The Ucennii, Ucenni or Iconii were a Gauls tribe dwelling in the Romanche valley, in the Alps, during the Iron Age.
Name
They are mentioned as
Ucenni (
var. uceni,
ucermi) by Pliny (1st c. AD) and on the
Tropaeum Alpium,
[Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 3:20; CIL 5:7817.] as
Ucennos (var. cennos, sennos, scennos) by
Florus.
[Florus. Epitome, 2:22:4.][, s.v. Ucennii.] The form (Ἰκόνιοι) given by
Strabo (early 1st c. AD) is most likely a variant of the ethnic name.
The meaning of the name remains obscure, although it is most likely of Celtic origin. It can be compared with the toponym Ucena in Galatia.
Geography
The Ucenni lived in the
Romanche valley, in the region of
Oisans. Their territory was located south of the
Graioceli, west of the
Belaci,
Segovii and
Brigianii, north of the
Tricorii, and west of the Vertamocorii and
Allobroges.
[, Map 17: Lugdunum.]
Settlements are known at Catorissium (Le Bourg-d'Oisans), Mellosedum (Mont-de-Lans), and Durotincum (near La Grave and Villar-d'Arêne).
History
They are mentioned by Pliny the Elder as one of the Alpine tribes conquered by Rome in 16–15 BC, and whose name was engraved on the
Tropaeum Alpium.
[Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 3:20.]
Primary sources
Bibliography
