Carni
Encyclopedia
The Carni were a tribe of the Eastern Alps
in classical antiquity
, settling in the mountains separating Noricum
and Venetia.
They are usually considered a Gaulish tribe, although some associate them with the Venetic
peoples, a group closely related to but probably distinct from the Celts.
Their area of settlement isn't known with precision. Strabo
confines them to the mountains, while Ptolemy
assigns them two cities near the Adriatic coast.
They are likely eponymous of the regions of Carnia
, Carniola
and Carinthia
.
The first historical date related to the arrival of the Carni is 186 BC, when some 50,000 Carni, composed of armed men, women and children, descended towards the plains (in which they previously used to winter) and on a hill they founded a stable defensive settlement, Akileja.
The Romans forced back the Carni to the mountains, they destroyed their settlement and they founded a defensive settlement at the north-east boundaries. The new settlement was named Aquileia
, after the former Celtic name Akileja.
The triumvirs that founded that settlement were Publius Scipio Nasica, Caius Flaminius and Lucius Manlius Acidinus.
In order to stem the Roman expansion and to acquire the fertile and more hospitable plains, the Carni tried to form alliances with the Histri
an, the Giapidi
, and the Taurisci
Celts.
As Rome, in turn, was more and more becoming aware of the impending danger coming from the Carni and as it wanted to accelerate its own expansion, it sent to the north-east the legions of consul Marcus Aemilius Scaurus
, who finally defeated the Carni in the battle of 15 November 115 BC.
The Carni submitted to the Roman Republic
in the 2nd century BC, accepting its commands and its concessions. They received then the permission to populate and colonize the plain between the Julian pre-Alps and the Livenza river they had already tried to occupy previously in conflict with both the Romans and Veneti
.
In the meantime, Aquileia enlarged its importance. It became a Municipium
Romanum in 90 BC. It was an important commercial and hand-craft production centre. Also it was the main port on the Adriatic sea and a garrison settlement.
In Late Antiquity, under the pressure of Germanic
and Slavic peoples, the mountainous area populated by the Latinized Carni shrank gradually narrowing to Carnia
and Friulian plains alone, and accepting migration contributions from Carniola
, Carinthia
and from other areas of the Empire. The phenomenon probably stabilized under the Lombards
' domination of Friuli.
Eastern Alps
Eastern Alps is the name given to the eastern half of the Alps, usually defined as the area east of the Splügen Pass in eastern Switzerland. North of the Splügen Pass, the Posterior Rhine forms the border, and south of the pass, the Liro river and Lake Como form the boundary line.-Geography:The...
in classical antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
, settling in the mountains separating Noricum
Noricum
Noricum, in ancient geography, was a Celtic kingdom stretching over the area of today's Austria and a part of Slovenia. It became a province of the Roman Empire...
and Venetia.
They are usually considered a Gaulish tribe, although some associate them with the Venetic
Adriatic Veneti
The Veneti were an ancient people who inhabited north-eastern Italy, in an area corresponding to the modern-day region of the Veneto....
peoples, a group closely related to but probably distinct from the Celts.
Their area of settlement isn't known with precision. Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
confines them to the mountains, while Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
assigns them two cities near the Adriatic coast.
They are likely eponymous of the regions of Carnia
Carnia
Carnia is a historical-geographic region of Friuli, whose municipalities all belong to the province of Udine, which is part of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region.It covers the western and central part of the mountainous region of the Province of Udine...
, Carniola
Carniola
Carniola was a historical region that comprised parts of what is now Slovenia. As part of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land officially known as the Duchy of Carniola until 1918. In 1849, the region was subdivided into Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola, and Inner Carniola...
and Carinthia
Carinthia
Carinthia may refer to:*Carinthia , a state of the Republic of Austria*Slovenian Carinthia, a traditional region of Slovenia*Koroška statistical region, the statistical region of Slovenia*March of Carinthia, in the Holy Roman Empire...
.
The first historical date related to the arrival of the Carni is 186 BC, when some 50,000 Carni, composed of armed men, women and children, descended towards the plains (in which they previously used to winter) and on a hill they founded a stable defensive settlement, Akileja.
The Romans forced back the Carni to the mountains, they destroyed their settlement and they founded a defensive settlement at the north-east boundaries. The new settlement was named Aquileia
Aquileia
Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in what is now Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about 10 km from the sea, on the river Natiso , the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times...
, after the former Celtic name Akileja.
The triumvirs that founded that settlement were Publius Scipio Nasica, Caius Flaminius and Lucius Manlius Acidinus.
In order to stem the Roman expansion and to acquire the fertile and more hospitable plains, the Carni tried to form alliances with the Histri
Histri
Histri were an ancient tribe, which Strabo refers to as living in Istria, to which they gave the name.The Histri are classified in some sources as a "Venetic" Illyrian tribe, with certain linguistic differences from other Illyrians. The Romans described the Histri as a fierce tribe of pirates,...
an, the Giapidi
Iapydes
The Iapydes were an ancient people who dwelt north of and inland from the Liburnians, off the Adriatic coast and eastwards of the Istrian peninsula...
, and the Taurisci
Taurisci
The Taurisci were a federation of Celtic tribes who dwelt in today's northern Slovenia before the coming of the Romans According to Pliny the Elder, they are the same people known as the Norici...
Celts.
As Rome, in turn, was more and more becoming aware of the impending danger coming from the Carni and as it wanted to accelerate its own expansion, it sent to the north-east the legions of consul Marcus Aemilius Scaurus
Marcus Aemilius Scaurus
Marcus Aemilius Scaurus was a Roman consul in 115 BC and considered one of the most talented and influential politicians of the Republic....
, who finally defeated the Carni in the battle of 15 November 115 BC.
The Carni submitted to the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
in the 2nd century BC, accepting its commands and its concessions. They received then the permission to populate and colonize the plain between the Julian pre-Alps and the Livenza river they had already tried to occupy previously in conflict with both the Romans and Veneti
Adriatic Veneti
The Veneti were an ancient people who inhabited north-eastern Italy, in an area corresponding to the modern-day region of the Veneto....
.
In the meantime, Aquileia enlarged its importance. It became a Municipium
Municipium
Municipium , the prototype of English municipality, was the Latin term for a town or city. Etymologically the municipium was a social contract between municipes, the "duty holders," or citizens of the town. The duties, or munera, were a communal obligation assumed by the municipes in exchange for...
Romanum in 90 BC. It was an important commercial and hand-craft production centre. Also it was the main port on the Adriatic sea and a garrison settlement.
In Late Antiquity, under the pressure of Germanic
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
and Slavic peoples, the mountainous area populated by the Latinized Carni shrank gradually narrowing to Carnia
Carnia
Carnia is a historical-geographic region of Friuli, whose municipalities all belong to the province of Udine, which is part of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region.It covers the western and central part of the mountainous region of the Province of Udine...
and Friulian plains alone, and accepting migration contributions from Carniola
Carniola
Carniola was a historical region that comprised parts of what is now Slovenia. As part of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land officially known as the Duchy of Carniola until 1918. In 1849, the region was subdivided into Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola, and Inner Carniola...
, Carinthia
Carinthia
Carinthia may refer to:*Carinthia , a state of the Republic of Austria*Slovenian Carinthia, a traditional region of Slovenia*Koroška statistical region, the statistical region of Slovenia*March of Carinthia, in the Holy Roman Empire...
and from other areas of the Empire. The phenomenon probably stabilized under the Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
' domination of Friuli.