Alpes

Alpes, several small provinces set up by the Romans in the western Alps.

Some time after the conquest of the Ligurian tribes in the area in 14 bc, Augustus established Alpes Maritimae (Maritime Alps) under a prefect (later a procurator), to guard the coastal road from Italy to southern France. Its capital was Cemenelum (present-day Cimiez, near Nice), which developed into a prosperous municipality. It was joined to Pedo (present-day Borgo San Dalmazzo in Piedmont, about 15 miles [about 24 km] north of the Col di Tenda pass linking Piedmont to the sea) by a road crossing the Alps on the Col de Larche.

Adjoining it was Alpes Cottiae (Cottian Alps), where Augustus installed Cottius, a native chieftain with Roman citizenship, as prefect. Claudius bestowed the title of king on Cottius’s son. After the king’s death, Nero organized the area as a province under a procurator. Its capital was Eburodunum (present-day Embrun), which was joined by a road over the Mont Genèvre Pass to Segusium (present-day Susa, about 13 miles [21 km] west of Turin).

Farther north, Alpes Graiae (Graian Alps), administered within changing borders, was organized by Claudius as a province that included the Swiss Valais. He founded a capital at Forum Claudii (perhaps present-day Aime, about 20 miles [32 km] from the Little Saint Bernard Pass, which the province was to guard). Alpes Graiae was often combined with Alpes Poeninae (Pennine Alps), farther north and east, which guarded the Great Saint Bernard Pass. The administration of these northern Alpes seems to have fluctuated until Diocletian reorganized the whole provincial system.