View source for Noricum

{{Short description|Polity in modern Austria}}
{{other uses}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2013}}
{{Infobox former subdivision
|native_name            = {{big|{{aut|Provincia Noricum}}}}
|conventional_long_name = Province of Noricum
|common_name            = Noricum
|subdivision            = [[Roman province|Province]]
|nation                 = the [[Roman Empire]]
|capital                = [[Virunum]]
|year_start             = 16 BC&nbsp;
|year_end               = &nbsp;476
|event_start            = Incorporated into the province
|event_end              = [[Odoacer]]'s conquest and incorporated with his [[Odoacer#Duke of Italy|Italian Realm]]
|event1                 = Divided to Noricum Ripense and Noricum Mediterraneum
|date_event1            = {{circa|296}}
|era                    = [[Ancient history|Antiquity]]
|image_map              = Roman Empire - Noricum (125 AD).svg
|image_map_caption      = The province of Noricum in 125, in the reign of emperor [[Hadrian]].
<!-- Flag navigation: Preceding and succeeding entities "p1" to "p5" and "s1" to "s8" -->
|p1                     = Regnum Noricum{{!}}Kingdom of Noricum
|s1                     = Noricum Ripense
|flag_s1                = Vexilloid of the Roman Empire.svg
|s2                     = Noricum Mediterraneum
|flag_s2                = Vexilloid of the Roman Empire.svg
|s3                     = Odoacer#King of Italy{{!}}Kingdom of Italy
}}
[[File:Noricum SPQR.png|thumb|300px|Roman province of Noricum highlighted]]
{{History of Austria}}
{{History of Slovenia}}

'''Noricum''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|ɒr|ɪ|k|ə|m}}) is the [[Latin]] name for the  kingdom or federation of tribes<ref>{{Cite journal|author=Mackensen, Michael |year=1975 |title=The state of research on the 'Norican' silver coinage |journal=World Archaeology |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=249–275 |jstor=124094|doi=10.1080/00438243.1975.9979607}}</ref> that included most of modern [[Austria]] and part of [[Slovenia]]. In the first century AD, it became a [[Roman province|province]] of the [[Roman Empire]]. Its borders were the [[Danube]] to the north, [[Raetia]] and [[Vindelici]] to the west, [[Pannonia]] to the east and south-east, and [[Roman Italy|Italia]] ([[Venetia et Histria]]) to the south. The kingdom was founded around 400 BC, and had its capital at the royal residence at [[Virunum]] on the [[Magdalensberg]].<ref>{{Cite book |author=Heather |first=Peter |title=The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History |publisher=Macmillan |year=2010 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=_Jntu21N9K0C&pg=PA407 407] |authorlink=Peter Heather}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author=Cunliffe |first=Barry |title=The Ancient Celts |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-19-815010-7 |location=Oxford, England |page=218 |authorlink=Barry Cunliffe}}</ref>

==Area and population==
Around 800 BC, the region was inhabited mostly by the people of the  [[Hallstatt culture]]. Around 450 BC, they merged with the people of other areas in the south-western regions of Germany and [[La Tène culture|eastern France]].

The country is mountainous and rich in iron and salt. It supplied material for the manufacturing of arms in Pannonia, [[Moesia]], and northern Italy. The famous [[Noric steel]] was largely used in the making of Roman weapons (e.g. [[Horace]], ''Odes'', i.16.9–10: ''Noricus ensis'', "a Noric sword"). Gold<ref>From a statement of Polybius, in his own time in consequence of the great output of gold from a mine in Noricum, gold lost one-third of its value. {{Cite book|author=Ridgeway, William |year=1892 |title=The Origin of Metallic Currency and Weight Standards |location=Oxford, England |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.70243/page/n153 139]|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.70243}}</ref> and salt{{Citation needed|date=August 2013}} were found in considerable quantities. The plant called saliunca (the wild [[Nard (plant)|nard]], a relative of the lavender) grew in abundance and was used as a [[perfume]] according to [[Pliny the Elder]].<ref>''[[Pliny's Natural History|Naturalis Historia]]'' xxi. 20.43)</ref>

The inhabitants developed a culture rich in art, salt mining, cattle breeding, and agriculture. When part of the area became a [[Roman province]], the Romans introduced water management and the already important trade relations between the people north and south of the Alps increased.

Archaeological research, particularly in the cemeteries of [[Hallstatt]], has shown that a vigorous civilization was in the area centuries before recorded history. The graves contained weapons and ornaments from the [[Bronze Age]], through the period of transition, up to the Hallstatt culture, i.e., the fully developed older period of the [[Iron Age]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2013}}

==Language==
The [[Noric language]] is attested in only fragmentary inscriptions, one from [[Ptuj]]<ref name="Eichner">{{Cite journal |author1=Eichner, Heiner |author2=Istenič, Janka |author3=Lovenjak, Milan |name-list-style=amp |year=1994 |title=Ein römerzeitlisches Keramikgefäs au Ptuj (Pettau, Poetovio) in Slowien mit Inschrift in unbekanntem Alphabet und epichorischer (vermutlich keltischer) Sprache |language=de |journal=Arheološki Vestnik |volume=45 |pages=131–142 |url=http://av.zrc-sazu.si/pdf/45/AV_45_1994_Eichner_et_al.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222143217/http://av.zrc-sazu.si/pdf/45/AV_45_1994_Eichner_et_al.pdf |archive-date=22 December 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Vase de Ptuj |work=Encyclopédie de l'arbre celtique |url=http://www.arbre-celtique.com/encyclopedie/vase-de-ptuj-4454.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080629223229/http://www.arbre-celtique.com/encyclopedie/vase-de-ptuj-4454.htm |archive-date=29 June 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> and two from [[Grafenstein]],<ref name="Eska">{{Cite book|chapter=Continental Celtic |author1=Eska, Joseph F. |author2=Evans, D. Ellis |name-list-style=amp |editor=Ball, Martin J. |editor2=Müller, Nicole |year=2009 |title=The Celtic languages |edition=second |location=London |publisher=Routledge |page=42 |isbn=978-0-415-42279-6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Tuile de Grafenstein |work=Encyclopédie de l'arbre celtique |url=http://www.arbre-celtique.com/encyclopedie/tuile-de-grafenstein-4455.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080629223213/http://www.arbre-celtique.com/encyclopedie/tuile-de-grafenstein-4455.htm |archive-date=29 June 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> neither of which provide enough information for any conclusions about the nature of the language.<ref name="Eichner"/><ref name="Eska"/>

==History==
===Steel for Roman weaponry===
[[File:Noricum Kugelreiter type 88000571.jpg|thumb|Coin of Noricum, mid-2nd century BC]]

The kingdom of Noricum was a major provider of weaponry for the [[Roman army]] from the [[Roman army of the mid-Republic|mid-Republic]] onwards. [[Gladius|Roman swords]] were made of the best-quality steel then available from this region, the ''[[Noric steel|chalybs Noricus]]''. The strength of steel is determined by its composition and heat treatment. The [[wrought iron]] produced in the [[Greco-Roman world]] was too soft for tools and weapons. Ore from Noricum, by contrast, could yield a superior product. The ore needed to be rich in [[manganese]] (an element which remains essential in modern steelmaking processes), and contain little or no [[phosphorus]], which weakens steel.<ref name="Buchwald 2005 124">Buchwald (2005) 124</ref> The ore mined in [[Carinthia]] (S. Noricum) fulfilled both criteria particularly well.<ref>Buchwald (2005) 115</ref> The Noricum discovered their ore made superior steel around 500 BC and built a major steel industry.<ref>Healy (1978) 236</ref>

At [[Magdalensberg]], a major production and trading centre, specialised blacksmiths crafted metal products and weapons. The finished arms were exported to [[Aquileia]], a Roman colony founded in 180 BC.

From 200 BC, the Noricum tribes gradually united into a kingdom, known as the [[Regnum Noricum]], with its capital at a place called [[Noreia]]. Noricum became a key ally of the Roman Republic, providing high-quality weapons and tools in exchange for military protection. This was demonstrated in 113 BC, when [[Teutones]] invaded Noricum. In response, the Roman consul [[Gnaeus Papirius Carbo (consul 113 BC)|Gnaeus Papirius Carbo]] led an army over the Alps to attack the tribes at the [[Battle of Noreia|Noreia]].

===Roman rule===
Noricum was incorporated into the Roman Empire in 16 BC. For a long time previously, the Noricans had enjoyed independence under [[prince]]s of their own and carried on commerce with the Romans. In 48 BC they took the side of [[Julius Caesar]] in the civil war against [[Pompey]]. In 16 BC, having joined with the Pannonians in invading [[Istria|Histria]], they were defeated by [[Publius Silius Nerva]], proconsul of [[Illyricum (Roman province)|Illyricum]].{{citation needed|date=August 2013}} Thereafter, Noricum became a Roman province. It was not until the reign of [[Antoninus Pius]] that the [[Legio II Italica|Second Legion, ''Pia'']] (later renamed ''Italica'') was stationed in Noricum, and the commander of the legion became the governor of the province.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}}

Under [[Diocletian]] (245–313), Noricum was divided into ''Noricum ripense'' ("Noricum along the river", the northern part southward from the [[Danube]]), and ''Noricum mediterraneum'' ("landlocked Noricum", the southern, more mountainous district). The dividing line ran along the central part of the eastern Alps.<ref>"The province of Noricum Ripense extended along the right or southern bank of the Danube, between the river and the Noric Alps, and was bounded on one side by [[Raetia|Raetia Secunda]] and the [[Inn (river)|river Inn]] (Aenus) and on the other by the confines of [[Pannonia Superior]]—the district included in the modern province of Carinthia in Austria. Noricum Mediterraneum lay directly to the south, beyond the Noric Alps." {{Cite journal |author=Mierow, Charles C. |authorlink=Charles Christopher Mierow |year=1915 |title=Eugippius and the Closing Years of the Province of Noricum Ripense |url=https://archive.org/details/jstor-261764 |journal=Classical Philology |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=166–187 |doi=10.1086/359963 |jstor=261764 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Each division was under a [[praeses]], and both belonged to the [[diocese of Pannonia|diocese of Illyricum]] in the [[Praetorian prefecture of Italy]]. It was in this time (304 AD) that a Christian serving as a military officer in the province suffered martyrdom for the sake of his faith, later canonised as [[Saint Florian]].<ref>{{Cite book|author=Stülz, Jodok |authorlink=:de:Jodocus Stülz |year=1835 |title=Geschichte des regulirten Chorherrn-Stiftes St. Florian: ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des Landes Österreich ob der Enns |language=de |location=Linz |publisher=Haslinger |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=CrMDAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA2 2–3]}}</ref>

The Roman colonies and chief towns were ''[[Virunum]]'' (near [[Maria Saal]] to the north of [[Klagenfurt]]), ''[[Teurnia]]'' (near [[Spittal an der Drau]]), ''[[Flavia Solva]]'' (near [[Leibnitz]]), ''Celeia'' ([[Celje]]) in today's Slovenia, ''Juvavum'' ([[Salzburg]]), ''Ovilava'' ([[Wels]]), ''Lauriacum'' ([[Enns (town)#Geography|Lorch]] at the mouth of the [[Enns (river)|Enns]], the ancient ''[[Latin names of European rivers|Anisus]]'').

Knowledge of Roman Noricum has been decisively expanded by the work of [[Richard Knabl]], an Austrian [[Epigraphy|epigrapher]] of the 19th century.

The transition from Roman to barbarian rule in Noricum is well documented in [[Eugippius]]' ''Life of [[Severinus of Noricum|Saint Severinus]]'', providing material for analogies for this process in other regions where primary sources from the period are lacking.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Heather |first=Peter |title=The Fall of the Roman Empire |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0195159547 |location=Oxford |authorlink=Peter Heather}}</ref>

==In modern politics==
In 1919, [[Heinrich Lammasch]], the last prime minister of Imperial Austria, proposed to give the young republic the name of ''Norische Republik'' or ''Noric Republic'',<ref>Anna Maria Drabek, ''Der Österreichbegriff und sein Wandel im Lauf der Geschichte'', in: Marktgemeinde Neuhofen/Ybbs (ed.): ''Ostarrichi Gedenkstätte Neuhofen/Ybbs'', no date (1980), pp. 32–41.</ref> because the ancient borders were similar to those of the new state, which—at the time—did not wish to be considered the heir of the Habsburg monarchy, but an independent, neutral and peaceful state.<ref>[http://www.austria-lexikon.at/af/AEIOU/Lammasch%2C_Heinrich Dieter Köberl, ''Zum Wohle Österreichs. Vor 90 Jahren starb Heinrich Lammasch''], in: ''Die Furche'', 18 February 2010.</ref>

== Episcopal sees ==
Episcopal sees of Noricum that are now listed in the ''[[Annuario Pontificio]]'' as [[titular see]]s include:<ref>''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 {{ISBN|978-88-209-9070-1}}), "Sedi titolari", pp. 819–1013.</ref>

* [[Aguntum]]
* [[Virunum]]

== See also ==
* [[List of Roman governors of Noricum]]
* [[Varisci]]

== Citations ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== General and cited references ==
* [[Géza Alföldy|Alföldy, Géza]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=lL89AAAAIAAJ ''Noricum'']. Routledge & K. Paul, 1974.
* Fischer, Thomas. ''Noricum''. Mainz: Zabern, {{ISBN|3-8053-2829-X}}.
* Healy, John F., [https://books.google.com/books/about/Mining_and_Metallurgy_in_the_Greek_and_R.html?id=70R2QgAACAAJ Mining and Metallurgy in the Greek and Roman World], Thames and Hudson, 1978.
* Strobel, Karl (2012): "Das Regnum Noricum, die sogenannte Norische Münzprägung und Rom: Frühe Kontakte als Vorspiel von Annexion und Romanisierung – Fiktion oder Realität? Mit einem Appendix zur Noreia-Frage" in "Archaeologia Austriaca" Vol. 96. pp. 11–34
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Noricum|volume=19|page=748}}

==External links==
{{Commonscat}}
* [http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.n/n840136.htm Noricum] (in German)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071009113141/http://www.wagna.at/flaviasolva/sites/flavia2.html Noricum, its cities and traffic routes in the 2nd century]

{{Roman provinces AD 117}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Noricum| ]]
[[Category:Ancient history of Austria]]
[[Category:Ancient history of Slovenia]]
[[Category:Austria in the Roman era]]
[[Category:Historical Celtic peoples]]
[[Category:Illyricum (Roman province)]]
[[Category:Provinces of the Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Slovenia in the Roman era]]