b. c.e. In addition to Asculum, Firnum Picenum (modern Ferno) was a principal town.
During the Third samnite War between the Romans who were attempting to expand their territory and the Samnites and their allies, which began in 298 b. c.e., the Picenes allied themselves with the Romans, while the Praetutii supported the Samnites. In 295 b. c.e. the Samnites and their allies were defeated in a crucial battle at Sentinum and finally crushed in 290 b. c.e. Many of the Picenes resisted the Roman presence until pacified in 268 b. c.e. The Romans forced the relocation of some to the west coast, between Salerno and the Sele River, which later bore the name Ager Picenum. In 232 b. c.e. in an effort to solidify control of the region Rome parceled out the territory of the Picenes to Latinspeaking settlers. The Romanization of the area began in earnest in 207 b. c.e. during the Second Punic War with the Carthaginians.
Throughout the second century b. c.e. the Romans demanded troops and supplies from their allies, such as the Picenes, who had all been granted the status of civitas sine suffragio, that is, citizenship without the right to vote. These demands put a great strain on the socii, or allies, and in 90 b. c.e. the Picenes revolted in Asculum along with the Lucani and many of the other Roman allies and started what is known as the Social War. The Picenes were given the right to vote in 89 b. c.e., and two years later after the war had finally ended the Romans granted full citizenship to all Italians living south of the Po River.
Economy
The inland Picenes bred and herded sheep, while others became seafarers. The seafaring Picenes were both traders and pirates. The Picenes flourished through the amber trade with people of the Balkan Peninsula.
A depiction of Picene boats has been found on a sixth-century b. c.e. funeral stele (stone slab).
The ships were long and low, having a single mast with a square sail and a serpentlike bowsprit with a ram at water level.
The artifacts made by the Picenes were limited primarily to stone and bronze, with ivory and amber for decoration. Their technology remained that of a Bronze Age people through the Iron Age up to the time of their encounters with the Romans. Among the peoples of east-central Italy they were known for their metalwork.
Picene culture manifests continuity with early Villanovan culture, with influxes of art and artifacts from the Etruscans, Illyrians, Umbrians, and other people of the surrounding region from around 900 b. c.e. The Picenes show influences from the Greeks and eastern Mediterranean as well. The diversity of the Picenes is in part due to the independence of their small settlements, based on family or tribal alliances, and their key location in the profitable amber trade between the Balkans and Mediterranean.
Little is known of the Picenes’ religious practices. Their highest deity, called Cupra, was a goddess of fertility
The Picene culture is notable in its diversity with influences from numerous other peoples of the region.
World History
