Alpes Cottiae
Encyclopedia
Roman province
In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, one of three small provinces straddling the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
between modern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Its name survives in the modern Cottian Alps
Cottian Alps
The Cottian Alps are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between France and Italy...
. In antiquity, the province's most important duty was the safeguarding of communications over the Alpine passes. Alpes Cottiae was bordered by Gallia Narbonensis
Gallia Narbonensis
Gallia Narbonensis was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in southern France. It was also known as Gallia Transalpina , which was originally a designation for that part of Gaul lying across the Alps from Italia and it contained a western region known as Septimania...
to the west, Alpes Maritimae
Alpes Maritimae
Alpes Maritimae was a province of the Roman Empire, one of three small provinces straddling the Alps between modern France and Italy...
to the south, Italia
Italia (Roman province)
Italia was the name of the Italian peninsula of the Roman Empire.-Under the Republic and Augustan organization:During the Republic and the first centuries of the empire, Italia was not a province, but rather the territory of the city of Rome, thus having a special status: for example, military...
to the east, and Alpes Graiae to the north. The provincial capital was at Segusio (modern Susa
Susa, Italy
Susa is a city and comune in Piedmont, Italy. It is situated on at the confluence of the Cenischia with the Dora Riparia, a tributary of the Po River, at the foot of the Cottian Alps, 51 km west of Turin.-History:...
in Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
).
The province had its origin in the kingdom controlled by Donnus
Donnus
Donnus was king of the Ligurian tribes inhabiting the mountainous region now known as the Cottian Alps in the middle of the 1st century BC. Although initially an opponent of Julius Caesar during the latter's conquest of Gaul, Donnus later made peace with Caesar...
, ruler of the local Ligurian tribes
Ligures
The Ligures were an ancient people who gave their name to Liguria, a region of north-western Italy.-Classical sources:...
of the area in the middle of the 1st century BC, and was named after his son and successor Cottius
Cottius
Marcus Julius Cottius was king of the Ligurian tribes inhabiting the mountainous region now known as the Cottian Alps early in the 1st century BC He was the son and successor of King Donnus, who had previously opposed but later made peace with Julius Caesar...
, whose realm was integrated into the Roman imperial system under Augustus. Initially, Cottius and his own son of the same name after him continued to hold power as client kings
Client state
Client state is one of several terms used to describe the economic, political and/or military subordination of one state to a more powerful state in international affairs...
; afterwards, under Nero
Nero
Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
a procurator
Promagistrate
A promagistrate is a person who acts in and with the authority and capacity of a magistrate, but without holding a magisterial office. A legal innovation of the Roman Republic, the promagistracy was invented in order to provide Rome with governors of overseas territories instead of having to elect...
was appointed and it officially became a Roman province. The governors of the province were prefect
Prefect
Prefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....
s from the Equestrian order.
Settlements in Alpes Cottiae included:
- Ocelum (AviglianaAviglianaAvigliana is a town and comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, with c. 11,000 inhabitants, located about 25 km west of Turin. Avigliana lies in the Susa valley, on the highway going from Turin to Frejus ....
[or Lesseau?]) - Segusio (SusaSusa, ItalySusa is a city and comune in Piedmont, Italy. It is situated on at the confluence of the Cenischia with the Dora Riparia, a tributary of the Po River, at the foot of the Cottian Alps, 51 km west of Turin.-History:...
) (capital) - Scingomagus (ExillesExillesExilles is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km west of Turin, on the border with France...
) - Caesao (Cesana TorineseCesana TorineseCesana Torinese is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km west of Turin, on the border with France.-External links:*...
)