Editing Noricum (section)

===Roman rule===
Noricum was incorporated into the Roman Empire in 16 BC. For a long time previously, the Noricans had enjoyed independence under [[prince]]s of their own and carried on commerce with the Romans. In 48 BC they took the side of [[Julius Caesar]] in the civil war against [[Pompey]]. In 16 BC, having joined with the Pannonians in invading [[Istria|Histria]], they were defeated by [[Publius Silius Nerva]], proconsul of [[Illyricum (Roman province)|Illyricum]].{{citation needed|date=August 2013}} Thereafter, Noricum became a Roman province. It was not until the reign of [[Antoninus Pius]] that the [[Legio II Italica|Second Legion, ''Pia'']] (later renamed ''Italica'') was stationed in Noricum, and the commander of the legion became the governor of the province.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}}

Under [[Diocletian]] (245–313), Noricum was divided into ''Noricum ripense'' ("Noricum along the river", the northern part southward from the [[Danube]]), and ''Noricum mediterraneum'' ("landlocked Noricum", the southern, more mountainous district). The dividing line ran along the central part of the eastern Alps.<ref>"The province of Noricum Ripense extended along the right or southern bank of the Danube, between the river and the Noric Alps, and was bounded on one side by [[Raetia|Raetia Secunda]] and the [[Inn (river)|river Inn]] (Aenus) and on the other by the confines of [[Pannonia Superior]]—the district included in the modern province of Carinthia in Austria. Noricum Mediterraneum lay directly to the south, beyond the Noric Alps." {{Cite journal |author=Mierow, Charles C. |authorlink=Charles Christopher Mierow |year=1915 |title=Eugippius and the Closing Years of the Province of Noricum Ripense |url=https://archive.org/details/jstor-261764 |journal=Classical Philology |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=166–187 |doi=10.1086/359963 |jstor=261764 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Each division was under a [[praeses]], and both belonged to the [[diocese of Pannonia|diocese of Illyricum]] in the [[Praetorian prefecture of Italy]]. It was in this time (304 AD) that a Christian serving as a military officer in the province suffered martyrdom for the sake of his faith, later canonised as [[Saint Florian]].<ref>{{Cite book|author=Stülz, Jodok |authorlink=:de:Jodocus Stülz |year=1835 |title=Geschichte des regulirten Chorherrn-Stiftes St. Florian: ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des Landes Österreich ob der Enns |language=de |location=Linz |publisher=Haslinger |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=CrMDAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA2 2–3]}}</ref>

The Roman colonies and chief towns were ''[[Virunum]]'' (near [[Maria Saal]] to the north of [[Klagenfurt]]), ''[[Teurnia]]'' (near [[Spittal an der Drau]]), ''[[Flavia Solva]]'' (near [[Leibnitz]]), ''Celeia'' ([[Celje]]) in today's Slovenia, ''Juvavum'' ([[Salzburg]]), ''Ovilava'' ([[Wels]]), ''Lauriacum'' ([[Enns (town)#Geography|Lorch]] at the mouth of the [[Enns (river)|Enns]], the ancient ''[[Latin names of European rivers|Anisus]]'').

Knowledge of Roman Noricum has been decisively expanded by the work of [[Richard Knabl]], an Austrian [[Epigraphy|epigrapher]] of the 19th century.

The transition from Roman to barbarian rule in Noricum is well documented in [[Eugippius]]' ''Life of [[Severinus of Noricum|Saint Severinus]]'', providing material for analogies for this process in other regions where primary sources from the period are lacking.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Heather |first=Peter |title=The Fall of the Roman Empire |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0195159547 |location=Oxford |authorlink=Peter Heather}}</ref>