tribal confederation · Italy

Senones

400 BCE – 283 BCE (approx.) · capital Sena Gallica

Gaulish people of the Adriatic coast of the Marche, credited with the sack of Rome in 390 BCE and destroyed by Rome in 283 BCE.

Origins

The Senones were, according to Livy, the last of the Celtic peoples to cross into Italy, around 400 BCE. They settled on the Adriatic coast between the Utente and Esino rivers, land later called the Ager Gallicus, displacing Umbrians and Etruscan settlers.

Rule and society

They lived in villages and buried their warriors with weapons and imported Etruscan and Greek goods, as at Montefortino and Filottrano. Roman tradition said Senones led by Brennus defeated Rome at the Allia and sacked the city in 390 BCE. They raided central Italy and served as mercenaries, including for Dionysius I.

Decline and legacy

The Senones fought alongside the Samnites at Sentinum in 295 BCE. After they defeated a Roman army at Arretium in 284 BCE, Rome invaded their land in 283 BCE, killing or expelling the Senones, and founded the colony of Sena Gallica (Senigallia) there.

Connections (1)

More states of Italy →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Senones. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/senones-400
MLA
“Senones.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/senones-400. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Senones.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/senones-400.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Senones’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/senones-400 (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻