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Concept
Noricum
Summary
Noricum (ˈnɒrɪkəm) is the Latin name for the kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a 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 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.
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 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 and salt were found in considerable quantities. The plant called saliunca (the wild nard, a relative of the lavender) grew in abundance and was used as a perfume according to Pliny the Elder.
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.
The Noric language is attested in only fragmentary inscriptions, one from Ptuj and two from Grafenstein, neither of which provide enough information for any conclusions about the nature of the language.
The kingdom of Noricum was a major provider of weaponry for the Roman army from the mid-Republic onwards.
Official source
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