The Veneti were a Celtic tribe which inhabited northeastern Italy, now known as Veneto. The Veneti were originally Illyrians, but they were Celticized; another origin myth stated that, after the Trojan War in 1240 BC, the Trojan prince Antenor led the expelled Paphlagonians to the northern end of the Adriatic coast, where they conquered and merged with the Euganei people. In 238 BC, the Veneti allied with the Roman Republic against the Gauls, and they also allied with the Romans against the Celts, Iberians, and Carthaginians. The Veneti were given Latin rights after the Social War, and they were granted Roman citizenship in 49 BC. Roman colonization led to the Veneti being assimilated into Roman culture by the 1st century AD.
Advertisement