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{{Short description|Historical region of Italy; territory of the Roman Republic/Empire}}
{{About|the ancient region of Italy|the modern province of Italy|Piceno (disambiguation){{!}}Piceno}}
[[Image:Iron Age Italy.svg|thumb|300px|Ethnolinguistic map of Italy in the [[Iron Age]], before the [[Roman conquest of Italy|Roman expansion and conquest of Italy]]]]
[[File:Ancient Picenum.png|thumb|285px|right|Augustus' Regio V – Picenum, from the 1911 ''Atlas'' of [[William R. Shepherd]].]]

'''Picenum''' was a [[region]] of ancient [[Roman Italy| Italy]]. The name was assigned by the Romans, who conquered and incorporated it into the [[Roman Republic]]. Picenum became ''Regio V'' in the [[Augustus|Augustan]] territorial organisation of [[Roman Italy]]. It is now in [[Marche]] and the northern part of [[Abruzzo]].

The '''Piceni''' or '''[[Picentes]]''' were the native population of Picenum, but they were not of uniform ethnicity. They maintained a sanctuary to the [[Sabine]] goddess [[Cupra (goddess)|Cupra]] in [[Cupra Marittima]].

Picenum was also the birthplace of such Roman notables as [[Pompey the Great]] and his father, [[Pompeius Strabo]].

==Historical geography==
Picenum and the Picentes were described in some detail by the Roman geographers:{{who?|date=June 2023}}

===Strabo===
Strabo places Picenum between the [[Apennines]] and the [[Adriatic Sea]] from the mouth of the [[Esino|Aesis River]] southward to Castrum at the mouth of the [[Tronto|Truentinus River]], some 800 [[Stadion (unit of length)|stadia]], which is {{convert|148|km|mi|abbr=on}} using 185 m/stadion. For coastal cities he includes from north to south [[Ancona]], Auxumum, [[Septempeda]] ([[San Severino Marche]]), Pneuentia, [[Potentia (ancient city)|Potentia]], [[Fermo|Firmum Picenum]] with port at Castellum (Porto di [[Fermo]]), Cupra Maritima ([[Cupra Marittima]] and [[Grottammare]]), Truentum on the Truentinus ([[Tronto]]) and finally Castrum Novum and Matrinum on the Matrinus ([[Piomba]]), south of [[Silvi, Abruzzo|Silvi]] in [[Abruzzo]]. Strabo also mentions Adria ([[Atri, Italy]]) and Asculum Picenum ([[Ascoli Piceno]]) in the interior. The width of Picenum inland varies irregularly, he says.<ref>{{harvnb|Strabo|loc=Book 5, Chapter 4, Sections 1–2}}.</ref>

==History==

Picenum was first settled at the beginning of the Iron Age (1200{{nbsp}}BC).<ref>Vermeulen, F.: "The contribution of aerial photography and field survey to the study of urbanization in the Potenza valley.", pp. 57–82. L'Annee Philologique records.</ref> 

The [[Liburnians]] had colonies on the western Adriatic coast in Picenum from the beginning of the Iron Age and until the 6th century BC Liburninan naval supremacy meant both political and economical authority in the Adriatic.{{cn|date=July 2023}}

In 390 BC the [[Senones|Senoni Gauls]] invaded Italy from the north and occupied Picenum north of the Esino river. The archaeological evidence shows groups of Senones settled much further south of this river, in the Macerata area and even in the Ascoli area, in sites such as Filottrano, San Genesio, Matelica, Offida. In 283 BC the Romans expelled the Senones and annexed Picenum down to [[Ancona]] when it became the ''[[Ager Gallicus]]'', part of the ''[[Ager publicus]]'' (Roman state land).

In 268 BC the Romans defeated the Picentes after they had rebelled.<ref>Florus, Epitome of Roman History, I.19</ref> Part of the population was deported and others were given Roman citizenship without the right to vote. Thus, Picenum was annexed, except for the city of [[Ascoli Piceno|Asculum]], which was considered an allied city. To keep it under control, the colony of Firmum was established nearby in 264 BC.

According to [[Polybius]],<ref>''Histories'' 2:21</ref> during the consulship of [[Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (consul 232 BC)|Marcus Aemilius Lepidus]] (232{{nbsp}}BC), "the Romans divided among their citizens the territory in Gaul known as Picenum, from which they had ejected the Senones when they conquered them".

Picenum sided with Rome against [[Hannibal]] during the [[Punic Wars]]. It also became a Roman base during the [[Social War (91–88 BC)|Social War]]. Some Picentes remained loyal to Rome in the war, while others fought against them for the right of Roman citizenship.<ref>{{citation | first = HH | last = Scullard | title = From the Gracchi to Nero | year = 1970 | location = London | publisher = Methuen & Co. Ltd}}{{page?|date=May 2023}}</ref> All Picentes were granted full Roman citizenship after the war.

In the [[Edict on Maximum Prices|Edict of Diocletian]], it was mentioned that the wine from Picenum was considered the most expensive wine, together with Falerno.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/13226/13226-h/13226-h.htm|title=The Common People of Ancient Rome|author=Abbott, Frank Frost |website=www.gutenberg.org|access-date=2020-03-18}}</ref> [[Vinum Hadrianum]] was produced in Picenum,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dalby|first=Andrew|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KdR4jRJCxEsC&q=Pliny+hadrianum&pg=PA171|title=Food in the Ancient World from A to Z|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-95422-2|pages=171|language=en}}</ref> in the city of [[Hatria Picena|''Hatria'']] or ''Hadria'', the old name of [[Atri, Abruzzo|Atri]]. This is also the same wine that [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] considered one of the highly-rated wines, along with a few others.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Sandler|first1=Merton|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yq2W6dwJa5gC&q=hadrianum+wine&pg=PA66|title=Wine: A Scientific Exploration|last2=Pinder|first2=Roger|date=2002|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-0-203-36138-2|page=66|language=en}}</ref>

==Culture==
Excavations in Picenum have given much insight into the region during the Iron Age.  Excavated tombs in Novilara of the Molaroni and Servici cemeteries show that the Piceni laid bodies in the ground wrapped in garments they had worn in life.<ref>{{harvnb|Randall-MacIver|1927|p=105}}.</ref>

Warriors were buried with a helmet, weapons and vessels for food and drinks.  Buried beads, bone, fibulae and amber seem to demonstrate that there was an active trade in the ninth and perhaps tenth centuries on the Adriatic coast, especially in the fields of amber and beads of glass paste. In women’s graves there is a large abundance of ornaments made of bronze and iron.<ref>{{harvnb|Randall-MacIver|1927|p=130}}.</ref>

Origins of these items may also show that the Piceni may have looked to the south and east for development.<ref>{{harvnb|Randall-MacIver|1927|p=120}}.</ref>

The warrior tombs seem to show that the Piceni were a war-like people. Every man’s grave contained more or less a complete outfit of a warrior, with the most frequent weapon being a spear. Piceni swords appear to be imported from the Balkans.<ref>{{harvnb|Randall-MacIver|1927|p=122}}.</ref>

==Languages==
{{Main|South Picene language|North Picene language}}
South Picene, written in an unusual version of the [[Italic alphabet]], has been identified as a [[Sabellic language]] that is neither [[Oscan language|Oscan]] nor [[Umbrian language|Umbrian]].

The undeciphered North Picene, also written in a form of the [[Old Italic alphabet]], is probably not closely unrelated to South Picene. At present, it is generally assumed not to be an [[Italic language]] (although it may have belonged to another branch of the [[Indo-European languages]]).

== Cities of the ''Regio V'' ==
As reported by [[Pliny the Elder]] in his ''[[Naturalis Historia]]'', 24 cities were placed in ''Regio V'':<ref>Archeologia nelle Marche, Mario Luni, 2003, p. 136, {{ISBN|88-392-0744-9}}.</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Cities of ''Regio V''
|-
|-
! Latin Name !! Modern Name !! Modern Region !! Tribù
|-
| ''Ancona'' || [[Ancona]] || Marche || Lemonia
|-
| ''Asculum'' || [[Ascoli Piceno]] || Marche || Fabia
|-
| ''Auximum'' || [[Osimo]] || Marche || Velina
|-
| ''Beregra'' || near [[Civitella del Tronto]] or [[Montorio al Vomano]] || Abruzzo ||
|-
| ''Castrum Novum'' || near [[Giulianova]] || Abruzzo || Papiria
|-
| ''Castrum Truentinum'' || [[Martinsicuro]] || Abruzzo ||
|-
| ''Cingulum'' || [[Cingoli]] || Marche || Velina
|-
| ''Cluana'' || [[Civitanova Marche]] || Marche ||
|-
| ''[[Cupra Maritima]]'' || near [[Cupra Marittima]] ([[Grottammare]]) || Marche || Velina
|-
| ''[[Cupramontana|Cupra Montana]]'' || near Sant'Eleuterio of [[Cupramontana]] || Marche || Velina
|-
| ''[[Falerio]]'' || near [[Falerone]] || Marche || Velina
|-
| ''[[Firmum Picenum]]'' <ref>Φίρμον Πικενόν, in STRABONE, ''Chr. estomathiae'', 241 (citato in ROCCI, ''Vocabolario Greco-Italiano'', Città di Castello, 1974, pag. 1969)</ref>|| [[Fermo]] || Marche || Velina
|-
| ''Hadria'' || [[Atri, Abruzzo|Atri]] || Abruzzo || Maecia
|-
| ''Interamnia'' || [[Teramo]] || Abruzzo || Velina
|-
| ''[[Novana]]'' || unknown, probably in the [[Aso (river)|Aso valley]]|| Marche ||
|-
| ''Numana'' || [[Numana]] || Marche ||
|-
| ''[[Pausulae]]'' || near San Claudio al Chienti, [[Corridonia]] || Marche || Velina
|-
| ''[[Planina, Italy|Planina]]'' || near San Vittore di [[Cingoli]] || Marche || Velina
|-
| ''[[Potentia (ancient city)|Potentia]]'' || near Santa Maria a Potenza, [[Porto Recanati]] || Marche || Velina
|-
| ''[[Helvia Recina|Ricina]]'' || Villa Potenza, [[Macerata]] || Marche || Velina
|-
| ''[[Septempeda]]'' || [[San Severino Marche]] || Marche || Velina
|-
| ''Tolentinum'' || [[Tolentino]] || Marche || Velina
|-
| ''[[Trea (municipium)|Trea]]'' || near [[Treia]] || Marche || Velina
|-
| ''[[Archaeological Park of Urbs Salvia|Urbs Salvia]]'' || near [[Urbisaglia]] || Marche || Velina
|}

==See also==
*[[Ancient peoples of Italy]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Federica Boschi, Enrico Giorgi, Frank Vermeulen, Picenum and the Ager Gallicus at the Dawn of the Roman Conquest, Landscape Archaeology and Material Culture, Archaeopress 2020 ISBN 978-1-78969-699-8
* {{cite book |author=Strabo |author-link=Strabo |title=[[Geographica]] }}
* {{cite book |first=David |last=Randall-MacIver |author-link=David Randall-MacIver |title=The Iron Age in Italy. A Study of Those Aspects of the Early Civilizations Which Are Neither Villanovan or Etruscan |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1927 }}

==External links==
{{Commonscatinline}}
* {{cite web| first=Paolo |last=Pastore |title=Piceni |publisher=Inwind |url=http://spazioinwind.libero.it/popoli_antichi/Italici/Piceni.html |language=it |access-date=28 August 2010}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Picenum| ]]
[[Category:Ancient Abruzzo]]
[[Category:History of le Marche]]
[[Category:Roman Italy]]