Nomenclature
Greek Name: Ῥαιτοὶ
Latin Names: Raeti, Rhaeti
Anglicized Name: Raetians, Rhaeti, Raeti
Contents
- Location
- Origins
- Sociopolitical Organization
- Customs and Beliefs
- Major Events
- Relationships
- Material Culture
- References
Location
Rhaetia
The Raeti possessed the lands of what today is Switzerland’s Grisons, Austria’s Tyrol, and parts of Germany’s Bavaria. Rhaetia was north of the Po, confined between the Danube, the Rhine, and the Lech rivers. The Raeti also were found in the mountains along the Adige River in northeast Italy. Their borders extended to the eastern shores of Lake Constance and their mountainous lands extended over the Alps, where it met the borders of the Insubri. Their lands also neighbored those of the Helvetii and Vindelici on Lake Constance and the Boii.
Map of Roman Empire in 125 AD with Rhaetia highlighted
The location of Rhaetia was of high importance because to the Romans because it blocked potential invasion routes into Italy from the north.
The province of Raetia et Vindelicia covered 80,000 square kilometers and included southeast Switzerland, modern Austrian Vorarlberg and Tyrol, large areas of the central Alps, and foothills between Lake Constance, the Danube, and the Inn. It was bordered by Noricum to the east, Germania Superior to the west, Italy to the south, and free Germania to the north. During the Flavian period (second half of 1st century AD), the frontier was pushed beyond the Danube.
The major trades of Rhaetia were timber, cattle, pitch, honey, wax, cheese, and their famous Raetic wine that was produced in the foothills of the Alps, near Verona.
Origins
According to Pliny the Elder and other ancient historiographers, the Raeti had Etruscan origins and had been driven into the mountains by the Gauls or Celts. They got their name from a leader named Raetus.
Other ancient authors, such as Ptolemy and Pompeius Trogus, instead associated the Raeti with the Celts. Modern studies of material and linguistic evidence have indicated potentially substantial Late Iron Age interactions between the Raeti and the Celts. Cultural groups connected to the Raeti show strong Celtic influence in the 4th century BC specifically.
Early 20th century scholar, Joshua Whatmough, refuted claims that the Raeti were Etruscans using linguistic evidence. Livy, along with more modern historians, have pointed to similarities in the Etruscan and Raetic languages to argue that they were of the same origins. Whatmough argues that there is no hard evidence of these similarities and there is no Etruscan influence on Raetic names. Additionally, he claims that Etruscan artifacts are very rarely found in association with the Raeti.
However, a 2007 study on mitochondrial DNA may suggest a connection between the Raeti and Etruscans after all. This study claims that the archaeological record actually shows that the Raeti and Etruscans shared a common origin. It also suggests that the Raeti spoke a Proto-Etruscan language beginning in the Early Iron Age.
Another early 21st century linguistic study also supports an Etruscan origin of the Raeti. Etruscan, Lemnian, and Raetic languages all share strong similarities. Van der Meer believes that the Raetic language evolved from Etruscan between 900 and 600 BC. This may have been a result of the Raeti being isolated from the Etruscans by 600 BC due to invading Celts. Regardless of whether the Raeti originated from the Etruscans, Etruscan expansion into the Po Valley in the 6th century BC increased Mediterranean influences on Alpine cultures.
In the 13th century BC, an ethnic consolidation of several cultural groups occurred, potentially in relation to copper ore extraction in the Alps. Six identified cultural groups of the region are the Alpine Rhine Valley Group, Alpine Golasecca culture/Lepontii, Valcamonica Group, Angarano-Garda/Magre Group, Inn Valley Group, and Laugen-Melaun/Fritzens-Sanzeno Group. These six groups show similarities in material culture, style of dress, weaponry, settlements, funerary customs, and cults. The name “Raeti” may have been the name of one tribe that was transferred to the whole group, or it may refer to a common cultic identity of worshipping the goddess Reitia. Written evidence of votive inscriptions and funerary steles indicate the region was not linguistically uniform, with elements of Indo-European Celtic and non-Indo-European Etruscan present.
Sociopolitical Organization
Before Roman Control
The Raeti were organized into tribes. Two that Strabo lists were the Rucantii and the Cotuantii, which were considered the boldest of the Raeti warriors. According to Appian, the Romans considered the Raeti to be a part of Illyria, along with the Paeonians, Norici, European Mysians, and “all their other neighbors living on the right bank of the Ister as one travels downstream.”
Before the 1st century AD, Rhaetia was sparsely populated and mostly rural. Some important commercial routes existed in the south, where there was a concentration of Raetian settlements. The Raeti chose to build their villages above valleys, on natural terraces, hillocks, and hard-to-access highlands. During the 1st-3rd centuries AD, most newly established major settlements were near military forts, particularly in the northern part of Rhaetia.
During Roman Control
After Roman subjugation, Rhaetia was combined with the territories of the Vindelici to form the Roman province Raetia et Vindelicia. This mixed the Raeti and the the Celtic Vendelici, who had little in common. The process of Romanization lasted several years, beginning with the military campaign of 15-16 BC and ending in the Claudian period. The province was first governed by a centurions as praefecti and was made an equestrian province by Claudius. The procuratorial governors lived in Augusta Vindelicorum and commanded troops in the region. After the region suffered in the Marcomannic Wars of the 170s AD, the newly raised legion, Legio III Italia Concors, was quartered in Rhaetia at Regina Castra and its commanding officer became the praetorian governor of the province.
Soon after coming under Roman control, the construction of roads throughout the province began. The Via Claudia ran north-south and connected the province to Upper Italy and was built by Claudius in 46-47 AD along the Lech, making Rhaetia secure and accessible. A west-east route ran from Brigantium (modern Bregenz) to Iuvavum (modern Salzburg). This was an important route between Rhenish and Danubian provinces.
The Tabula Clesiana, found in the Campi Neri of Cles in 1869, is a bronze tablet with an inscription detailing an edict from Claudius in 46 AD that granted Roman citizenship to the Raeti. At this time, many Raeti had adopted Roman customs and traditions without citizenship and had even become legion commanders, praetorians, and judges. This edict acknowledged and legitimized these affairs.
The bronze Tabula Clesiana in the Museo Retico.
Under Diocletian, civil administration of the province was divided between Raetia I, with its capital at Curia, and Raetia II, with its capital at Augusta Vindelicorum. Both regions had individual civilian governors but the singular military command was given to the dux Raetiarum in Augusta Vindelicorum.
Customs and Beliefs
Religion
Two important goddesses worshipped by the Raeti were Reitia and Etsu. There is also evidence of local worship of a Celtic thunder god named Taranis.
The pantheon of Rhaetia reflects both religious appropriation and the continuation of pre-Roman religious traditions and reinventions of traditions. This process of religious transitions, appropriation, and reinvention created a unique religious environment in Rhaetia with connections to Alpine, Celtic, and Germanic regions.
Brandopferplatze
Brandopferplätze were open air sacred spaces in the Alpine region dating back to the 13th century BC. They were places of worship where lightings of fires, animal sacrifice, and offerings of ceramic vessels, metal objects, and agricultural products took place. These areas have been identified in Rhaetia along important commercial routes, including the route from Curia to Brigantium, the Via Claudia from Tridentium to the Reschenscheideck passage, and the central Inn valley. These commercial routes and mountain passages were important for both economic and religious reasons. Some Brandopferplätze had ceremonial roads marked with stones, a circular building for sacrifices and depositions of offerings were made, and sometimes a conic or pyramidal altar. Inscribed votive plates, personalized brooches, bronze cut figures of women, men, warriors, horses, and parts of the body, and everyday items like hoes, keys, loom weights, needles, fibulae, and ceramic vases were given as votive dedications. These items often included short inscriptions in the northern Etruscan alphabet as dedications and requests to the gods. Characteristic richly decorated ceramic mugs were often crushed during ritual libations, which accompanied banquets where meat from sacrificed animals was cooked and eaten.
Inscribed votive offering from a Brandopferplätze.
Bronze lamina in the shape of a hand from Cles, 7th century BC.
Some Brandopferplätze show evidence of continuous use for centuries. One example at Demlfeld in Austria contains large concentrations of deposited brooches dating from 600 BC to 400 AD. Another example in Spielleitenkopfl was used continuously from the late Bronze Age until late antiquity.
Another important area of worship were the Campi Neri (Black Fields), named for the black color of the soil from burning bones and carbonaceous materials mixed with artifacts. This site is the large worship area in the Alpine region and contains finds dating from the Copper Age to the Roman era. It covers 7,000 square meters, containing a megalithic structure and areas for lighting fires. There are also sacred roads crossing the area for processions of offerings. Of the 1,000 artifacts recovered, many were intentionally broken or twisted for ritual purposes. They include ornamental objects, iron tools and weapons, bells, bronze plates, and coins from the Roman era.
Sacred road in the Campi Neri. 6th-1st centuries BC.
Bronze bells from Cles.
Language
In the 6th century BC, the Raeti adopted an alphabet modeled on the Etruscan alphabet and modified it to the Rhaetian language. The Rhaetian language, a non-Indo-European language like Etruscan, has only been partially deciphered, and the few known texts consist of short inscriptions written from right to left. The presence of writing on votive objects suggests that it was linked to religious practices and used to communicate with the gods.
An example of Rhaetian writing as an inscription on a votive object.
Major Events
6th-1st centuries BC: An early cultural group of the Raeti known as the Fritzens-Sanzeno culture established themselves in the region of Trentino Alto Adige, East Tyrol, and Lower Engadine.
15 BC: During the Roman Emperor Tiberius’ first military campaign, he and Drusus went to war against and subsequently subjugated the Raeti and others in this region, like the Vindelici. Before 15 BC, the Raeti had limited contact with the Roman Empire.
46 AD: Claudius made an edict that granted Roman citizenship to the Raeti. This was reported on the Tabula Clesiana found in the Campi Neri, Cles.
69 AD: The civil war between troops of Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian after the fall of Nero greatly affected Rhaetia, where fighting against the Helvetii was simultaneously occurring. Evidence of burning at civilian settlements in Augsburg, Kempten, and Bregenz as well as at military forts has been found from this time.
100 AD to death of Antoninus Pius (161 AD): Most peaceful time period during Roman rule of Rhaetia.
161 – 180 AD (Reign of Marcus Aurelius): Large-scale enemy attacks began in Rhaetia.
233 AD: A large Alamannic attack destroyed forts in Rhaetia and signaled the beginning of the final economic collapse in this region.
Late 3rd century AD: Barbarians, including Gauls, began raiding Rhaetia. Governmental control of the province switched to military commanders.
4th century AD: The province was divided into Raetia I in the west and Raetia II in the east.
Early 5th century AD: Rhaetia was gradually taken over by the Alamanni.
Relationships
The integration of Celtic names in the Raetic language are indicators of substantial contact between these cultures, as is evidence of the Raeti adopting Celtic deities, like the thunder god Taranis, into their local cult worship. Celtic influence on Raetian groups was particularly strong in the 4th century BC.
The Etruscans venturing into the Po Valley brought them into contact with the Raeti and other Alpine groups in the 6th century BC.
The Romans conquered the Raeti in 15 BC and made Rhaetia a Roman province. According to Dio Cassius, the Roman campaign into Rhaetia was triggered by the Raeti overrunning large areas of Gaul and Italy and harassing Romans and their allies. He also claims that the Raeti would kill all their male captives, even unborn male babies, whose sex they determined via divination. After conquering the Raeti, the Romans deported most men of military age in order to prevent a rebellion from occurring.
Material Culture
Rhaetian material culture was characterized by unique ceramic vessels including cups and mugs, iron tools including hoes, axes, and keys, and locally produced bronze implements including fibulae.
“The Knight of Sanzeno,” also known as the “Rhaetian Knight,” is a bronze figurine from Casalini. It features a warrior wearing a Negau-style helmet–an Italic-Alpine variation on an Etruscan prototype. The figure is nude, which may show Celtic influence. An inscription on the bottom indicates that it is an offering to Belo Equorio, protector of horses. This could be a connection to the Celtic god Belenus, who was similar to Apollo and had a cult following in the Alpine region. This piece is an example of the mixture of northern (Celtic) and southern (Etruscan) elements common in Alpine art.
“The Knight of Sanzeno.” Bronze figurine from Casalini, Italy.
The houses of the Raeti were arranged in rows or scattered groups. They were were partially underground, quadrangular in shape, and could have one or more rooms. The walls were made with dry stone and wood and the roofs, supported by posts set into niches in the walls, were thatched with branches or straw or had wooden shingles. The floors were earthen or covered with wooden planks. The wooden doors had iron handles and locks that were operated with long keys. The hearth of the home was made of clay and bordered with stones. Rooms were furnished with wooden furniture including tables, benches, stools, shelves, and beds. Iron hooks on the walls were for hanging objects. The access corridor into the house could be stepped or a smooth ramp.
Model of a Rhaetian house.
The prevalence of agriculture in Rhaetia is evident from the numerous iron hoes, scythes, sickles, billhooks, and millstones found in the region. Charred seeds of wheat, barley, millet, and rye show what cereals were being farmed. These were processed using special stone millstones called hoppers and levers. Legumes like broad beans, peas, and lentils were grown, as well as grapes for the famous Raetic wine. From as early as the Iron Age, pruning hooks and pottery and utensils related to wine consumption have been found. Wild fruits like hazelnuts, carnelians, pears, strawberries, raspberries, and elderberries were also harvested. Sheep, goat, and cattle bones are common at Rhaetian sites, indicating animal husbandry. However, little evidence of hunting has been found.
Iron agricultural tools from Raetian sites.
Iron agricultural tools from Raetian sites.
Specialized iron and bronze objects are especially prevalent in Sanzeno, which was an important center for metallurgical production. Objects found here include andirons, chains, meat forks, ash shovels, skewers, scythes, sickles, hoes, axes, saws, chisels, keys, anvils, hammers, and pliers. Bronze items include ornamental fibulae to hold and decorate clothes, collars with lancet pendants, and bracelets with ram-head ends. Terracotta and stone loom weights indicate the practice of weaving as well.
A Raetian iron tool.
Metallurgical tools from Rhaetia.
Bronze objects in the shape of buckets, called situlae, are common in the Val di Non from contact with the Etruscan-Italic region. They have also been found throughout EEmilia, Veneto, Trentio Alto Adige, Salzburg, and Slovenia. Bronze was hammered into sheets and formed into the desired shape. They were then decorated with burins or embossed to create relief scenes. Representations of parades of soldiers, processions of carts, sporting competitions such as boxing, banquets and libations, animal sacrifices, women in procession, musicians playing wind and stringed instruments, real and mythological animals, and hunting and farming scenes have been depicted on these situlae. They were used during religious ceremonies and funerals for wine.
A bronze situla with embossed designs.
Bronze situla decorated with representations of animals.
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